Eyectores

Ordinariamente cuando uno se refiere a los aparatos de chorro se acostumbra usar el trmino "eyector "
que cubre todos los tipos de bombas de chorro que no cuentan con partes mviles, que utilizan fluidos en
movimiento bajo condiciones controladas y que descargan a una presin intermedia entre las presiones
del fluido motor y de succin. El eyector a chorro de vapor es el aparato ms simple que hay para extraer
el aire, gases o vapores de los condensadores y de los equipos que operan a vaco en los procesos
industriales. Es un tipo simplificado de bomba de vaco o compresor, sin partes mviles, como vlvulas,
pistones, rotores, etc. Su funcionamiento est dado por el principio de conservacin de la cantidad de
movimiento de las corrientes involucradas.
Los eyectores o bombas de chorros, son mquinas cuyo trabajo se basa en la transmisin de energa por
impacto de un chorro fluido a gran velocidad, contra otro fluido en movimiento o en reposo, para
proporcionar una mezcla de fluido a una velocidad moderadamente elevada, que luego disminuye hasta
obtener una presin final mayor que la inicial del fluido de menor velocidad.

Los eyectores se emplean muy comnmente para extraer gases de los espacios donde se hace vaco, por
ejemplo, en los condensadores, en los sistemas de evaporacin, en torres de destilacin al vaco y en los
sistemas de refrigeracin, donde los gases extrados son generalmente incondensables, tales como el
aire. Aunque tambin se usan en el mezclado de corrientes como por ejemplo en los procesos de
sulfitacin en ingenios azucareros.
Los intervalos tpicos del vaco producido por lo diferentes arreglos de eyectores son los siguientes:

Vaco que es capaz de proporcionar

pulg Hg
26
29.3
29.9
Un eyector no es ms que una combinacin de tobera con un difusor, acoplado convenientemente en un
mismo equipo y est formado, en general, por cinco partes como se muestra en la figura:
Fuente:
http://www.kinetic-therm.com/anglais/produit/ejec-termo-vacc/ejec-termo-vacc.htm
La tobera permite la expansin de la corriente o fluido motriz (tambin llamado primario o actuante) hasta
un estado con alta velocidad. La cmara de eyeccin incluye la seccin de entrada de la corriente o fluido
eyectado (tambin llamado secundario); en esta cmara, el fluido eyectado es arrastrado por el fluido
motriz. La cmara de mezcla permite el mezclado ntimo entre los fluidos motriz y eyectado, lo que implica
la aceleracin del fluido eyectado y la desaceleracin del fluido mezclado (mezcla del motriz y el
eyectado), con el consiguiente aumento de presin.
De acuerdo al fluido motriz el eyector, se denomina: de vapor, cuando lo que circula por su interior es
vapor de agua o hidrulico, cuando su fluido motriz es agua.
Los clculos para el diseo de un eyector son engorrosos (ocurren tres procesos distintos: expansin,
compresin y mezclado, por lo que hay mtodos especficos para cada tipo de eyector), el mismo consiste
en determinar las longitudes de la tobera, el difusor y la cmara de mezcla, as como las reas de flujo y
sus ngulos. Una vez diseado el equipo, el mismo debe operar a las condiciones estacionarias para las
cuales se dise y el clculo fundamental es el del coeficiente de eyeccin o relacin de arrastre:
coeficiente de eyeccin = flujo motor / flujo arrastrado
Con el objetivo de aumentar la capacidad de arrastre del eyector y disminuir la presin en la succin, se
pueden utilizar sistemas de eyectores, en cuyo caso entre eyector y eyector se acopla un condensador
baromtrico.
Ventajas
Son de diseo simple con gran flexibilidad, fciles de construir, ocupan poco espacio, son fciles de
manejar, confiables.
Su costo de mantenimiento (no necesita lubricacin, ni se desgasta) es bajo, no tienen partes mviles

