Desanding

Desanding is the process of removing sand and other dense particulates from a fluid stream to protect equipment, improve process efficiency, and reduce sediment-related issues in pipelines, separators, and processing plants. It is widely used in the oil and gas industry, water treatment, and dredging operations.

In oil and gas, desanding targets solids carried with produced fluids, crude, or gas. Inline desanders, hydrocyclones, and sand separators are employed to settle or centrifugally separate sand before critical machinery such as pumps, compressors, valves, and processing units. In water treatment, desanding basins and desanders remove entrained sediment from raw water prior to filtration or disinfection, helping to extend media life and reduce abrasive wear.

Common technologies include hydrocyclones (desanders), which use centrifugal forces to separate sand from the fluid; gravity-based sand traps and settling tanks; mechanical filters such as bag or cartridge filters; and centrifuges in higher throughputs or finer separation tasks. In some marine or dredging contexts, desanders are used downstream of dredges to recover or dispose of sandy material.

Key design factors are flow rate, solids concentration, sand size distribution, and acceptable pressure drop. Performance is assessed by solids removal efficiency, downstream wear reduction, and the resulting maintenance requirements. Regular maintenance includes cleaning or replacing filters, emptying sand collection points, and monitoring for channeling or fouling.

Disposal or handling of collected sand and any wash liquids is an environmental consideration, as is energy consumption associated with pumping and separation. Desanding systems are typically integrated with upstream separation, filtration, or treatment trains to ensure reliability and extend asset life.