My   background   has   been   formed   with   a   strong   orientation toward   oil   production   and   petrochemical   processes,   and   I have   a   BSc   (2000),   a   MSc   (2003)   and   a   PhD   (2010)   all   in   the field   of   Chemical   Engineering.   I   started   SalvaSolution   Ltd. in    2017    to    help    senior    students    and    professional    Process Engineers    dealing    with    the    critical    task    of    equipment sizing/costing.    Acquired    knowledge    and    experience    from my   graduate   studies   career   and   industrial   practice,   I   have developed    and    published    several    mobile    apps    which    are working   flawlessly   on   various   platforms.   Here   is   a   short story   on   how   the   multiphase   separator   sizing   apps   came   to the reality: The   classic   method   of   Svrcek-Monnery   was   over   there   for decades      and      had      earned      fantastic      popularity      and international    reputation.    However,    after    several    empirical experiments,   Dr.   Svrcek   and   Dr.   Monnery   had   noticed   that some    tangible    improvements    would    be    offered    if    their observations   could   be   generalized   through   industrial   scale empirical   data   and   CFD   simulations.   At   this   stage,   I   got   a chance    to    work    with    these    gentlemen    to    improve    the original   design   criteria   based   on   the   empirical   findings   and realistic   CFD   simulations.   Within   a   course   of   five   years,   the project   was   completed   successfully   and   I   gained   my   PhD   in 2010   under   their   supervision.   Later   years,   we   published   one book   and   five   technical   papers   addressing   the   performed research work and its significant resul t s. A Lovely Gathering after Publication of our Book. From Left: Dr. Svrcek, Dr. Monnery, and Me. You    can    download    my    thesis    in    the    Kindle    format    from here .   Considering   the   fact   that   our   new   technology-oriented world   urges   more   availability   and   convenience,   I   decided   to share    the    ultimate/applied    design    criteria    we    elucidated from    our    extensive    investigations    with    you,    motivated Process Engineers all around the world. Currently,    my    developed    mobile    apps    have    found    their ways   to   the   global   App   Stores   of   Apple,   Android   and   etc. and   received   serious   expert   attention.   While   I   have   provided some    supportive    information    here,    please    feel    free    to contact   me   at   inquiry@salvasolution.com    if   you   have   any unanswered    questions.    I’ll    do    my    best    to    respond    them within a couple of days. Finally, here is a list of our contribution to the CFD-based optimum design of the oilfield separators literature: Book Pourahmadi Laleh, A., Svrcek, W.Y., Monnery, W.D., “CFD Simulation of Oilfield Separators: A Realistic Approach”, LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2011. Overview:     In    this    book,    a    realistic    simulation    approach based      on      Computational      Fluid      Dynamics      (CFD)      is developed    to    provide    high-quality    visualization    of    the multiphase       separation       process.       Furthermore,       classic separator   design   methodologies   are   evaluated   and   improved design   criteria   are   proposed.   A   useful   method   is   presented for   estimation   of   the   droplet   sizes   used   to   calculate   realistic separation    velocities    for    various    oilfield    conditions.    The velocity       constraints       associated       with       re-entrainment phenomenon   are   also   discussed   and   novel   correlations   are provided.    This    book,    also    demonstrates    the    benefits    that CFD    analyses    provide    in    optimizing    the    design    of    new separators and solving problems with existing designs. Papers 1. Svrcek, W.Y., Monnery, W.D., “Design Two-Phase Separators within the Right Limits”, Chem. Eng. Progress, 89(10), 1993, 53-60. Overview:   This   internationally-acclaimed   paper   presents   an algorithmic    method    for    sizing    the    most    economical    two- phase    separator.    Different    approaches,    i.e.    GPSA,    York Demister,   and   Theoretical,   to   estimating   phase   separation velocities   are   included.   The   design   procedure   is   explained by worked examples. 2. Monnery, W.D., Svrcek, W.Y., “Successfully Specify Three-Phase Separators”, Chem. Eng. Progress, 90(9), 1994, 29-40. Overview:   This   internationally-acclaimed   paper   presents   an algorithmic   method   for   sizing   the   most   economical   three- phase    separator.    Different    approaches,    i.e.    GPSA,    York Demister,   and   Theoretical,   to   estimating   phase   separation velocities   are   included.   The   design   procedure   is   explained by worked examples. 3. Pourahmadi Laleh, A., Svrcek, W.Y., Monnery, W.D., “Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of Pilot-Plant- Scale Two-Phase Separators”, Chemical Engineering and Technology, 34(2), 2011, 296-306. Overview:      Two     computational     fluid     dynamics     (CFD) modeling   approaches,   the   discrete   phase   model   (DPM)   and the   combination   of   volume   of   fluid   (VOF)   and   DPM,   are developed   to   simulate   the   phase   separation   phenomenon   in four   pilot-plant   scale   separators.   The   incipient   vapor   phase velocity,    at    which    liquid    droplet    carryover    occurs,    and separation   efficiency   plots   are   used   as   criteria   for   evaluating the   developed   CFD   models.   The   simulation   results   indicate that   the   VOF-DPM   approach   is   a   substantial   modification   to the    DPM    approach    in    terms    of    the    predicted    separation efficiency    data    and    diagrams.    CFD    simulation    profiles demonstrate   that   all   the   separators   are   essentially   operating at   a   constant   pressure.   