A major processing step when treating gas is the removal of components such as heavy hydrocarbons or water. This is done either to recover saleable liquids or prevent hindsance during gas transportation (e.g. hydrate formation or two-phase flow). The Vortex tube device provides a novel and useful addition to the range of equipment available for this application. Vortex tube equipment has been used for improved separation in comparison with a Joule-Thomson system, without entering into the cost and complexity of a true is entropic system such as a turbo-expander unit. The relative advantage of the vortex tube is dependent upon the inlet conditions of the gas and available pressure drop. An optimum pressure drop of 25 - 35 % of the inlet gas pressure has been confirmed in practice. It is expected that future applications of vortex tube units will be concentrated where performance improvements over Joule-Thomson units, at low capital cost, are required.
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