Supersonic gas separators: Review of latest developments

• A comprehensive review of the published literature regarding supersonic separators.
• Summary of available modelling methods including numerical and analytical techniques.
• Summary of experimental setups and reported results.
• Discussions regarding the findings of various studies and key conclusions.
• Identification of areas of overlap and gaps within the reviewed publications.

Supersonic separator is a new technology with applications in gas dehydration and hydrocarbon dew pointing. Many research studies have investigated the design, performance and efficiency, economic viability, and industrial applications of these separators. Experimental facilities, pilot plants, and full scale industrial platform applications along with theoretical, analytical, and numerical modelling are some of the tools used in these studies. This review has found that while several aspects of this study are well studied, considerable gaps within the published literature still exists in the areas such as study of supersonic flows containing microscopic liquid droplets and liquid wall film.