Parallel plate pack

This type of internals is commonly used to separate a mixture of two immiscible liquids by exploiting the different densities of the two phases. It is frequently used in many three-phase separators, in which the flow consists of a gas phase, a heavy liquid phase (e.g. water), and a light liquid phase (e.g. oil).

The vane pack consists of channels formed by long parallel plates arranged at a fixed angle. As the liquid passes through these channels at an appropriate velocity, the light phase can be separated from the heavy phase. At the outlet of the vane pack, the light liquid is located above the heavy phase and can be separated by means of a weir (see the diagram above).

Advantages

Compared with a conventional gravity separator, the main advantages are:

• Smaller droplets can be separated, resulting in greater separation efficiency.
• Reduced vessel size, as separation is achieved within a smaller space.
• Reduced residence time in the vessel, resulting in a significant increase in throughput.