Gas tight shale shaker for enhanced drilling fluid recovery and drilled solids washing

Abstract

A gas tight shale shaker for enhanced drilling fluid recovery and drilled solids washing. A process and apparatus for liquid phase-solid phase separation of oil base drilling mud-containing drill cuttings is described including flowing the drilling mud-containing drill cuttings over a vibrating screen bed to cause a least a portion of the drilling mud to pass through the screen bed and the drill cuttings to remain on the screen bed. A diluent is added to the oil base drilling mud containing drill cuttings prior to flowing the drilling mud containing drill cutting over the screen bed. The entire process is performed in a gas-tight environment preventing escape of diluent from the process into the external atmosphere and preventing introduction of gases into the process from the external atmosphere.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The field of art to which this invention generally pertains is the liquid phase and solid phase separation and processing of drill cuttings.

BACKGROUND

During the drilling of a well, for example for gas or oil, drilling mud is typically pumped down the drill string through a drill bit. The drilling mud simultaneously cools the bit and carries drill cuttings up the well bore. Drilling mud is typically comprised of a fluid (or fluids), and mixture of additives which can be either fluids or solids, forming a useable drilling fluid. Oil base drilling fluids are often used to drill oil and gas wells because they have special characteristics that make them a better cooling/carrying fluid than other drilling muds. Additionally, such drilling muds may offer better wellbore stability and/or lubricity for the drill string in modern, horizontal wellbores.

Typically, the drill cuttings which are carried up the wellbore are subjected to solids separating devices when the cuttings exit the wellbore, such as that of shale shakers or decanter centrifuges. These mechanical separators allow a substantial portion of the drilling mud to be returned to the storage tanks for reuse, while the drill cuttings portion is sent to separate storage tanks. The drill cuttings still contain residual amounts of the drilling mud that couldn't be separated through conventional mechanical means, and this residual drilling mud is considered to be contamination.

The drill cuttings are commonly known as drilling waste, because they serve no purpose after they have been removed from the wellbore. Thus, the contaminated drill cuttings are typically stabilized with a bulking agent, such as fly-ash, sawdust, or liquid absorbing pellets, to prevent residual free liquids from leaching from the solids during transport. The cuttings are then typically transported to a secure landfill where they are stored for an indeterminate period of time, typically generations.

The recovered drilling fluids that have been subjected to solids separating devices, such as that of shale shakers or decanter centrifuges, still contain residual amounts of small micron sized solids, otherwise known as Low Gravity Solids or Ultra Fines.

The accumulation of Low Gravity Solids in an active drilling mud system is of significant concern to drilling well operators because they contribute to increased wear of high volume circulating equipment, they can cause the drill string to become differentially stuck in porous formations leading to expensive drilling downtime, and they contribute to reduced rates of drilling penetration, commonly known by those in the industry as the Rate of Penetration or ROP.

With the evolution of new drilling technologies such as horizontal drilling, shale oil or shale gas fracking, and the increasing cost of drilling fluids, the ability to, and benefits of, enhancing drilling fluid back to its new or original condition, would have clear benefits.

Accordingly, there is a constant search for new technologies and improvements to existing technologies to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of reclaiming processes.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A process for liquid phase-solid phase separation of oil base drilling mud-containing drill cuttings is described including flowing the drilling mud-containing drill cuttings over a vibrating screen bed to cause a least a portion of the drilling mud to pass through the screen bed and the drill cuttings to remain above the screen bed, wherein at least one diluent is added to the oil base drilling mud containing drill cuttings to enhance fluids recovery, the entire process being performed in a gas-tight environment preventing escape of diluent from the process into the external atmosphere and preventing introduction of air containing oxygen into the process from the external atmosphere.

Additional embodiments include: the process described above where diluent is added to the unstabilized drill cuttings at a rate sufficient to achieve a yield point of the liquids phase of the drill cuttings feed equal to or less than 0.75 Pa, prior to the unstabilized drill cuttings contacting the vibrating screen bed; the process described above where a spray bar with at least one hole or nozzle is used to evenly deliver diluent or diluents onto the unstabilized drill cuttings after the unstabilized drill cuttings have come in contact with the vibrating screen bed, at a rate sufficient to achieve or maintain a yield point of the liquids phase of the drill cuttings feed, equal to or less than 0.75 Pa; the process described above where the vibrating screen bed mixes the diluent and unstabilized drill cuttings; the process described above where the at least one diluent is added to the unstabilized drill cuttings at a rate sufficient to alter the plastic viscosity of the liquids phase of the drill cuttings feed to less than 5.0 cP, prior to the unstabilized drill cuttings contacting the vibrating screen bed; the process described above where a spray bar with at least on hole or nozzle is used to deliver the at least one diluent onto the unstabilized drill cuttings at a rate sufficient to alter the plastic viscosity of the liquids phase of the drill cuttings feed to less than 5.0 cP, after the unstabilized drill cuttings feed has come in contact with the vibrating screen bed; the process described above where the at least one diluent has a flashpoint less than or equal to 37° C.; the process described above where the mixture of oil base drilling mud-containing drill cuttings and at least one diluent has a flashpoint less than or equal to 37° C.; the process described above where the at least one diluent has a vapour pressure of at least 0.1 Torr and less than 750 Torr; the process described above where the diluent is hexane; the process described above where the diluent is n-butyl alcohol; the process described above where the diluent is ethyl acetate; the process described above where the environment within the gas tight process is maintained below the minimum oxygen content required for ignition of the diluent; the process described above where inert gas is introduced into the environment; the process described above where the inert gas comprises at least one of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or fuel gas; and the process described above where the inert gas exerts a positive pressure in the process.

