Paper: Collar-Size Separator Performance and Animation

The collar size separator is used to separate liquid from free gas downhole in a well before the liquid is drawn into the pump. The pump and pumping system are much more efficient if gas free liquid is drawn into the pump chamber and the pump is full of liquid rather than having some free gas in the pump chamber.
If liquid is available to fill the pump, additional production will be obtained from the well if the pump chamber if filled completely with liquid. Also, the loading on the pumping system is much better and the pumping equipment will last longer before requiring service.
The separation process in a downhole gas separator is very complex. An animation shows the behavior of gas and liquids in a separator when typical concentrations of liquid and free gas are surrounding the gas separator and pump. The animation is to scale and duplicates the performance of an actual well. the flow of liquid and various sizes of free gas bubbles are shown to help the viewer understand the process of separating free gas from liquid. The flow rates in the separator and dip tube are determined from calculated plunger velocity and production rates of an actual well.