Study on Supersonic Dehydration Efficiency of High Pressure Natural Gas

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Supersonic cyclone dewatering technology is a new type of natural gas drainage technology which integrates condensation and separation functions. It has many advantages, such as a simple and compact structure, high reliability, no chemical additives, low investment and maintenance costs.  The supersonic cyclone separator is a new type of natural gas dehydration device that eliminates the disadvantages of traditional dewatering methods.  The natural gas flow process processed in the supersonic cyclone separator is very complex, including the unstable turbulent flow of compressed gas, the gas phase transition process, the gas-liquid cyclone flow process and the gas-liquid separation process.                                                            Novelty presented in the article.                                                          Factors influencing the separation efficiency and improving the separation efficiency of the supersonic cyclone separator were investigated. Discrete particle calculation model was used in numerical calculations. Based on the exact numerical model, the flow field of the supersonic cyclone separator was analyzed, droplet trajectories were predicted, and factors affecting droplet separation efficiency were examined. The effect of drop diameter, gas / liquid surface ratio and the number of blades on drop separation efficiency was investigated.

The substantive content of the work is consistent with other concepts and research results from the same thematic area of ​​sustainable development of the natural gas market. The conclusions reflect the results of the research and are related to the remaining parts of the article. Work in the form presented is printable.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer

Thank you very much for reviewing my manuscript. I am honored that my manuscript can be recognized by you, and I will try my best to make it the best. Thanks again for your review.

Kind regards,

Zhenya Duan

Reviewer 2 Report

The author developed a discrete particle model to study the factors affecting the separation efficiency of the supersonic cyclone separator. The flow field of supersonic cyclone separator was further analyzed and the trajectories of droplets were predicted. The results show some interesting outcomes and the effect of factors considered in this study. I do think this article has potential to be published. However, I have a suggestion to improve the article:

Please insert a proper nomenclature to cover all symbols and abbreviations.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer

Thank you very much for reviewing my manuscript.The comments have been carefully took into account and a new revised submission have been uploaded. We highlighted all the altered passages in light red. Please see the attachment. And all symbols and abbreviations are explained in the article.

Kind regards；

Zhenya Duan

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper is adequate for the aims and topics of the journal and presents a study on high pressure natural gas dehydration process with supersonic gas-liquid separation. Authors applied discrete particle model (DPM) to investigate factors which affects the separation efficiency on the supersonic cyclone separator. The manuscript consider the flow field in a supersonic cyclone separator and the predicts trajectories of droplets. This research focused on factors affecting droplets separation and presents a method for optimization of the supersonic cyclone separator general structure.

I believe the authors set the foundation for a good piece of work. However, in its current form, this paper has a number of key issues which need to be addressed. While I understand that the analysis is formed of distinct components, greater care can be taken to link the discussion between different sections. I will highlight a few occasions where this is the case.

Anyway, the literature review is good but can be extended (please consider https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2017.03.017).

English should be corrected by native.

Line 28 natural gas (as a source)

Line 29, 40, 363, 376 development of natural gas …(as an energy source ,as a fuel)?

Line 54 Centrifugal force is produced – I thing “caused”

Line 74-76 (rewrite sentence)

Line 82 natural gas

Line 68 Units – kPa (not KPa), please consider SI (consequently) i.e. °C (in paper there are K and °C), Pa (instead of bar), µm (instead microns)

Editorial mistakes (lines) 33, 36, 37, 39, 44, 54, 56, 57, 63, 69, 70, 81, 82, 195, 197, 287

Conclusions are supported by the achieved findings. Results presented in the paper should be compared with the ones of the cited literature.

In general, the quality of the figures is good.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Thank you for reviewing my manuscript.The comments have been carefully took into account and a new revised submission have been uploaded. We highlighted all the altered passages in light red. Please see the attachment.

Kind regards;

Zhenya Duan

Author Response File: Author Response.docx