Patent ID: 7303733

Claim:
An apparatus comprising a separation vessel ( 200 ) having a gas flow outlet line and a liquid phase outlet line, and having three different sections: a primary separator ( 1 ) for flows with a G/L in the range of 0.1 to 10 having a first gas/liquid inlet and a first outlet; a secondary separator ( 2 ) for flows with a G/L in the range of 10 to 50 having a second gas/liquid inlet and a second outlet; a system which limits the formation of a liquid vortex ( 3 ); where G/L is the ratio of the gas to liquid mass flow rates, wherein the secondary separator ( 2 ) further comprises a cyclone and said second gas/liquid inlet is a free tangential inlet ( 6 ), the free tangential inlet ( 6 ) having a rectangular cross section, and the ratio of the width to the length of this cross section being in the range of 0.2 to 0.6.