como vlvulas, pistones, rotores, etc. y las sustituciones de piezas o partes son poco frecuentes (los ms
comunes son de toberas de acero inoxidable y de cmara y difusor de hierro fundido, los materiales
cambian segn su uso), y bajo costo de servicio o operacin.
No necesita cimentacin y puede ser sujetado conectando las tuberas.
Desventajas
Su costo operacional es relativamente alto debido al consumo de fluido motor, generalmente vapor. En
este caso utiliza vapor tomado directamente de los generadores (alta presin), el que, despus de
expandirse, mezclarse y comprimirse es totalmente condensado, descargndose al pozo baromtrico con
prdidas de todo su calor latente. Sobre base anual el costo de operacin es generalmente mayor que el
costo inicial del equipo, de aqu que su rendimiento econmico sea bajo.
Tienen una baja eficacia mecnica y falta de flexibilidad para las variaciones de las condiciones de
operacin.
3. Clasificacin
De acuerdo con las condiciones mantenidas en la cmara de mezcla se clasifican en dos tipos, de
seccin que permite mantener la presin constante y con seccin de rea constante.
Dadas sus ventajosas caractersticas de construccin, operacin, instalacin, mantenimiento y costo, las
bombas de chorro han encontrado una vasta aplicacin en la industria, desarrollndose constantemente
nuevos usos para los mismos. Esta variedad de aplicaciones ha originado a su vez una nueva
terminologa que describe grupos de aparatos con caractersticas especificas como sigue:
Eyector: Cubre todos los tipos de bombas de chorro descargando a una presin entre las presiones motriz
y de succin.
Inyector: Usa un gas condensable para introducir o aspirar un liquido y descargar contra una presin
mayor que cualquiera de las de succin o motriz. En la actualidad est restringido a los alimentadores de
las calderas de vapor.
Sifn: Es una bomba de chorro para liquido que usa vapor como fluido motriz.
Eductor: Bomba de chorro para liquido que usa un liquido como fluido motor.
Extractor: Bomba de chorro para gas que utiliza un liquido o un gas como fluido motriz.
Soplador de chorro: Bomba de chorro para gas que bombea gases contra presiones diferenciales muy
bajas.
Compresor de chorro: Bomba de chorro para gas usada para levantar la presin de gases.
Lavador de gas: Para bombear aire y gases contra presiones diferenciales muy bajas usando un liquido
como fluido motor. Son llamados tambin "lavadores de vapor, aspirador de humos o absorbedores de
vapores" y se usan para lavar gases, as como vapores y emanaciones molestas.
Termocompresor: Para comprimir un vapor utilizando como fluido motriz vapor.
4. Termocompresores

Leer ms: http://www.monografias.com/trabajos10/eyec/eyec.shtml#ixzz3XIOTqMKz

Eyector-Termocompresor
Un eyector es esencialmente una bomba fluido-fluido que no tiene pistones, vlvulas,
rotores ni otras piezas mviles y funciona por transferencia de impulso del fluido
primario (alta presin) al fluido secundario aspirado (baja presin).

El principio operativo bsico de un eyector es convertir la presin en velocidad. Esto

ocurre mediante una expansin adiabtica de vapor motriz a travs de una tobera
convergente / divergente desde la presin motriz hasta la presin aspiracin. El
resultado es una velocidad supersnica a la salida de la tobera. Generalmente se
alcanzan velocidades de Mach 3 o 4.
En operacin, el vapor motriz se expande hasta una presin por debajo de la presin de
aspiracin. Esto crea una depresin que introduce la carga de aspiracin en el eyector.
El vapor motriz a alta velocidad se mezcla con el caudal aspirado. Segn esta mezcla
entra en el difusor convergente / divergente, la velocidad se transforma en presin. La
seccin convergente del difusor reduce la velocidad, en la garganta del difusor se
produce el choque de presin y en la seccin divergente del difusor se aumenta el rea
transversal al flujo y la velocidad va convirtindose en energa de presin.
Los sistemas de eyectores pueden operar en un intervalo muy amplio de condiciones,
desde cargas muy ligeras hasta cargas por encima del valor de diseo. Un sistema de
eyectores debe adaptarse de forma estable a todas las condiciones de operacin que
puedan anticiparse. Resulta esencial para una operacin estable la determinacin en el
diseo de las cargas de no condensables y ligeros.
Principales caractersticas:

Son bombas fluido dinmicas que permiten alcanzar medio y alto vaco.

