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

Applications

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Drilling

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FlowBack

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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.

Sand Traps/Knockouts FAQ

Sand traps and knockouts are solids-removal vessels that protect production and processing equipment from the damaging effects of sand and other heavy particulate in the well stream. The need for solids removal before initial separation has grown significantly with the rise of hydraulic fracturing across U.S. shale basins, making these vessels a critical first line of defense for piping and downstream equipment.

RBI offers three types of sand trap and knockout equipment.

  • The Striker Plate Sand Separator is a gravity sand trap with a reinforced striker plate at the inlet that absorbs the impact of incoming flow and protects internal vessel components.
  • The Cyclonic Sand Trap is a pressurized vessel that separates sand from liquid and can also handle flowback of effluent containing proppant following fracture treatment.
  • The Spherical Sand Trap uses a spherical rather than cylindrical design to provide greater cross-sectional area, lower flow velocities, improved sand removal and a larger sand-holding capacity.

Vertical Striker Plate and Cyclonic units range from 12″ to 60″ in diameter, are built to ASME Section VIII Div. 1 or 2, and are National Board Registered, with skids built to AWS D1.1 specifications. Spherical Sand Traps are available in 36″, 48″ and 60″ inside diameter at pressure ratings from 3,000 to 10,000 PSI, also built to ASME Section VIII Div. 1 or 2 and National Board Registered.

RBI sand traps are suited for drilling, flowback and production operations. The Striker Plate and Cyclonic designs perform well across a wide range of flow regimes, including dry flow, moist conditions and very wet flowback and have no moving parts, giving them a notably long service life with proper inspection and maintenance. Spherical Sand Traps are particularly well-suited for wells that need to be flowed back and produced at higher flow rates.

RBI Sand Traps/Knockouts are installed across major U.S. producing basins and shale plays, including the Anadarko Basin (SCOOP, STACK), Permian Basin (Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, Spraberry), Williston Basin (Bakken), Appalachian Basin (Marcellus, Utica), DJ Basin (Niobrara), Powder River Basin (Turner, Niobrara), Eagle Ford, Haynesville/Bossier, Fort Worth Basin (Barnett), San Juan Basin and Uinta Basin.

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