An oil base drilling mud-drill cuttings liquid phase-solid phase separation apparatus is also described including a receptacle for receiving oil base drilling mud-drill cuttings slurries, in fluid flow communication with a vibrating screen bed for separating drilling mud from drill cuttings, in fluid flow communication with conduits for conveying away separated drilling mud and drill cuttings, wherein the apparatus additionally contains flanges and seals permitting a hermetically sealed gas exchange with other gas tight processes, into and out of the apparatus.

Additional embodiments include the apparatus described above in fluid flow communication with one or more of solvent wash apparatus, Verti-G dryers, decanters and solid dryers, through hermetically sealed conduits, bellows, hoses and/or conveyors; the apparatus described above where the separation apparatus additionally contains a receptacle inlet, an unstabilized drill cuttings storage device and/or feed hopper in fluid flow communication with the separation apparatus, including a hermetic seal between the unstabilized drill cuttings storage device and/or feed hopper, and the receptacle inlet; the apparatus described above where the hermetic sealing includes at least one of a rotary air lock, positive displacement feed pump, solids trap, and/or fluids trap, preventing the ingress of air containing oxygen.

These and additional embodiments are further described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 demonstrates an embodiment of a conventional shale shaker used in the oil and gas drilling industry

FIG. 2 demonstrates how a slurry phase moves and transitions in a conventional shale shaker

FIG. 3 is a flow chart embodiment demonstrating a gas tight shale shaker as described herein combined with additional cuttings treatment systems, or fluid rehabilitation equipment

FIGS. 4a, 4b, 4c & 4d demonstrate an embodiment of a gas tight shale shaker as described herein, capable of diluent additions with the contaminated drill cuttings, while maintaining a safe process

FIGS. 5a & 5b demonstrate an embodiment of how the lower portion of a vibrating bed is sealed and how the egress of the liquids phase is facilitated through the sealed lower section.

FIG. 6 demonstrates an embodiment of a vacuum assist knock out tank and liquids phase transfer system

FIG. 7a demonstrates an embodiment of other processes that could be connected to a gas tight shale shaker and FIG. 7b shows the hopper and air lock system in a typical connected arrangement to the gas tight shale shaker, as described herein

FIGS. 8a, 8b and 8c are photos showing reductions of the free liquids phase using two diluent cuttings feed rates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the various embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.

The present invention will now be described by reference to more detailed embodiments. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description of the invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, reaction conditions, and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should be construed in light of the number of significant digits and ordinary rounding approaches.

Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements. Every numerical range given throughout this specification will include every narrower numerical range that falls within such broader numerical range, as if such narrower numerical ranges were all expressly written herein.

Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

Apparatus and methods to enhance the volume of oil base drilling fluid recovered from a gas tight shale shaker, prior to other types of solids management processes or fluids rehabilitation processes is described.

For ease of understanding, as typically used the terms “Oil base mud”, “Viscosity” and “Rheology” are provided as follows: oil base mud (OBM) is a drilling fluid system that uses oil as the base ingredient, as opposed to water, which is the base used in gel-chem mud systems, brine mud systems or polymer mud systems. Oil base mud is also known as Invert, and it typically consists of a mixture of oil, emulsified water and drilling mud additives. Viscosity is best understood as the thickness of a fluid. For example, water has relatively low viscosity, whereas a milkshake has a higher viscosity. Rheology, is the science explaining liquid flow including flow in “soft solids”. One of the important Rheology properties of OBM is the ‘yield point’, or the carrying capacity of the fluid. A small solid dropped in a glass of water demonstrates a fluid with no yield point, because the small solid will drop regardless of its size. The same size solid in a milkshake may not drop at all because the force of gravity may not be strong enough to break the yield strength of the milk shake. If it is heavy enough to break the yield point of the fluid it will drop more slowly than the same size solid in water due to the higher viscosity of the milk shake. As is the milk shake, invert is a non-Newtonian fluid and it is commonly modeled as a Bingham Plastic. Bingham Plastics behave like a solid, up to a particular amount of shear stress, when they behave like a liquid; this is known as the yield point of the fluid.