Carecen de partes mviles.

No precisan mantenimiento.

Trabajan con todo tipo de fluidos.

Fiabilidad en el funcionamiento durante aos.

Instalacin en cualquier posicin.

Aplicaciones:

Produccin de medio y alto vaco.

Recompresin de vapor y extraccin de gases.

Aspiracin de lquidos, soluciones, lodos

Mezcla y agitacin.

Saturacin de vapor.

--

Injector
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Injector (disambiguation) and Ejector (disambiguation).

Diagram of a typical modern ejector.

Exhaust Steam Injector

An injector, ejector, steam ejector, steam injector, eductor-jet pump or

thermocompressor is a type of pump. There are two varieties of injector, non-lifting
and lifting.
The non-lifting injector cold water input is fed by gravity. It uses the principle of
induced current (Impulse (physics)) to push water up to the boiler check valve. It avoids
the premature boiling of feed water at very low absolute pressure, by avoiding the
Venturi effect. The steam cone minimum orifice diameter is kept larger than the
combining cone minimum diameter. [1] The non-lifting Nathan 4000 injector used on the
Southern Pacific 4294 could push 12,000 gallons per hour at 250 psi.[2]
The lifting injector uses the Venturi effect of a converging-diverging nozzle to convert
the pressure energy of a motive fluid to velocity energy which creates a low pressure
zone that draws in and entrains a suction fluid. After passing through the throat of the
injector, the mixed fluid expands and the velocity is reduced which results in
recompressing the mixed fluids by converting velocity energy back into pressure
energy. The motive fluid may be a liquid, steam or any other gas. The entrained suction
fluid may be a gas, a liquid, a slurry, or a dust-laden gas stream.[3][4]
The adjacent diagram depicts a typical modern injector. It consists of a motive fluid
inlet nozzle and a converging-diverging outlet nozzle. Water, air, steam, or any other
fluid at high pressure provides the motive force at the inlet.
The Venturi effect is a particular case of Bernoulli's principle. Fluid under high pressure
is converted into a high-velocity jet at the throat of the convergent-divergent nozzle

which creates a low pressure at that point. The low pressure draws the suction fluid into
the convergent-divergent nozzle where it mixes with the motive fluid.
In essence, the pressure energy of the inlet motive fluid is converted to kinetic energy in
the form of velocity head at the throat of the convergent-divergent nozzle. As the mixed
fluid then expands in the divergent diffuser, the kinetic energy is converted back to
pressure energy at the diffuser outlet in accordance with Bernoulli's principle. Steam
locomotives use injectors to pump water into the steam-producing boiler and some of
the steam is used as the injector's motive fluid. Such steam injectors take advantage of
condensation of the motive steam resulting from the mixing with cold feed water.
Depending on the specific application, an injector can take the form of an eductor-jet
pump, a water eductor, a vacuum ejector, a steam-jet ejector, or an aspirator.

Key design parameters[edit]

The compression ratio of the injector,

, is defined as ratio of the injectors's outlet
pressure
to the inlet pressure of the suction fluid .
The entrainment ratio of the injector,
, is defined as the amount of motive fluid
(in kg/h) required to entrain and compress a given amount
(in kg/h) of suction
fluid.
The compression ratio and the entrainment ratio are key parameters in designing an
injector or ejector.
History[edit]

A- Steam from boiler, B- Needle valve, C- Needle valve handle, D- Steam and
water combine, E- Water feed, F- Combining cone, G- Delivery nozzle and
cone, H- delivery chamber and pipe, K- Check valve, L- Overflow

A more modern drawing of the injector used in steam locomotives.