The   CFD   results   also   show   that   mist eliminators    may    operate    more    efficiently    in    horizontal separators than in vertical separators. 4. Pourahmadi Laleh, A., Svrcek, W.Y., Monnery, W.D., “Design and CFD Studies of Multiphase Separators-A Review", The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 90(6), 2012, 1547-1560. Overview:     The    literature    on    the    multiphase    separators abounds   with   macro   studies   and   design   methodologies   for two-    and    three-phase    vertical    and    horizontal    separators. There   are   very   few   studies   that   provide   the   micro   details   of the     actual     separation     process.     This     paper     reviews     the important   relevant   literature   for   multiphase   separators   and does    include    the    few    CFD-based    studies    of    multiphase separators.     However,     classic     guidelines     for     design     of multiphase     separators     and     two     academic     experimental research    projects    have    also    been    reviewed.    In    the    classic methods,      vapour–liquid      and      liquid–liquid      separation compartments     are     designed     based     on     droplet     settling theory.    Moreover,    the    retention    time    of    liquid    phase    is selected      based      on      empirical      data      or      heuristics      for establishing   a   safe   and   smooth   operation   of   the   separator and    downstream    equipment.    In    fact,    the    popular    classic methods    for    separator    design,    mostly    due    to    a    lack    of    a usable     mathematical     model     for     estimation     of     phase separation   velocities,   do   result   in   a   conservative   design   and would   specify   extremely   oversized   separators.   In   order   to reflect   the   current   situation   and   address   recent   findings,   this study   reviews   the   important   literature   on   design   and   CFD simulation   of   multiphase   separators.   This   review   shows   the benefits   that   CFD   analyses   can   provide   in   optimising   the design     of     new     separators     and     solving     problems     with existing designs. 5. Pourahmadi Laleh, A., Svrcek, W.Y., Monnery, W.D., “Design Criteria for Oilfield Separators Improved by Computational Fluid Dynamics”, Chemical Engineering and Technology, 35(2), 2012, 323-333. Overview:     Oilfield    separator    data    ranging    from    light-oil conditions   to   heavy-oil   conditions   were   incorporated   into suitable    two-phase    and    three-phase    computational    fluid dynamics   (CFD)   models   to   provide   improved   design   criteria for   separator   design   methods.   The   CFD   simulation   results revealed   that   the   most   important   affecting   parameters   are vapor   density   and   oil   viscosity.   In   contrast   with   the   classic design   methods,   noticeable   residence   times   were   required for   liquid   droplets   to   penetrate   through   the   fluid   interfaces. Moreover,    it    was    indicated    that    the    Abraham    equation should   be   used   instead   of   the   Stokes’   law   in   the   liquid- liquid     separation     calculations.     The     velocity     constraints caused   by   re-entrainment   in   horizontal   separators   were   also studied and led to novel correlations. 6. Pourahmadi Laleh, A., Svrcek, W.Y., Monnery, W.D., “Computational Fluid Dynamics-Based Study of an Oilfield Separator-Part I: A Realistic Simulation", SPE-Oil and Gas Facilities, 1(6), 2012, 57-68. Overview:    A   realistic   CFD   simulation   of   a   field   three-phase separator    has    been    developed.    This    realistic    simulation provides     an     understanding     of     both     microscopic     and macroscopic      features      of      the      three-phase      separation phenomenon.      For      simulation      purposes,      an      efficient combination   of   two   multiphase   models   of   the   commercial CFD   software,   ANSYS   Fluent,   was   implemented.   The   flow- distributing    baffles    and    wire    mesh    demister    were    also modeled    using    the    porous    media    model.    Furthermore,    a useful   approach   to   estimating   the   particle   size   distribution in   oilfield   separators   was   developed.   The   simulated   fluid- flow    profiles    are    realistic    and    the    predicted    separation efficiencies are consistent with oilfield experience. 7. Pourahmadi Laleh, A., Svrcek, W.Y., Monnery, W.D., “Computational Fluid Dynamics-Based Study of an Oilfield Separator-Part II: An Optimum Design", SPE-Oil and Gas Facilities, 2(1), 2013, 52-59. Overview:     This    paper    provides    details    of    comprehensive CFD-based   studies   performed   to   overcome   the   separation inefficiencies     experienced     in     a     large-scale     three-phase separator.   It   is   shown   that   the   classic   design   methods   are   too conservative   and   would   result   in   oversized   separators.   In this     study,     effective     CFD     models     were     developed     to estimate      the      phase-separation      parameters      that      were integrated   into   an   algorithmic   design   method   to   specify   a realistic   optimum   separator.   The   CFD   simulations   indicated that    noticeable    residence    times    are    required    for    liquid droplets    to    penetrate    through    the    interfaces,    and    liquid droplets    would    be    re-entrained    from    the    liquid-liquid interface vicinity by the continuous liquid phase.

Ali P. Laleh, PhD, P.Eng.

To     talk     a     bit     about     myself     and     my professional    passion    here,    I    have    more than   20   years   of   experience   as   a   Process Optimization      and      Research      Engineer, involved    in    rectifying    inefficiencies    of industrial   scale   processes   and   optimizing chemical plants.