Typically, shale shakers (as known by those within the oil and gas drilling industry) consist of a vibratory screen bed. A slurry comprised of drilling mud and drilled solids is fed into a saddle tank upstream of the vibratory screen bed. The saddle tank includes an overflow weir that causes the slurry to spill evenly onto the vibratory screen bed, along its full width.

Shale shakers apply force, usually measured in terms of G-Force, ranging between four to eight times greater than earth's gravity. The principals behind a vibratory screen is to create a bed where the solids and liquids phase “bounce”, causing the liquids phase to yield under the stresses of the gravity and shaker forces. The yield point is the point where a thick liquids phase begins to transition from behaving like a solid, to acting as a liquid. Acting as a liquid provides an opportunity for the liquids phase to be thrown from the solids phase, and drop through the low micron screen of the vibratory bed. The liquids phase can then be returned directly to a processing tank, or be collected in an attached hopper or hose, and redirected to another process such as that of centrifuges, hydro cyclones, or membranes, for further fluids rehabilitation. Additional fluids rehabilitation is required because, while conventional shale shakers are a good mechanism to remove a substantial amount of liquids from the solids, the fluid typically contains low micron solids that travel through the porosity of the vibratory screen, rather than be caught on the upper side of the screen with the larger solids.

FIG. 1 is a representation of a typical shale shaker used on drilling rigs. A typical shale shaker consists of a basket (102) upon which screens (103) are secured by means of screen chocks (not shown), which is vibrated by vibratory motors (101) mounted on the side of, or top of the basket. Springs (104) facilitate vibration isolation between the vibrating basket section (102) and a rigid base section (108), which can sit freely on a floor or structure, or be permanently affixed to the floor or structure (not shown). While springs (104) are typically used for vibratory isolation of the basket section, air bags or rubber blocks can also be used.

The shale shaker is activated by turning on electric switches (107), thereby causing the vibratory screen bed to move in an elliptical or linear motion. A slurry is fed into the lower half of saddle tank (105) and once the saddle tank is full, the slurry spills over a weir (106) which is set to a level position to ensure the slurry spills evenly along the full width of the shaker screen(s) (103), thereby maximizing the effectiveness of the screening surface. The saddle tank (105) is sometimes called a possum.

FIG. 2 is an ‘X-ray’ view of the vibratory portion of a typical shale shaker, to show the flow direction of the slurry and its constituents. As the slurry enters the lower portion of the saddle tank (105), the flow (201) is directed upward, filling the saddle tank, until such time that the flow (202) breaches the weir (106) and spills evenly across the vibratory screen(s) (103). The slurry begins a phase separation wherein the (bouncing) solids phase (203) continues to travel across the first screen, or series of screens, while continuing to release more liquids, until such time that the solids contaminated with less liquids can spill over the end (205) of the vibratory screen bed (103). The recovered liquids phase (204) passes through the vibratory screen bed and spills into a process tank, or can redirected to conventional solids control equipment, such as that of desanders, desilters or centrifuges (not shown in the illustration).

Shale shakers are considered the first line of defence on a drilling rig, for recapturing drilling fluid that would otherwise be lost to the drill cuttings. They are a highly effective mechanism for bulk liquids recovery and very inexpensive when compared to other conventional forms of solids control, like that of centrifuges for example. While all shale shakers operate on the same basic principal, they do come in a variety of models, which offer differing gravitational forces, coarse to very fine screen sizes, differing vibratory motions, and as few as one screen, or as many as four, on one or more screen bed elevations.

In short, shale shakers were, and continue to be, the greatest advancement in bulk fluids recovery for the oil and gas drilling industry. However, while they do generally accomplish bulk fluids recovery, they do not necessarily accomplish effective fluids recovery. For example, it would be very typical that a drilling rig runs a pump rate of 1 to 2 cubic meters of drilling mud flow per minute. Cuttings production can vary throughout the drilling of a well, typically offering higher rates in the shallow sections of the well, while offering lower rates in deeper sections of the well. Table 1 has been included to illustrate the general effectiveness of fluids recovery using a typical conventional shale shaker. The table illustrates a likely outcome, when using a value for rate of penetration (ROP)/meters drilled per hour, and average mean for pump rates/cubic meters is multiplied by 1000 litres per minute, an average drill cuttings production value on a given well bore size, and an oil on cuttings (OOC's) value of 35%. In these circumstances, of the total pumped volume per hour, less than 1% (by volume) is lost to the drill cuttings, and greater than 99% (by volume) is recovered.

