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EPTT 2024
14th Spring School on Transition and Turbulence
NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF NATURAL GAS MIXING THROUGH A CURVED SUPERSONIC SEPARATOR WITH GEOMETRY VARIATION AND CENTRIFUGATION
Submission Author:
Giovanni Ballario Righini , SP , Brazil
Co-Authors:
Giovanni Ballario Righini, Reinaldo Marcondes Orselli, Ricardo Galdino da SIlva, Denis Fernando Gregório Júnior, Bruno Carmo
Presenter: Reinaldo Marcondes Orselli
doi://10.26678/ABCM.EPTT2024.EPT24-0015
Abstract
The supersonic separator is one of the technologies under development for heavier components separation (especially CO2) from natural gas. It is recognized for its efficiency, compact design, and absence of moving parts, which results in reduced maintenance and low footprint. The separation mechanism relies on accelerating the gas to supersonic speed through a convergent-divergent nozzle. In the divergent section, the gas expands, causing a temperature decrease enough to condense the heavier components. Once the heavier components condense, their separation is achieved by imposing a centrifugal force that conducts the droplets toward collectors attached to the nozzle walls. A possible approach to imposing centrifugal force on the flow is to curve the nozzle geometry along the flow path . In order to evaluate the centrifugation effects as well as the curvature on the flow behavior and separation efficiency, the nozzle curvature angle and radius are varied, thereby changing the centrifugal force applied. In this context, CFD simulations with different geometry configurations of the curved nozzle in the supersonic separator are conducted, and the trajectory of the particles is monitored using the Discrete Phase Method (DPM) to assess the impact of centrifugal force on the separation efficiency of the device. The numerical simulations are carried out using the ANSYS Fluent code, which is based on the Finite Volume Method. With the different curvature configurations tested, the centrifugal force attained levels ranging from 111,000 g up to 265,000 g. The maximum separation efficiency observed across these configurations was 71%.
Keywords
supersonic separator, Shock wave, natural gas, fluid mechanics
