Separation of sulphur particles and droplets in high-sulfur gas fields based on a rotary thread demister: Experimentation, numerical simulation and optimization

Abstract

To address the clogging of demister by elemental sulfur of high-sulfur gas fields, a rotary thread demister was proposed as an alternate. The results show: The feasibility of the rotary thread demister is verified through force analysis and simulation experiments; The experimental results revealed the Realizable k-ε turbulence model has the smallest average error of 3 %; Increases in rotational speed, count, diameter, and layers of the rotary thread enhance separation efficiency and pressure drop; Higher inlet velocities reduce separation efficiency while increasing pressure drop; Based on the response surface methodology and NSGA-II algorithm, the optimal parameters are determined, achieving separation efficiency of 100 % and pressure drop of 45.67 Pa for 19 μm sulfur particles and 20 μm droplets; The same parameters can remove the 3 μm size droplets and sulphur particles with separation efficiencies of 90.2 % and 92.3 %, respectively, at a pressure drop of 43.8 Pa without considering particle collisions.