TABLE 1
Likely			Cuttings	OOC's	Estimated
ROP	Pump Rate	Hole Size	Production	(@ 35% ‘wet’)	Efficiency
10 m/hr	1.1 m3/minute (~66 m3/hr)	159 mm (6¼″)	0.3 m3/hr	~100 litres per hour	99.85%
25 m/hr	1.1 m3/minute (~66 m3/hr)	159 mm (6¼″)	0.75 m3/hr	~260 litres per hour	99.6%
25 m/hr	2.2 m3/minute (~132 m3/hr)	222 mm (8¾″)	1.5 m3/hr	~525 litres per hour	99.6%
50 m/hr	2.2 m3/minute (~132 m3/hr)	222 mm (8¼″)	3 m3/hr	~1050 litres per hour	99.25%

However, while Table 1 illustrates that the general efficiency of shale shakers is very good, the drilling fluid lost to the drill cuttings over the course of a well is still substantial, due to the large number of pumping hours required for each well.

In recent years, certain advancements have been made to make shale shakers more effective. For example, Canadian Patent Nos. 2,741955; 2,712,774 and 2,799,405 collaboratively describe processes where the underside of at least one portion of the vibratory shaker bed is sealed with one or more funnel shaped coverings, while negative and/or positive air pressure is applied to further enhance the movement of recoverable drilling fluids, air flow is cycled to prohibit blinding of the screens, and/or mist eliminators are employed. The air flow differential causes a sucking or pushing action on at least a portion of one vibratory screen thereby making a dryer drill cutting than would otherwise be possible with a conventional shale shaker.

Despite the operational drawbacks of the above design, for example, high noise levels due to the vacuum pump, higher low gravity solids due to reduced additions of new OBM, and significantly higher power consumption due to the vacuum pump, the design offers higher OBM recovery rates than conventional shale shakers. Because this design is not gas tight, any introduction of a flammable diluent could be catastrophic to workers or process equipment if a spark were introduced or generated.

With the advent of ever increasing environmental standards, and the desire to remediate drilled solids, and the desire to recover more OBM, there is a need for more effective means of fluids recovery equipment. One example of a solvent wash process is described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 8,820,438, where a solvent washing process is employed to dissolve the oil on cuttings, and the clean cuttings are then moved to a drying process for solvent recovery. The recovered OBM and solvent are sent for additional fluids rehabilitation such as gravity separation or filtration, and finally distillation for solvent recovery.

Another example is the use of a Vertical Cuttings Dryer, also known as a Verti-G Dryer. Verti-G dryers use centrifugal force to break the yield stress of the liquids phase and throw it through a screen. The solids are conveyed along the screen to cause the drill cuttings to eventually drop off of the conical screen, and be conveyed away from the Verti-G dryer. The recovered fluids are polluted with low gravity solids and in need of substantial fluids rehabilitation.

Good results can be obtained from both Verti-G Dryers and solvent wash processes, when the feed stock of unstabilized drill cuttings is predictably stable. For example, a volume of unstabilized drill cuttings which is consistent and not too wet (excess OBM), and not to dry, (lacking OBM), will mitigate process upsets caused when the oil wet cuttings feed changes from dryer to wetter, or wetter to dryer, for example. Further, the addition of a diluent will help a Verti-G Dryer or Solvent Wash Process because the diluent is added to alter rheology, thereby allowing OBM to be removed more effectively within enhanced gas tight solids control equipment.

Thus is the need for an improved method to remove a substantial portion of the oil on cuttings. FIG. 3 is an illustrative flow chart demonstrating where such an embodiment could be located, relative to other processes.

As described herein, a low gravity solids/liquids separation device is used to separate the components of a slurry into a first solids phase with a lower liquids content, and a second liquids phase with a lower solids content. Specifically, a conventional vibratory screen bed, commonly known as a shale shaker by those in the oil and gas industry, modified as described herein, can be used. To increase the efficiency of the separation of the liquids and solids phase, a diluent (or diluents) is added to the process and the apparatus is sealed to prevent volatiles from escaping the gas tight design, which could cause irreparable harm to additional processes or operators within the area, thereby creating a solids phase and liquids phase that are better defined and manageable in other processes as further demonstrated below.

The addition of a diluent has shown to increase the effectiveness of a shale shaker during field testing. For example, an M-I SWACO MONGOOSE™ shale shaker was used to test the effectiveness of adding a diluent to unstabilized OBM drill cuttings, prior to being passed over the shale shaker. Unstabilized OBM drill cuttings were obtained from a drilling rig, wherein the drill cuttings had been subjected to a conventional shale shaker (model unknown) wherein as much of the OBM had been removed as was possible, and the solids phase (containing some liquids) was collected in a storage tank for transportation to the test facility. No bulking agents were added to the drill cuttings prior to, or during transport. The drill cuttings were unloaded at the test facility and a retort completed to determine the volume of OBM, compared to drill cuttings. A retort is a representative sample that is placed in a small cylinder and heated to 500° C. so that all liquids boil out of the sample. The liquids are forced out of the cylinder where they recondense in a cooler, and drip into a test tube for measurement. The results of the retort confirmed that the sample contained 31% liquids by volume.