Steam injector of a steam locomotive boiler.

The injector was invented by a Frenchman, Henri Giffard in 1858[5] and patented in the
United Kingdom by Messrs Sharp Stewart & Co. of Glasgow. Motive force is provided
at the inlet by a suitable high-pressure fluid.
Feedwater injectors[edit]
The injector was originally used in the boilers of steam locomotives for injecting or
pumping the boiler feedwater into the boiler.
Cones[edit]

The injector consists of a body containing a series of three or more nozzles, "cones" or
"tubes". The motive steam passes through a nozzle that reduces its pressure below
atmospheric and increases the steam velocity. Fresh water is entrained by the steam jet,
and both steam and water enter a convergent "combining cone" which mixes them
thoroughly so that the water condenses the steam, releasing the latent heat of
evaporation of the steam. This raises the heat of the feed water but also imparts extra
velocity to the mixture. The condensate mixture then enters a divergent "delivery cone"
which slows down the jet, and because of the additional energy thus imparted, builds up
the pressure to above that of the boiler.[6]
Overflow[edit]

An overflow is required for excess steam or water to discharge, especially during

starting; if the injector cannot initially overcome boiler pressure, the overflow allows
the injector to continue to draw water and steam.

Check valve[edit]

There is at least one check valve (called a "clack valve" in locomotives because of the
distinctive noise it makes [6]) between the exit of the injector and the boiler to prevent
back flow, and usually a valve to prevent air being sucked in at the overflow.
Initial skepticism and advantages over mechanical feed pumps[edit]

After some initial skepticism resulting from the unfamiliar and superficially paradoxical
mode of operation, the injector was widely adopted as an alternative to mechanical
pumps in steam-driven locomotives. The addition of heat to the flow of water lessens
the effect of the injected water in cooling the water in the boiler compared to the case of
cold water injected via a mechanical feed pump. Most of the heat energy in the
condensed steam is therefore returned to the boiler, increasing the thermal efficiency of
the process. Injectors are therefore thermally efficient; they are also simple compared to
the many moving parts in a feed pump.
Additionally, the amount of water supplied by a mechanical feed pump cannot easily be
adjusted; hence a feed pump must be able to supply the maximum demand for water,
but then will overfill the boiler at all other times, so an overflow must be installed
returning the high-pressure water to the pump's intake. If the feed pump is attached to
the motion of the locomotive, it naturally provides water at a rate proportional to the
locomotive's speed, which reduces this problem but then means the boiler cannot be
refilled when stationary. Traction engines often use feed pumps and can disconnect the
motion from the road wheels, and can be seen stationary with their flywheels turning in
order to refill their boilers. [6]
Exhaust steam injector[edit]

Efficiency was further improved by the development of a multi-stage injector which is

powered not by live steam from the boiler but by exhaust steam from the cylinders,
thereby making use of the residual energy in the exhaust steam which would otherwise
have gone to waste. However, an exhaust injector also cannot work when the
locomotive is stationary; later exhaust injectors could use a supply of live steam if no
exhaust steam was available.
Problems[edit]

Injectors can be troublesome under certain running conditions, when vibration caused
the combined steam and water jet to "knock off". Originally the injector had to be
restarted by careful manipulation of the steam and water controls, and the distraction
caused by a malfunctioning injector was largely responsible for the 1913 Ais Gill rail
accident. Later injectors were designed to automatically restart on sensing the collapse
in vacuum from the steam jet, for example with a spring-loaded delivery cone.
Another common problem occurs when the incoming water is too warm and is less
effective at condensing the steam in the combining cone. This can also occur if the
metal body of the injector is too hot, e.g. from prolonged use.
Vacuum ejectors[edit]
An additional use for the injector technology is in vacuum ejectors in continuous train
braking systems, which were made compulsory in the UK by the Regulation of
Railways Act 1889. A vacuum ejector uses steam pressure to draw air out of the vacuum
pipe and reservoirs of continuous train brake. Steam locomotives, with a ready source of
steam, found ejector technology ideal with its rugged simplicity and lack of moving
parts. A steam locomotive usually has two ejectors: a large ejector for releasing the
brakes when stationary and a small ejector for maintaining the vacuum against leaks.
The small ejector is sometimes replaced by a reciprocating pump driven from the
crosshead because this is more economical of steam.

