Filtration & Separation
Overview
Filtration and separation systems are fundamental to safe, efficient, and compliant operation across the entire hydrocarbon value chain—upstream production, midstream transportation, gas processing, refineries, LNG/LPG facilities, and power generation.
Their primary purpose is to protect downstream assets and ensure stable process performance by removing:
Free liquids (condensate, water)
Entrained droplets (aerosols, mists)
Solid particles (sand, rust, catalyst fines, scale)
Emulsions (water-in-oil, oil-in-water)
Foam / carryover
Slug events (intermittent high liquid loads)
Mechasol provides engineering, manufacturing, installation, and commissioning for complete separation trains as well as individual vessels, internals, and skid packages, including filtration and phase separation systems designed to meet ASME/API requirements and project-specific performance targets.
Typical Applications
PRMS & Metering Stations: inlet filtration, KO drums, coalescing, heater upstream protection
Gas Processing: inlet separation, dehydration pre-treatment, dew point control separation
Refineries: feed protection, separation drums, treaters, oil/water separation packages
Well Stream Facilities: 2-phase/3-phase separators, heater-treaters, FWKO, sand removal
LNG/LPG: cryogenic feed protection, pre-separation, coalescing, particulate removal
Power Plants: fuel gas conditioning, filter-separators, KO drums, turbine protection
Pipelines: slug catchers, pigging receiver/launcher separation, erosion/corrosion control
Mechasol Deliverables
Complete engineered packages (skid-mounted or modular)
Pressure vessels (separators, drums, filter housings)
Internals (inlet devices, baffles, weirs, cyclones, demisters, coalescers)
Filter elements (cartridges, coalescing elements, separator elements)
Instrumentation and controls (level/interface control, DP monitoring, ESD logic)
FAT / SAT, commissioning and startup support
A) Separation Systems
A1. Gas–Liquid Separators
A1.1 Two-Phase Separators (Gas / Liquid)
Designed to separate free liquid from gas and minimize liquid carryover.
Configurations:
Horizontal 2-phase separators
Vertical 2-phase separators
Compact 2-phase separators (footprint optimized)
Typical internals:
Inlet device (inlet diverter, cyclone inlet, half-open pipe)
Calming baffle
Liquid sump and level control
Mist eliminator (vane pack / mesh pad / cyclonic demister)
A1.2 Three-Phase Separators (Gas / Oil / Water)
Used where oil-water separation and interface control are required.
Configurations:
Horizontal 3-phase separators
Vertical 3-phase separators
Compact 3-phase separators
Key design functions:
Gas disengagement
Oil-water separation (gravity + coalescing)
Stable interface control (LT/IT/LIC)
Oil & water outlet quality targets (carryover limits)
Typical internals:
Inlet device + calming baffle
Weir plates, buckets, coalescing packs
Oil/water interface control arrangements
Vane pack / mesh pad / cyclonic demister
A2. Knock-Out Drums (KO Drums)
KO Drums are used to remove free liquids and large droplets to protect compressors, turbines, meters, or cryogenic equipment.
Types:
Suction KO Drum (compressor protection)
Discharge KO Drum
Fuel Gas KO Drum (power plant/turbine)
Flare KO Drum (flare header liquid removal)
Vacuum KO Drums (specialized services)
Cold service KO Drums (low temperature materials)
Options:
Vane pack / mesh pad / cyclone demister
High liquid handling design (slug tolerant)
Automated drains and closed drain system integration
A3. Scrubbers
Scrubbers remove fine liquid droplets and protect downstream equipment. Often used upstream of compression, refrigeration, JT valves, or metering.
Types:
Inlet Scrubbers
Compressor Suction Scrubbers
Compact Scrubbers for modular skids
High-efficiency scrubbers (cyclonic + demister combination)
A4. Slug Catchers
Slug catchers protect downstream separation equipment and pipelines from transient large liquid volumes.
Types:
Finger Type Slug Catchers
Vessel Type Slug Catchers
Hybrid designs (multiple vessels / modular finger banks)
Application zones:
Pipeline terminals
Offshore to onshore receiving
Pigging receiver protection
Gas plants upstream liquid management