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Gas-Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone (GLCC) For Compact Gas Liquid Separations
The Gas-Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone (GLCC) is a simple, compact, light weight, and inexpensive, bulk gas/liquid separator which is suited for many different applications. It requires little maintenance, and it is easy to install and to operate.
The GLCC, patented by Chevron, is a device that is available to the oil and gas industry through members of the Tulsa University Separation Technology Projects (TUSTP). TUSTP is a Joint Industry Program involving thirteen companies from the petroleum and petroleum equipment industries.
How It Works
The process fluid enters a sloped tangential inlet nozzle, sized to deliver a preconditioned flow stream into the body of the separator. The momentum of the process fluid combined with the tangential inlet generates a liquid vortex with sufficient G-forces for bulk gas and liquid separation to rapidly occur. Finally, the gas exits through the top of the GLCC and the liquid exits though the bottom of the GLCC.
Control
The GLCC can be controlled in any of the following means, either individually, or in combination:
- Passive Separation: (No active control) Gas and liquid are recombined downstream of the GLCC at an elevation that is the same as the liquid level desired in the GLCC.
- Active Separation: A back pressure valve is installed on the gas outlet and/or a level control valve is installed on the liquid outlet that responds to a differential pressure transmitter signal.
- Active Separation: A slug suppression valve is installed on the inlet to the GLCC along with gas and liquid control valves.
Performance
The GLCC, used mainly for bulk separation, can be designed for various levels of expected performance. Typical performance levels from the GLCC are 0.5–2.0 gallons of liquid per MMscf in the gas outlet and 0–5% gas in the liquid outlet.
Applications
Fluid flows with a liquid-to-gas ratio of greater than 500 barrels of liquid per MMscf of gas are the preferred feed for the GLCC. The GLCC can be used successfully in any number of services. Among these are:
- Inlet or Wellhead Test Separators
- Two-phase Production Separators
- Flash separators before oil treaters or water treating equipment
- Vessel debottlenecking by removing excess gas from the flow stream in advance of the problem vessel
GLCC is a copyright of the University of Tulsa
About the GLCC
The Gas-Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone (GLCC) is simple, compact, light weight, inexpensive, and efficient. It requires little maintenance and is easy to install and operate. It has brought a revolutionary change into the field of Compact Separation Technology.
Potential applications include:
- Control of Gas Liquid Ratio for Multiphase flow meters and pumps
- Primary Surface or Subsurface separation
- Portable Well Test Metering
- Steam Quality Metering
- Flare Gas Scrubbing
What is GLCC?
- Gas-Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone separator
- Developed by a Joint Industry Project a the University of Tulsa
- Can remove 100% free gas at low GOR with low viscosity crudes
- Inexpensive, simple, no moving parts
- Lower capital cost
- Portable
- Less complex
- Real time results
- Smaller yet more efficient
Advantages of Single Well Management
- Gathering system can use trunk lines instead of test headers--less pipe, less labor, less leakage
- Trunk lines have less back pressure - more production
- Reduced capital cost of gathering station - no test separator, no test manifold
- Full-time measurement on all wells - better surveillance
- Wellhead management features allow production optimization
- Consolidate facilities - no separators, treaters, and tanks at each well site
Summary
- GLCC and Coriolis technology are being used in successful multiphase measurement
- This combination has been proven in multi-well measurement and single-well management
- Individual well management has positive economic impact on facilities and operations
- Canada Towers has the experience to provide service and equipment to optimize production and reduce lift cost
- Zero gas venting eliminates environmental issues, while improving production throughput.
- Solar Power removes costly energy infrastructure.
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