Vacuum brakes have been superseded by air brakes in modern trains, which use pumps,
as diesel and electric locomotives no longer have a suitable working fluid for vacuum
ejectors.

Ejectors

Home Energy Efficiency Practices Compendium Ejectors

Sectors:
Downstream
Sectors:
Upstream
Gas ejectors offer a reliable technology for recovering waste or surplus gas to prevent emissions whilst
simultaneously conserving energy. Gas ejectors use high-pressure (HP) gas to safely and economically
compress flare, vent, and surplus or low-pressure (LP) gas. When utilizing HP motive gas from existing
sources, ejectors (also called eductors or jet pumps) have no running costs.
An ejector is based upon Bernoullis Principle which states: When the speed of a fluid increases its
pressure decreases and vice versa. The ejector uses a converging nozzle to increase the fluid velocity to
transform high static pressure into velocity pressure. This conversion of static pressure to velocity pressure
results in a low pressure zone that provides the motive force to entrain a side fluid. The mixed fluid then
flows through a diffuser section comprising a diverging nozzle that then reduces the velocity and increases
the pressure, thereby re-compressing the mixed fluid. Figure 1 shows the basic components of an ejector
designed for use with gas.

A gas ejector has three connection points: one for the high pressure gas; one for the low pressure gas;
and one for the discharge. There is a nozzle designed to mix the two incoming streams by converting the
pressure energy of the high pressure fluid into kinetic energy. The venturi shape towards the discharge
end is the diffuser, which slows the mixture down and thereby increases its pressure. This enables the
ejector to discharge at a pressure that is greater than that of the low suction branch. The ejector is thus
capable of compressing or boosting the pressure of the entrained fluid.

Figure 1: Illustration of an ejector

This equipment has many different applications, discussed below.

1. Ejector flare gas recovery system

System designs in which the flare gas is compressed into the fuel gas system are common. The ejector
system should be designed to avoid creating a vacuum in the flare gas line to ensure safe operation.

Figure 2: Illustration of ejector flare gas recovery system

Benefits

Waste gas is recovered and added to production.

There is a potential reduction in carbon or flare tax liability, where applicable.

2. Restart of dead wells

This equipment can be used to restart production of existing low pressure wells which have been shut in
for years due to high back-pressure. If a suitable HP well is available nearby, the pressure energy that is
normally wasted across a choke could be used to drive an ejector to entrain the gas from the LP well,
thereby bringing it back into production, even at times of high demand. Gas production is therefore
increased.

Figure 3: Illustration of restart of dead wells ejector application

3. Boosting production
Gas ejector technology can also be used to boost production. Indeed, in some cases an increase in
production is not possible without adding another compressor. Nevertheless, by using an ejector in the
recycle line of the existing compressor, the manifold pressure of the wells is reduced and thus production
is boosted. The increase in production can reach up to 15% as a function of well performance.

Figure 4: Illustration gas ejector application to boost production

Benefits

Cost savings relative to 2nd stage compression option.

Gas ejector solution is much faster to put in place than 2nd stage compression.

Ejector internals can be easily replaced to maximize production throughout the field life (continual
reduction of well pressure).

4. Gas recovery from storage tanks

Ejectors can be used to recover gas that is vaporized due to working losses from storage tanks (which
occur when crude level changes and when crude is agitated in tanks) and standing losses (which occur
with daily and seasonal changes in temperature and barometric pressure). The ejector system must be
designed to avoid creating a vacuum in the storage tank vent line.