Hexane was used as a diluent during the test, which was conducted at two different conveyance rates of drill cuttings, to a fixed volume of diluent. The first test included a diluent pump rate 480 litres per hour, to an auger rate of 500 litres of drill cuttings per hour. The diluent was introduced to the cuttings feed auger about 4 meters before the slurry reached the vibratory bed of the shaker, allowing for about 2 minutes of contact/mixing time. About 15 minutes into the test, three samples were obtained at two minute intervals and stored in sample jars marked as Samples 1, 2 & 3. Following the third sample collection, the drill cuttings feed auger speed was increased for a smooth transition to the second test. The second test included a diluent pump rate 480 litres per hour, to an auger rate of 1000 litres of drill cuttings per hour. As in the first test, three samples were obtained at two minute intervals and stored in sample jars labelled as Samples 4, 5 & 6.

During the two tests, visual observations were made of the ‘wet’ cuttings feed and ‘dry’ shaker bed overflow and there was an obvious improvement in the free liquids phase reductions at both diluent/cuttings feed rates. See, for example, FIGS. 8a, 8b & 8c, where 8a demonstrates wet cuttings feed as received, 8b dry shale shaker overflow (Sample 3), and 8c dry shale shaker overflow (Sample 6).

Retorts were conducted on the six samples and the results of the tests are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2
Retort Identification (Retort consisted of a	Liquids	Solids
standard retort tester, common to the oil and	phase (by	phase* (by
gas industry - 10 ml model)	volume %)	volume %)
Unstabilized OBM drill cuttings (as received)	31%	69%
Sample 1 (480 litres/hr diluent : 500 litres/hr	16%	84%
cuttings)
Sample 2 (480 litres/hr diluent : 500 litres/hr	16%	84%
cuttings)
Sample 3 (480 litres/hr diluent : 500 litres/hr	16%	84%
cuttings)
Sample 4 (480 litres/hr diluent: 1000 litres/hr	<18%	>82%
cuttings)
Sample 5 (480 litres/hr diluent: 1000 litres/hr	16%	84%
cuttings)
Sample 6 (480 litres/hr diluent: 1000 litres/hr	16%	84%
cuttings)
*The solids phase (vol %) is inferred; a retort is a measure of volume and as such, the volume at the start of the test is 100% of the cylinder volume; post testing, the solids phase is inferred by calculating 100%, minus the liquids phase actually measured

The results show that despite being previously subjected to a conventional shale shaker at the drilling rig, the additions of a diluent facilitated the removal of additional OBM, reducing the liquids phase portion of the first sample by almost 50% to approximately 16% (by volume), compared to 31% (by volume). The second and third samples yield the same results as the first sample, showing a consistent trend during testing. In review, the second test was a repeat of the first test, only changing the volume of cuttings feed to the fixed diluent feed rate. While the results of Sample 4 suggested a leaner mixture of diluent to cuttings feed would yield a ‘wetter’ cuttings carryover, Samples 5 & 6 returned to the same liquids phase reductions as that of Samples 1, 2 & 3. In view of the obvious value of the diluent, it is captured and reclaimed as well.

While similar to a conventional shale shaker, FIGS. 4a, 4b and 4c are representations of a gas tight shale shaker, capable of separating a liquids phase from a solids phase when a diluent is added to the slurry feed, potentially creating a flammable slurry. The gas tight shale shaker design consists of a basket (402) upon which fine screens (403) are mounted to, which is vibrated by vibratory motors (409) mounted on the side of (illustrated), or top of (not shown) the basket. Springs (404) facilitate vibration isolation between the vibrating basket section (402) and a rigid base section (408), which can sit freely on a floor or structure, or be permanently affixed to the floor or structure (not shown in the illustration). While springs (404) are typically used for vibratory isolation of the basket section, air bags or rubber blocks can also be used.

The basket (402) of a gas tight shale shaker includes a flange (401) which goes around the top inner or outer edge of the basket (as well as the wall sections for rigidity), so that lid sections (405) can be placed over the shaker bed basket section to ensure oxygen cannot enter the process, and the inner atmosphere cannot escape the process. FIG. 4d shows the embodiment of a lid section, which can be constructed of a rigid metal cover, composite materials, or a translucent cover such as that of shatter proof glass, LEXAN™ polymer or acrylic (405). The use of a translucent cover is preferred because it offers the user the ability to view the process while maintaining a gas tight environment. A gasket (413) made of conventional rubber or conventional silicone material suitable for sealing against volatile organic solvents is also added to the underside of the lid sections, prior to bolts with washers and nuts (414) being inserted through the (top) flange (406), and lower flange (401) (which is by extension, part of the basket), added to give the basket the necessary rigidity and strength required for continuous vibration. The upper and lower flange ‘sandwich’ the lid section in place and help to mitigate stress cracking of the lid section, which can occur because of the vibratory action of the basket (402). While an upper and lower flange can mitigate stress cracking of the gas tight covers, lightweight materials of construction can cause a loud ‘drumming’ effect, which is obviously undesirable for workers that may be present in the immediate area. As such, any materials of construction selected should be done with rigidity and long-life integrity in mind. The oxygen content in the system can be measured and monitored, and is preferably kept below the minimum oxygen level required for ignition of the diluent(s) in use, which can vary from one diluent to another, or in the case of a mixture of diluents.

