Separator Tank

Separator tank

Separator tanks are often required to separate two immiscible fluids. This seperation results due to the difference in density of different fluids.

In this project, we evaluate separation of oil and water in a separation tank. The tank consists of an inlet for a mixture of all and water. The tank initially contains water and oil in it. When the mixture flows in, the oil stays above the water and overflows above the baffle to exit the tank where the outlet for oil is present. The water moves down due to its higher density and exits through the outlet for water.

The simulation settings are as follows:

Type: Transient

Turbulence model: K-omega SST

Multiphase model: VOF (3 phases)

Phases: Water, Oil and Air

Solver: PISO

Inlet: 50% Oil + 50% Water

Outlets: Outflow Condition

Result:

The figure shows the contour of a custom field function defined as: 

Custom-function-0 = water-vof + 5 * oil-vof + 10 * air-vof

This single function can be used to distinguish between the three phases in a single contour. Water and oil mixture flows through the inlet and fall into the tank which initially contains water with a layer of oil above it. As the mixture flows into the tank, the water settles down and moves out through the first outlet and the oil stays above and overflows the baffle to exit from the second outlet.