Figure 5: Illustration of gas recovery from storage tanks

Technology maturity
Commercially available?:
Yes
Offshore viability:
Yes
Brownfield retrofit?:
Yes

Key metrics
Range of application:
Large range of applications. Can generate up to 34 Mscfd of extra gas from shut-in wells.
Efficiency:
Increase in production up to 15%
Guideline capital costs:
Investment costs Involved: relatively low compared to other vacuum technologies.
Guideline operational costs:
No moving parts so virtually maintenance free.
Typical scope of work description:
The scope of work begins with the collection of application data. These data are critical to the proper
selection and application of the technology. The basic information to be collected includes mass flow and
physical properties of each component in the entrained gas stream, together with the temperature and
pressure conditions for the high pressure and entrained fluid streams, as well as the discharge conditions.

The scope of work must also include the design of the piping systems and valves, bypass lines, and other
ancillary instrumentation.

Decision drivers
Technical:
Presence of high pressure motive fluid.
Technical:
Need to boost production.
Technical:
Need to restart dead wells.
Technical:
Installation time (gas ejector solution is much faster to put in place than 2nd stage compression).
Technical:
Feasible as an alternative to compressor installations (e.g. where there is a lack of space, no available
power, or where there are cost constraints).
Operational:
Low disruption in existing plant operations.
Operational:
Requires a stable suction pressure to ensure reliable operation; this can be achieved in some cases
through the recycle gas stream (see the section on Operational issues/risks, below).
Commercial:
Relatively low costs mean project upgrades become cost-effective.
Environmental:
Reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint through efficiency / production rate improvements.
Environmental:
High GHG reduction potential when used in flare gas recovery applications.
Alternative technologies
The following technologies can provide similar benefits and may be considered as alternatives to ejector
technology:

Compressors

Vapour recovery units

Operational issues/risks
Flare gas flow rate variability is common. If this variation is not controlled, the suction pressure created by
the gas ejector will also vary. In order to maintain the desired pressure on the low-pressure side of the gas
ejector, some standard control techniques are available including the following:

Recycling of gas from the discharge side of the gas ejector back into the low pressure side.

Incorporation of an integral HP gas regulating assembly which varies the motive fluid consumed.

Table 1: Troubleshooting tips steam jet ejectors

Observed problem
1.

2.

Poor ejector
performance,
unstable operation,
pressure swings

Problem source
1.

Lower than design

motive gas pressure

Corrective measure
1a.

Raise motive gas pressure to

the minimum specified by the
ejector manufacturer

1b.

Bore the motive nozzle to a

larger diameter to permit
design gas consumption.
Consult with manufacturer to
determine proper nozzle
diameter.

Reduced ejector
capacity and an
increase in suction
pressure

2a.

Higher than design

motive gas pressure

2a.

Reduce motive gas pressure to

specified pressure

2b.

Wasted gas
consumption

2b.

Purchase new nozzles with

smaller diameters designed for
the higher motive gas pressure

Poor ejector
performance,
unstable operation,
pressure swings

3.

Higher than design

gas temperature

3a.

Raise motive gas pressure

3b.

Bore the motive nozzle to a

larger diameter to permit
increased gas consumptionconsult with manufacturer to
determine proper nozzle
diameter

4.

Low ejector
discharge
temperature

4.

Reduced ejector
capacity

4.

The motive gas may have

condensate, therefore, piping
must be insulated and a liquid
drop-out added in the motive
gas line just before the ejector

5.

Higher than design

discharge pressure

5.

Poor ejector
5.
performance, unstable
operation, pressure
swings

Look downstream for problems

that could be:
a) an inter-condenser problem
b) an ejector problem
c) a restriction in the discharge
piping
d) non-condensible gas load is
above the design rating
pressure

6.

Higher than design 6.

suction pressure
(assuming motive
gas pressure is
normal and discharge
pressure is equal to
or less than design)

Greater than design 6a.

process load or
mechanical problems
with ejectorseither
6b.
worn internals or
possible internal gas
leak around nozzle

Inspect internal dimensions

and replace if necessary

3.

