THE USE OF FACTORIAL DESIGN TO EVALUATE SYSTEMATIC CHANGES IN THE OPERATING CONDITIONS OF A THREE-PHASE SEPARATOR USING SIMULATION AS A TOOL

This work aims to use factorial designs to evaluate changes in the operating conditions of a three-phase separator. It performs experiments using a Hysys simulation software. It evaluates the influences of temperature, working pressure, and type of separator for light and heavy oils. To find the best operating conditions theoretically, higher oil flow rate (outlet stream) and smaller amount of water in the oil stream are used as reference goals. After performing simulations, the data is analyzed, and one can observe that the effect type of separator does not have a statistically significant influence in the results. The best operating condition occurs with the temperature at 30oC and the pressure at 9 bar, lowest and highest levels suited, respectively.