Claims
- 1. An apparatus for separating combustible gas from fluid produced during a drilling operation, comprising:
- a holding tank having an upper surface, said holding tank being provided with a fluid inlet and an explosion vent hatch for permitting pressure dispersal from within the holding tank;
- a flare tank mounted on the upper surface of the holding tank for separating fluid from combustible gas, the flare tank having an interior and possessing a longitudinal axis, the flare tank being provided with a fluid inlet for introducing fluid containing combustible gas into the interior of the flare tank, a fluid outlet for discharging out of the flare tank fluid from which the combustible gas has been at least partially removed, and a flow path extending between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, the fluid outlet of the flare tank being fluidly connected to the inlet of the holding tank so that fluid from which the combustible gas has been at least partially removed in the flare tank flows into the holding tank, the flare tank including a baffle plate disposed in the interior of the flare tank between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, the baffle plate being spaced from the fluid inlet, said baffle plate being positioned generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the flare tank and projecting into said flow path to form at least a partial barrier to fluid flowing from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet along the flow path so that the fluid impacts upon the baffle plate to facilitate separation of combustible gas from the fluid, said baffle plate being provided with a plurality of openings through which flows combustible gas that has been separated from the fluid;
- gas discharge means provided on the flare tank in communication with the interior of the flare tank for discharging from the interior of the flare tank the combustible gas that has been separated from the fluid; and
- a burner positioned adjacent an outlet of the gas discharge means for igniting the combustible gas discharged through the gas discharge means.
- 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said flare tank is an elongated horizontally oriented container.
- 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said baffle plate is provided with a recess positioned below said plurality of openings for permitting the flow of fluid past the baffle plate and towards the fluid outlet.
- 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said recess is located in a lower portion of said baffle plate.
- 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said gas discharge means is a chimney stack mounted on the flare tank.
- 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said chimney stack is pivotally connected to said container for collapsing the chimney stack into a horizontal position onto said container to facilitate transportation of the flare tank.
- 7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said chimney stack has a top end positioned remote from the flare tank, said burner being located at a top end of the chimney stack.
- 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said holding tank is mounted on skids to facilitate movement of the apparatus to a desired location.
- 9. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said chimney stack is a first chimney stack, and further comprising a second chimney stack for the combustion of gas from a well and a second burner to ignite gas passing through said second chimney stack.
- 10. An apparatus for separating combustible gas from fluid produced during a drilling operation, comprising:
- a holding tank;
- a flare tank operably connected to the holding tank for separating fluid from combustible gas, the flare tank having a fluid inlet for introducing fluid containing combustible gas into the interior of the flare tank, a fluid outlet for discharging out of the flare tank fluid from which the combustible gas has been at least partially removed, and a flow path extending between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, the flare tank including a baffle plate disposed in the interior of the flare tank between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, said baffle plate projecting into said flow path to form at least a partial barrier to fluid flowing from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet along the flow path, and a chimney stack provided on the flare tank, said chimney stack being pivotally mounted on the flare tank for collapsing the flare tank into a horizontal position onto the flare tank.
- 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, including a burner positioned adjacent an outlet of the chimney stack for igniting the combustible gas discharged through the chimney stack.
- 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said chimney stack is a first chimney stack and said burner is a first burner, and including a second chimney stack mounted on the flare tank for discharging combustible gas and a second burner for igniting combustible gas passing through said second chimney stack.
- 13. A method of separating combustible gas from fluid obtained during a drilling operation and subsequently discharging the combustible gas, comprising:
- introducing fluid from a drilling operation that contains combustible gas into a fluid inlet located at a lower portion of a flare tank, the flare tank having an interior and a longitudinal extent and being provided with a fluid outlet, said flare tank being mounted on top of a holding tank;
- flowing the fluid through the interior of the flare tank along a flow path;
- separating combustible gas from the fluid by impacting the fluid against a baffle plate that is perpendicularly disposed within the interior of the flare tank between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet so that the baffle plate projects into the flow path for forming at least a partial barrier to fluid flowing from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet along the flow path, the entire baffle plate being spaced from the fluid inlet so that fluid enters the interior of the flare tank and flows along a portion of the interior of the flare tank before impacting the baffle plate, the baffle plate including a plurality of openings through which passes the combustible gas that has been separated from the fluid;
- discharging, through the fluid outlet of the flare tank, fluid from which combustible gas has been separated and directing the fluid discharged through the fluid outlet into the holding tank;
- discharging combustible gas that has been separated from the fluid out of the interior of the flare tank and into a chimney stack mounted on the flare tank; and
- igniting the combustible gas discharged through the chimney stack by way of a burner positioned adjacent an open end of the chimney stack.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application in a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/556,430 filed Nov. 9, 1995.
US Referenced Citations (15)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0 211 492 |
Feb 1987 |
EPX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
556430 |
Nov 1995 |
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