Tighten nozzle if necessary or

seal weld nozzle to motive gas
supply line

threads

Opportunities/business case
LP/LLP gas compression:

Increasing gas production

Restarting shut-in wells due to high export-pressures

Reducing tendency of wells to load with condensate

Increasing total field recovery

In the oil and gas industry typical 'motive' HP fluids are:

HP wells

Gas compression &and recycle

Export oil or gas

Fuel gas

Injection water

Gas or liquid from 1st or 2nd stage separator

Injection or lift gas

Advantages of ejectors compared with mechanical compressors:

No moving parts, hence low maintenance requirement

No running costs ejectors can use HP gas energy traditionally wasted across a choke valve or
HP recycle gas from an existing compressor

Relatively low costs mean project upgrades using ejectors become cost-effective

Environmentally friendly option

Fast-track installation makes short-term well opportunities viable

Minimal disruption to existing production operations

Low weight and compact size allow installation on most production facilities

Performance can be easily modified to suit depleting well conditions

Ejectors are suitable for both topside and subsea installation

Safe, reliable operation

Easy to control using standard techniques

Accidental entrainment of liquid slugs may cause momentary interruption in pumping, but no
damage to equipment.

Low noise

Industry case studies

The case study described below provides an overview of the kind of issues that may occur during ejector
implementation.
The project consisted of evaluating the benefits of installing an ejector, with Well 5 as motive fluid, and
Well 1 and Well 3 as entrained fluid. The justifications for an ejector rather than a booster compressor in
this particular case were:

The platform has no power to run an electrical compressor.

It is unmanned so rotating machines are avoided.

A gas-engine driven compressor would have been detrimental to the environment and incur the
additional costs of gas consumption.

The ejector is a small device with no moving parts.

The ejector is driven by an existing force (Well 5).

Costs were driven by piping works offshore and associated production losses. One major expectation was
the frequent change out of the ejector internals to cope with the decline of the production.

Important remark
The expected behaviour of each of the wells in question was difficult to forecast because:

Well 5 was newly developed with no historical data.

Well 1 stopped producing after four years due to a water cross-flow from the bottom reservoir to
the top reservoir that took some time to shut off.

Well 3 was killed by too much formation water production after 3 years.

Figure 6: Illustration of industrial example of ejector use

Implementation of the ejector

The efficiency of an ejector increases with the differential between motive fluid and entrained fluid in terms

of flow rate and pressure. For this reason the project had to be implemented quickly in anticipation of the
decline of Well 5. The project was performed within eight months.
Additional dynamic information from Well 5 was gained. A redesign of the ejector was performed with the
additional constraint of respecting the initial spacial footprint which was already fixed.
Results
The ejector was effective in reducing the wellhead pressures of Well 1 and Well 3 as planned but,
unfortunately, the 20 bars reduction was insufficient to restart either of the two wells. The ejector was a
technical success but the candidate wells did not respond as expected.
Well 1 was dewatered by means of nitrogen injection, after which it was opened with the ejector and
restarted. After six months, the output was three times higher and production has been stable with the well
operating on its own.
Subsequently, the ejector was connected to another well on the platform Well 4 where it was used
successfully to stabilize and increase production. Thanks to the ejector, this previously dead well was
restarted successfully.
For Well 1, the costs of the ejector installation and the nitrogen lifting operation were paid back between
six months and one year after production was restarted. The internals of the ejector are changeable and
the main part can be reused in a future project after the decline of Well 5.
Due to the success of this ejector, it has become established as a technology that is investigated
systematically for each new project. The installation of an ejector is also a major stepping stone to other
innovative projects such as wellhead compressors (subsea R&D).

References:
1. Transvac Ejector Technology (2010). Ejector solutions for the oil & gas industry.
2. Graham Corporation (website). Troubleshooting TipsSteam Jet Ejectors
3. Graham Corporation (2000). Lessons from the fieldejector systems
4. EPA (2009). Installing Vapor Recovery Units: Lessons Learned from the Natural Gas STAR Program'.
Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, Charleston, West Virginia, February 2009.