A scrubber is a two-phase separator (similar to fig. 2-9) that is designed to recover liquids carried over from the gas outlets of production separators or to catch liquids condensed due to cooling or pressure drops. Liquid loading in a scrubber is much lower than that in a separator. Typical applications include: upstream of mechanical equipment such as compressors that could be damaged, destroyed or rendered ineffective by free liquid; downstream of equipment that can cause liquids to condense from a gas stream (such as coolers); upstream of gas dehydration equipment that would lose efficiency, be damaged, or be destroyed if contaminated with liquid hydrocarbons; and upstream of a vent or flare outlet. Vertical scrubbers are most commonly used. Horizontal scrubbers can be used, but space limitations usually dictate the use of a vertical configuration.
