Separator, float shut-off valve, and orifice meter mounted as a unit of skid

Claim 1

In combination, a supply of gas connected by a first duct to a liquid separator tank, said tank having upper and lower sections, a second duct in fluid communication with the upper section of the tank extending into a drip collecting float shut-off valve, said valve having inlet and outlet openings, a third duct in fluid communication with said valve outlet and extending into an orifice meter, liquid and solid particles separating from gas in said separator tank and settling to the lower section, said valve including a reservoir, said reservoir serving as a repository for liquid and solid particles conveyed by said second duct through said valve inlet, said liquid and solid particles settle by gravity into said reservoir, a float ball in said reservoir, said ball being of less density than the liquid in said reservoir and said ball having a diameter greater than the valve outlet, said reservoir being configured to direct said ball toward said valve outlet as it floats on said liquid in said reservoir, said ball and valve outlet being configured to have the ball seal the valve outlet when the reservoir is full of liquid and solid particles, an outlet valve means for exhausting liquid and solid particles from said reservoir, and said orifice meter including said third duct having an axis, means forming an orifice in said third duct, said orifice having a cross-sectional area less than the cross-sectional area of said third duct, means for making pressure measurements in said third duct both upstream and downstream of said orifice means for preventing liquid from collecting in said third duct adjacent the upstream side of said orifice.