he relationship of vessel diameter and length is given by Eq. 7.

RTENOTITLE ................(7)
where
tro = oil retention time, minutes
trw = water-retention time, minutes
Qo = oil flow rate, B/D
Qw = water flow rate, B/D
Fl = fraction of vessel cross-sectional area filled by liquid.
Vertical vessels
Similarly for vertical vessels, the relationship of vessel diameter and liquid p
ad heights is given by Eq. 8.
RTENOTITLE ................(8)
where
ho = oil pad height, in.
hw = water pad height, in.
Demister sizing
As discussed previously, many types of demisters are limited by a maximum veloci
ty given by
RTENOTITLE ................(9)
where
Kd = demister capacity factor, ft/sec and depends upon the demister type
Vm = maximum velocity, ft/sec
?L = liquid density, lbm/ft3
?g = gas density, lbm/ft3
For horizontal vessels, the required demister area (Ad) is given by
RTENOTITLE ................(10)
RTENOTITLE ................(11)
For vertical vessels, Eq. 11 is also valid. The vessel diameter is then obtained
as
RTENOTITLE ................(12)
For demisters (horizontal or vertical vessels) sealed in a gas box, in addition
to the demister area, some height must be maintained between the bottom of the d
emister and the highest liquid level for the demister to drain. A pressure drop
exists across the demister. If the liquid level is too high, the demister will n
ot drain, and liquid siphoning can occur. A small hole is sometimes drilled into
the drainpipe as a siphon breaker.
When using settling theory or demister sizing in horizontal vessels, one should
also consider the gas velocity for re-entrainment. Too high of a gas velocity wi
ll result in liquid re-entrainment from the liquid surface, which may flood the
demister and cause carryover. Typical gas velocities for re-entrainment are show
n in Table 2.

Table 2
Seam to seam length
Horizontal Vessels
The seam-to-seam length, Lss, for the horizontal vessel should be determined fro
m the geometry once a diameter and effective length have been determined. Length
must be allotted for inlet devices, gas demisters, and coalescers. For screenin
g purposes, the following approximations can be used.
RTENOTITLE ................(13)
The ratio of length to diameter is typically in the 3 to 5 range.
Vertical vessels