Free Water Knockout (FWKO): What You Need To Know

Free water knockouts (FWKO) are an essential component in the oil and gas industry, designed to remove any free water present in the production stream before it enters the processing equipment.

In this post, we will discuss everything you need to know about FWKOs, including their function, design, benefits, features, and maintenance.

1. What is a Free Water Knockout?
2. Why are Free Water Knockouts important in the oil and gas industry?
3. What are the Benefits of using Free Water Knockouts in oil and gas industry?
4. What are Features of a typical Free Water Knockout
5. How are Free Water Knockouts Designed?
6. Maintenance of Free Water Knockouts

What is a Free Water Knockout?

Free water knockouts, also known as FWKO, are specialized equipment used to separate water from the hydrocarbon stream in the oil and gas industry. The hydrocarbon stream, coming from the wellhead, may contain water, and it is necessary to separate it before sending it to the processing units.

Why are Free Water Knockouts important in the oil and gas industry?

The water droplets present in the stream can cause damage to the processing equipment, such as corrosion and plugging, so FWKO's are used to remove the water, which is then drained off, and the production stream continues on to the processing equipment. This helps to prolong the life of the equipment and ensure that the production process runs smoothly.

What are the Benefits of using Free Water Knockouts in oil and gas industry?

Removing free water from the production stream has many benefits, including:

• Prolonging the life of processing equipment by preventing corrosion and plugging

• Improving the efficiency of the production process by ensuring that the production stream is free of contaminants

• Reducing the risk of environmental hazards by ensuring that the water is properly drained and treated before being discharged

• Reducing the costs associated with equipment maintenance and repairs.

What are Features of a typical Free Water Knockout

FWKOs are typically designed as a vessel with a level controller and a drain valve. The production stream enters the top of the vessel and any free water present in the stream will settle to the bottom of the vessel. The level controller monitors the water level in the vessel and opens the drain valve when the water level reaches a certain point. This allows the water to be drained off and the production stream to continue on to the processing equipment.

They come in various designs, like vertical or horizontal cylindrical vessel with an inlet, outlet, and a drain connection. They are constructed with materials like carbon steel, stainless steel, and alloy steel, depending on the application and the type of fluid being processed.

How are Free Water Knockouts designed?

FWKOs are typically designed as vertical or horizontal cylindrical vessel with an inlet, outlet, and a drain connection. They are constructed with materials like carbon steel, stainless steel, and alloy steel, depending on the application and the type of fluid being processed.

Maintenance of Free Water Knockouts

Proper maintenance of FWKOs is essential to ensure that they continue to function properly and have a long lifespan. Regularly inspecting the drain valve and level controller for proper operation is important. The vessel should also be inspected for corrosion and other damage. Any leaks should be repaired as soon as they are discovered. It is also important to keep the vessel clean and free of debris to ensure that it can continue to effectively remove water from the production stream.

Looking for high-quality Free Water Knockouts for your next project?

In conclusion, FWKOs are an essential component of oil and gas production facilities. They remove free water from the production stream, protecting processing equipment and ensuring a smooth production process. Proper design, operation, and maintenance are essential to the proper functioning of FWKOs.

It is important to work with experienced professionals to ensure that your FWKOs are designed, installed, and maintained properly. By using FWKOs, oil and gas companies can improve the efficiency of their production process, reduce costs and prevent environmental hazards.

Discover the strengths that the 12:eleven specialists in innovation and customization bring to production and process equipment. Contact 12:eleven and experience quality that is reliable, efficiency that is proven and service that is unsurpassed.

We invite you to request a quote for our products or services and our Free Water Knock Outs.

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About 12:eleven

As a specialty company providing custom design, engineering and fabrication of production and process equipment, we are dedicated to doing what’s right for our customers and passionate about creating value on every project.

We leverage the field expertise of our design and engineering group together with our diversified manufacturing capabilities to deliver a broad range of innovative surface production equipment - including Separators, Treaters, Free Water Knock Outs, Bulk and Test Packages, Indirect Line Heaters, Gas Production Units, Gas Dehydration Units, Glycol Contact Towers, Vapor Recovery Towers, Oil Stabilizing Towers.