Supersonic separation technology for natural gas processing: A review

Abstract Supersonic separation technology is a new approach to condense and separate water, heavy hydrocarbons and other impurities from natural gas. This paper reviews the research advances in condensation characteristics of the Laval nozzle and separation mechanism of the supersonic separator in detail from the perspectives of theoretical analysis, experiments and numerical simulation, and summarizes the new application of this technology including natural gas liquefaction and removal of the acid gases. This review points out that while several aspects of this technology have been well studied, there still exist several issues in the practice. The further research topics are clarified to promote future applications such as the model modification of gas spontaneous nucleation rate to improve the prediction accuracy, and the combination the molecular dynamics technology with interface mechanics theory to study the collision and coalescence of the droplets and the interaction between gas and droplets under supersonic conditions.