2 replies to this topic

[Skyline]

Dear friends,

I'm currently involved in geothermal project. Basically, we separate brine from its vapor in separator and then flow the vapor to scrubber to ensure no liquid carried along with the dry vapor. The question is, when I do the simulation in HYSYS, I get the size of separator, but I don't get the size of the scrubber. I think because the fluid entering it is dry (vapor fraction = 1). So, is there any approach or assumption to size the scrubber? Thank you very much for your attention.

Note: we use the vapor to move the turbine, so the vapor has to be completely dry.

Best regards,


Erwan

[joerd]

You will need to size both the separator and the scrubber yourself. Hysys will not really do it for you (even if it pretends to do so).
You need to calculate the required diameter using the Souders-Brown equation, and size the vessels yourself. In the scrubber, for the liquid density, assume it is the same as in the separator, so that you can calculate the maximum vapor velocity.

There is a good spreadsheet by Art Montemayor, and a lot of discussion, in these forums. Just search for "separator sizing" or "scrubber sizing" and you should be able to understand how to size these vessels.

Also, you could take a look at the article on Citizendium.

[Skyline]

Dear joerd,

I think you're right, HYSYS gave a considerably bigger size than it should be. The question is about the scrubber then. What assumption do I need to do the sizing? (Because the vapor leaving separator suppose to be dry, I have no idea about the load in scrubber). Thank you before.

Best regards,


Erwan