Research and application advances in supersonic swirling separator

Supersonic swirling separator has been developed for natural gas dehydration in recent years. Referred to quantities of literature, the working principle and advantages of supersonic swirling separator are discussed. The paper also reviews the research progress of supersonic swirling separator both in developed countries and China in detail. Firstly, the separation technology process from Twister-I to improved Twister-II, and 3s technology in Russia, which comes from aviation technology are reviewed. Secondly, the design of nozzle and cyclone device which are important components for a separator, the simulation of characteristics of gas-fluid two phase flow, and the acquisition of various types of separators and indoor experiments since the project set up in 2003 in China have been introduced. Although there is a considerably long way to go before the industrial application, great achievements such as patents have been made and abundant experimental data and valuable conclusions have been accumulated for further research. Through comparisons and analyses of all these separators, the paper points out both their advantages and disadvantages and the focus of research in the future.