Sand Trap/KnockOut

Rendering of a sand trap
Cyclonic Sand Trap
Rendering of a Gravity Sand trap
Rendering of a spherical sand trap
Vertical Separator outside
sand traps
sand traps lined up

The need for solids removal before initial separation has grown with the increase of hydraulic fracturing across U.S. shale basins. RBI Sand Traps and Knockouts protect customer investments in production and processing equipment by reducing the damaging effects of solids on piping and vessels. RBI offers two types of sand traps/knockout separation equipment, the Striker Plate and Cyclonic.

The Striker Plate Sand Separator is a gravity sand trap with a reinforced striker plate installed at the point where the produced fluid first enters the trap. The Striker Plate is designed to absorb the impact of the incoming flow, particularly the sand particles, and help prevent damage to the vessel’s internal components from repeated strikes.

The Cyclonic Sand Trap is a pressurized vessel used to separate sand from liquid. This unit can also be used for the flow back of effluent-containing proppant following fracture treatment.

A Spherical Sand Trap or Sand Separator is a vessel designed to separate sand and other heavy solids from well fluids. Unlike standard sand traps, it does not use a cylindrical shell. Instead, its spherical design provides a user-friendly and accessible approach while also increasing gas capacity.

Specifications

Vertical Striker Plate / Vertical Cyclonic

Size Range: 12″ to 60″

Skid: Built to AWS D1.1 Specifications

Certification: Built to ASME Section VIII, Div 1 or 2 and National Board Registered

Drawing of a Gravity Sand trap
Cyclonic Sand Trap Drawing

Specifications

Spherical Sand Trap / Sand Separator

Built To ASME Section VIII, Div 1 or 2 and National Board Registered

Size Range:
60-in. ID x 3,000 – 10,000 PSI
48-in. ID × 3,000 – 10,000 PSI
36-in. ID × 3,000 – 10,000 PSI

Piping Per Customer Specifications

Pressure relief valve Per Customer Specifications

Drawing of a spherical sand trap

Applications

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Drilling

Icon showing flow back in oil and gas

Flow Back

permanent oil rig icon

Production

Features

Facilitates separation of heavy particulate from gas and liquid

Works with multi-phase operations (addition of gas phase may reduce throughput capacity)

Discharges sand through bottom of vessel through controlled choke or manual or actuated valve

Production Benefits

  • Striker Plate and Cyclonic Sand Traps have a notably long life and lower cost. They provide good separation across a wide range of flow regimes and operating pressures.

  • Striker Plate and Cyclonic Sand Traps have no moving parts and can last years with proper inspection and maintenance.

  • Striker Plate and Cyclonic Sand Traps perform well in dry flow and moist conditions when they encounter water slugs and in very wet flow back conditions.

  • Spherical Sand Traps offer greater cross-sectional area and internal baffling lead to lower flow velocities and improved sand removal.

  • Spherical Sand Traps offer larger sand holding capacity, which equates to less frequent sand dumping.

  • Spherical Sand Traps allow wells to be flowed back and produced at higher flow rates.

Learn more about our sand traps

Watch our video to learn more about the functionality and efficiency of our Sand Traps. Our partners at Oilfield Logic give an in-depth overview of our products on-site.

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