Desanding Hydrocyclones

Solids handling in the oil and gas industry is an increasingly important task, and an efficient process dealing with the problem needs to address sand removal from produced water streams, and the effective removal of all solids from multiphase flows, upstream or downstream of the choke.

A hydrocyclone based process system provides the most cost effective solution to solids separation, cleaning, storage, and transportation. Desander hydrocyclones are pressure drop dependant, where either two or three phase fluids are directed into the desander tube causing the fluids to spin under a centrifugal force. These strong forces cause the solids and liquids to separate. Where gas is present, it disengages and also separates quickly. The heavier solids are forced outward toward the cyclone wall, and the lighter liquids and gas phases migrate in the opposite direction toward a center core.

Solids spiral down the cyclone to the underflow outlet, while the remaining fluids are forced in the opposite direction to the overflow. The process is a simple and effective separator, with a 2-3 second retention time, and no moving parts.

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