In an effort to ensure transient oxygen does not enter the process through the inlet feed of unstabilized drill cuttings, as demonstrated in FIG. 7b, the drilling waste (a mixture of oil base drilling fluid and drill cuttings) is received and stored until the facility is ready to process the waste. The unstabilized drill cuttings are loaded (706) into a hopper (707) which maintains a minimum volume (712) over the feed auger (710), a fluid leg that prohibits the entry of unwanted air to the process, or the escape of a volatile diluent to the atmosphere. The safe minimum level of unstabilized drill cuttings in the hopper can be controlled either by means of a weight indicator on the hopper (not shown) or overhead level transducer (not shown), or by operator observation. The process feed rate is controlled by a gear reduction motor (713) coupled to the feed auger (710) with a solids/fluids trap (714), or a rotary air lock (not shown), or a positive displacement feed pump (not shown), preventing the ingress of air containing oxygen, which allows conveyance of the solids to occur at a controlled and measured rate, also known as characterization of the flow. Given the need for vibration isolation between the shaker basket (402) and the feed auger, a flexible conduit or bellows (711) must be installed between flange/coupling/fitting (410) connected to the shaker basket (402) and the flange/coupling/fitting (709) of the feed auger (710).

Diluent is added (708) to the unstabilized drill cuttings feed auger (710) to allow the less viscous diluent to mix with the cuttings feed, thereby causing the OBM liquid in the wet cuttings feed to have a lower yield point, or to eliminate the yield strength entirely, and lowering the viscosity of the liquid, and facilitating separation of the liquids phase and solids phase when they are subjected to gravitational or centripetal forces to settle and separate the solids from the liquid. The rate of diluent additions is sufficient to eliminate or significantly reduce the yield point and to reduce the (plastic) viscosity of the liquids phase in the unstabilized drill cuttings feed. The length of the conveyor between the hopper and the inlet of the shale shaker is of less importance to the embodiment except that the length must be long enough to ensure there is adequate mixing of the diluent and unstabilized drill cuttings during the term of conveyance. The volume of diluent added to unstabilized drill cuttings would be approximately 1:1, with a minimum ratio being 1:5, and a maximum ratio being 5:1. The “ideal ratio” of diluent to unstabilized drill cuttings could be influenced by capital cost of the equipment, operating costs for the facility, and throughput versus maximizing drilling fluid recovery. Table 3 has been included to show the expected yield point (represented in Pascal's) and predicted resulting plastic viscosity (represented in Centipoise) of a mixture of diluent and unstabilized drill cuttings, at various ratios.

For the purposes of obtaining representative data for Table 3, hexane was mixed with oil base drilling mud to determine the rheological changes, and the data was used to build the predicted Plastic Viscosity (PV represented in centipoise cP)/Yield Point (YP represented in pascals Pa) table below.

	TABLE 3
	Ratio of diluent
	to unstabilized		Resulting	Resulting
	drill cuttings	Temperature	PV (cP)	YP (Pa)
	0:1	50° C.	25	4.5
	0:1	0° C.	89	12
	0.1:1	0° C.	~4.9	~1.3
	0.5:1	0° C.	<1.0	<1.0
	1:1	0° C.	~0.5	~0.5
	1.5:1	0° C.	~0.5	<0.5

An inert gas is also required to ensure there is a lack of oxygen in the gas tight environment. Typically, nitrogen or carbon dioxide are used to purge the oxygen out of the gas tight environment, prior to any equipment or processes using the otherwise flammable diluent. The inert gas atmosphere can be shared with other processes, such as that of a gas tight decanter, solvent wash tanks, or solids drying equipment, for example.

Prior to the feed of the drill cuttings being delivered to the gas tight shale shaker, a diluent or diluents are added to the unstabilized drill cuttings. The diluent must be chosen for its specific characteristics, bur for the purposes of this invention, generally diluents with a vapor pressure (corrected to a gauge pressure at 20° C.) of at least 0.1 Torr and less than 750 Torr, and further having a flash point of less than 37° C. will quickly dissolve into solution with the oil in the OBM and lower or eliminate the yield strength and lower the viscosity (for example, hexane, n-butyl alcohol, ethyl acetate, etc.). The diluent must be added prior to the drill cuttings being fed into the gas tight shale shaker to allow the less viscus diluent to mix with the cuttings feed, thereby causing the liquids phase of the cuttings feed to have a lower yield point than OBM alone, and facilitating greater separation of the liquids phase and solids phase when the two are in contact with the vibratory shaker bed.

