a strange reservoir for recovered oil

[giruffo]

Hallo to everybody, I am writing to ask for an advice.
I'm making a revision of a feed engineering and the matter is relevant to a stream of production water coming from a GOSP to be purified. The actual design consider a water oil separator, and in series feeding pumps and hydrocyclons. Pumps are necessary to assure the delta P needed by the hydrocyclons.
Downstream of hydrocyclons recovered oil is collected in a pressurized reservoir working at 25 psig, installed at oil transfer pumps suction.
I have a few doubts on the effectivness of this reservoir. In practice it is a horizontal vessel with oil entrance and exit lines on the bottom side, note that there is no gas outlet on the upper side and there is no level control on it

I am demanding if that really works.

I think that at the start up the vessel should be filled with inert gas. In the operation, the liquid accumulating shall pressurize the gas over it.

I am demanding if the gas is absorbed by the liquid or if it leaks through vents or manholes flanges and the liquid fill all the vessel isn't there the risk of a pump-out that cause vessel's collapse?

Thanks in advance to everybody who will help me to better understand this system.

Gabriele

 

[anandm104]

Gabrial,

You have not filled up sufficient process description here so it is very difficult to help u in understanding the system. It is not expected a steady considerable flow of oil in reservoir from hydrocyclone. That is why there is no level control. However I suppose there is high and low level switch to start & stop oil transfer pump. As oil reservoir working pressure is 25 psig without any pressure control system, it will be connected to another equipment for pressure equilibrium thereby eliminating your doubt of collapse of vessel.

Rather than demanding these, you should demand Standard Operating Procedure.

Hope that will help you.