A Sand Separator is a high pressure vessel that separates solids, normally sand, from the process stream. The Sand separator is the first vessel placed after the wellhead and is typically rated over the wellhead shut in pressure.Sand separators are also known as sand traps and sand catches. Sand traps protect downstream equipment from being filled with sand and valves from being eaten away by sand. Due to the erosion sand can cause in any vessel, a sand trap will have an erosion allowance to handle metal loss during operation. These units tend to be set up as a mobile unit on an L-Shaped Skid, as sand production in a well stream is heaviest during initial production. Therefore when the well stops producing large amounts of sand the unit can be removed and recycled onto another location.