Alternatively, or in conjunction with diluent being added to the unstabilized drill cuttings before the slurry comes in contact with the vibratory shaker bed, the diluent can be added once the feed is on the vibratory shaker bed. Incorporating a spray bar with one or more nozzles (416) above the vibratory shaker bed (over the first shaker screen) and within the gas tight enclosure would permit the diluent (417) to become mixed with the unstabilized drill cuttings feed by using the gravitational forces of the shaker bed itself. In the case of the mixture of diluent and unstabilized drill cuttings being mixed with the feed auger, the liquids phase would immediately begin leaving the solids phase on the vibratory bed because the lower yield point of the liquids phase would facilitate greater separation. Thus, diluent pumped to a connection on the outside of the vibratory bed (415) would permit the diluent to enter the gas tight enclosure and exit the spray bar through the holes and/or nozzles (416) over the middle or second half of the shaker screen(s), effectively being applied as a rinse (or double wash) to the already partially cleaned drill cuttings thereby facilitating a lower amount of residual oil on cuttings (because the ‘rinse’ diluent is being added to pre-cleaned cuttings thereby decreasing the residual oil phase and increasing the ratio of solvent to residual oil).

The gas tight shale shaker is activated by turning on electric switches (412), thereby activating the vibratory screen bed. A slurry of drill cuttings and diluent is fed into the basket section (402) through a flexible conduit or hose which connects via a flange (410) or aero-union. The slurry of drill cuttings and diluent spills onto the screen bed (403), or alternatively, onto a spill plate (not shown), mounted just below the inlet flange (410) and above the shaker screens (403) to ensure the slurry has an opportunity to spill evenly along the full width of the shaker screen(s) (403), thereby maximizing the effectiveness of the screening surface.

Once the drill cuttings have been subjected to the higher gravitational vibrations of the screen bed, the cuttings containing less OBM contamination fall off the end of the vibratory bed into the discharge chute (411) and downward through the flexible conduit or hose (407) and are conveyed by screw auger to (or fall directly into) additional processes that can include for example, one or more from the following list (and supporting description):

• • solvent wash equipment; see, for example, a solids washing process as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,820,438, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, where a solvent washing process is employed to dissolve the oil on cuttings, by introducing the unstabilized drill cuttings into an inclined auger tank filled with solvent as the wash medium.
  • gas tight Verti-G dryers; see, for example, commonly owned U.S. Patent Application, Ser. No. 62/303,172, entitled Diluent Treated Drilling Waste Material Recovery Process And System filed of even date herewith, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
  • solids dryers; see, for example, a typical solids drying process to remove the residual diluent as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,820,438, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, where heat transfer fluid is pumped through both the jacket of the dryer and the auger flighting to maximize the heat transfer area.

The liquids phase consisting of OBM, low gravity solids, diluent (and in some cases free water) falls downward through the vibrating screen bed (403) where it drips into a funnel shaped sealed section (503) below the screen bed, as shown in FIG. 5a. The liquids phase accumulates into the lowest point of the lower sealed cover and flow from the cover through an opening (502) that is connected to a flexible conduit or hose (602) where the recovered fluids can be sent for additional fluids rehabilitation.

FIG. 7a shows an embodiment of a gravity drainage tank (703) wherein the liquids phase can simply drain to a sealed storage tank for temporary storage prior to being evacuated by means of a pump (704) which is connected to the temporary storage tank. The pump pulls the stored slurry from the knock out tank (703) through a suction pipe (706), and conveys the stored liquids phase through a pump outlet (707) to another process, such as that of a gas tight decanter, see, for example, commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/212,754, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, or filtration equipment, clarifier tanks, molecular separation by membrane or distillation equipment. Given the liquids phase includes a diluent, the low gravity solids phase is susceptible to premature settling, so a paddle mixer (705) or other tank stirring system could be employed to ensure the low gravity solids and liquids phase remain uniformly suspended until they are sent for rehabilitation.

Alternatively, FIG. 5b shows a design wherein each shaker screen can have an independent cover (505) (507) (509) and independent connection points (504) (506) (508) which are connected to separate gravity fed collection tanks (703) or separate vacuum assist knock out tanks (601), or combination thereof. FIG. 6 shows an embodiment for a vacuum knock out tank (601) which is attached to the shaker connection points (502) (504) (506) (508) via a flexible conduit or hose (602) to ensure the vibratory action of the shaker basket (501) is not passed through the hose to the knock out tank. A vacuum is applied to the knock out tank via a rigid riser (603) located on the top of the knock out tank. The riser is connected to the vacuum pump (607), which is most typically powered by an electric motor (608) that can be controlled by a variable frequency drive to ensure the negative air pressure on the shaker screens from time to time is either intermittent so that solids are released from the vibratory screens, or the air velocity is slowed to ensure the solids phase do not become stuck on the vibratory screen bed. At least a portion of the atmosphere in the gas tight shaker moves with the liquids phase from the upper side of the shaker screens, through the shaker screens into the knock out tank where the liquids phase is retained and the atmosphere is permitted to continue through the vacuum pump where it exits the vacuum pump through the return exhaust (609) and back to the slurry inlet of the shale shaker (410) or solids outlet of the shale shaker (407), or into a separate atmosphere communication port (not shown) via a flexible hose or conduit (not shown), so that the inert atmosphere is continually replenished and transient oxygen is not introduced. The mixture of OBM, diluent and low gravity solids will be susceptible to solids settling so every effort is made to ensure the slurry is pulled from the knockout tank via a suction pipe (604), into the pump (605) where some of the pump discharge (606) is circulated back to the knock out tank to ensure the liquids and low gravity solids remain in uniform suspension.

