Abstract <p>In order for extracted natural gas to meet regulatory requirements, it must be cleaned of the liquid phase before being fed into the transport pipeline. There are numerous technical methods to achieve the separation of gas and liquid, i.e., gravitational, inertial, filtration, and centrifugal separation. Using vortex effects ensures the most efficient separation of dispersed particles. The study aims to identify the primary factors influencing the dispersed composition of droplets within a rotating layer of droplets in a separator with a tangential swirl. The dispersion of the liquid phase is analyzed using a photographic method over a wide range of loads. It is found that the liquid is crushed almost instantly and secondary crushing of the droplets does not occur. The composition of the dispersed droplets is determined by measuring their diameters. A method for determining the composition of dispersed droplets in a layer is proposed. The average particle size in a rotating droplet layer in a vortex device with tangential-blade swirl gas flow is found to depend on surface tension. The characteristic frequency curves of the droplet size distribution in vortex devices with a tangential-blade swirl obtained for the air–water system are presented. The frequency distribution of the dispersed phase in a rotating droplet layer within a vortex-type device is weakly dependent on operating conditions, primarily due to the impact of liquid droplets on swirling blades. When the liquid is crushed, sufficiently large droplets are produced, which are fully separated by a tangential-blade swirl in a vortex separator. The average diameter of the droplets depends slightly on the amount of liquid loaded onto the device.</p>