Alternatively, FIG. 7a shows an embodiment of a gravity drainage tank (703) wherein the liquids phase can simply drain to a sealed storage tank for temporary storage prior to being evacuated by means of a pump (704) which is connected to the temporary storage tank. The pump pulls the stored slurry from the knock out tank (703) through a suction pipe (706), and conveys the stored liquids phase through a pump outlet (707) to another process, such as that of a gas tight decanter, see, for example, commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/212,754, entitled Gas Tight Shale Shaker For Enhanced Drilling Fluid Recovery And Drilled Solids Washing the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, or filtration equipment, clarifier tanks, molecular separation by membrane or distillation equipment. Given the liquids phase includes a diluent, the low gravity solids phase is susceptible to premature settling, so a paddle mixer (705) or other tank stirring system could be employed to ensure the low gravity solids and liquids phase remain uniformly suspended until they are sent for rehabilitation.

The gas tight design has the added benefit of automatically de-misting by design, in that the entire process ensures vapours recirculate in a closed loop, eliminating fluid loss due to misting.

Thus, the scope of the invention shall include all modifications and variations that may fall within the scope of the attached claims. Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A process for separating solid drill cuttings from oil-based drilling mud mixture containing said solids, said process comprising: providing a gas-tight shale shaker including a vibrating screen bed, an inlet at a first end of said vibrating screen bed, a solids outlet at a second end of said vibrating screen bed, and a gas-tight cover above said vibrating screen bed enclosing a gas-tight interior;introducing an oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids into said gas-tight interior through said inlet;adding at least one diluent to the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids at a rate sufficient to reduce the plastic viscosity of a liquid phase of the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids;purging said gas-tight interior with a purging gas until said gas-tight interior has an oxygen level at or below a minimum oxygen level required for ignition of said at least one diluent;maintaining said gas-tight interior by preventing said at least one diluent from escaping from said gas-tight interior, while at the same time preventing air containing oxygen from being introduced into said gas-tight interior from an external environment;flowing said introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids over said vibrating screen bed to cause a least some liquid to pass through the vibrating screen bed, while at least some solids remain above the vibrating screen bed; andallowing said at least some solids that remain above the vibrating screen bed to exit said gas-tight interior through said solids outlet.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the at least one diluent is added to the oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids at a rate sufficient to achieve a yield point of the liquids phase of the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids equal to or less than 0.75 Pa, prior to the oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids contacting the vibrating screen bed.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein a spray bar with at least one hole or nozzle is used to evenly deliver said at least one diluent onto said introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids after the oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids has come in contact with the vibrating screen bed, at a rate sufficient to achieve or maintain a yield point of the liquids phase of the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids, equal to or less than 0.75 Pa.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein the vibrating screen bed mixes the diluent and the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the at least one diluent is added to the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids at a rate sufficient to reduce the plastic viscosity of the liquid phase of the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids to less than 5.0 cP, prior to the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids contacting the vibrating screen bed.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein a spray bar with at least on hole or nozzle is used to deliver the at least one diluent onto the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids at a rate sufficient to reduce the plastic viscosity of the liquids phase of the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids to less than 5.0 cP, after the introduced oil-based drilling mud containing solids has come in contact with the vibrating screen bed.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein the at least one diluent has a flashpoint less than or equal to 37° C.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein the introduced oil-based drilling mud mixture containing solids and at least one diluent has a flashpoint less than or equal to 37° C.

9. The process of claim 1 wherein the at least one diluent has a vapor pressure of at least 0.1 Torr and less than 750 Torr.

10. The process of claim 1 wherein the at least one diluent is hexane.

11. The process of claim 1 wherein the at least one diluent is n-butyl alcohol.

12. The process of claim 1 wherein the at least one diluent is ethyl acetate.

13. The process of claim 1 wherein the gas tight interior is maintained at or below the minimum oxygen content required for ignition of said at least one diluent.

14. The process of claim 1 wherein the gas-tight interior is maintained at a positive pressure above the pressure of said external environment by said purging gas.