Patent Application
20190168271
This disclosure relates generally to the field of maintenance of storage tanks of production liquids, and more specifically to the field of cleaning storage tanks.
A storage tank is an atmospheric tank used for storing and separating output from a well into separate components. For example, some wells produce liquids such as water and oil, gases such as natural gas, solids such as sand and iron sulfide, or some combination thereof. A storage tank allows the different products to settle and separate within the tank and stores production liquids until transport. The separated components are then removed by different outlets. After a period of use, the storage tank may be overfull of solids and need to be cleaned to remove the solids from within the storage tank. Disclosed herein is a method of cleaning a storage tank which may reduce emissions and cleaning down time.
Described herein is a method of cleaning a storage tank including isolating the tank; creating a vortex within the tank by pumping fluid through one or more nozzles disposed within the tank, which dislodges sediment within the tank; and connecting a suction source to a drain located on the bottom of the tank, which removes the fluid and sediment from the tank without exposure to air. In some embodiments, isolating the tank includes closing all lines into and out of the tank under a predetermined height except for the one or more nozzles. The predetermined height is chosen based on at least the anticipated height of sediment build-up within the tank and the anticipated volume of fluid required to dislodge the sediment. In some embodiments each nozzle includes one or more sub-nozzles to direct the flow of fluid within the tank to assist in creation of a vortex and removal of the fluid and sediment through the drain.
A storage tank and a nozzle assembly for use in connection with the disclosed method of cleaning a storage tank are also described herein.
This disclosure is directed to a storage tank and a method of cleaning storage tanks. According to one or more embodiments, the disclosed method of cleaning storage tanks may be safer and more environmentally friendly, as well as quicker and more efficient, than traditional methods of cleaning storage tanks. The described example storage tanks include one or more nozzles disposed within the tank, through which fluid may be pumped at a sufficient volume and pressure to create a vortex and dislodge sediment within the tank and flush it through a drain located on the bottom of the tank. The number of nozzles within the tank is chosen based on the size of the tank and the sediment to be cleaned from the tank. In some examples, each nozzle includes two or more sub-nozzles, which direct the fluid within the tank to ease creation of the vortex and to flush the sediment and fluid towards the drain. This may reduce the likelihood of clogs in the drain. In some embodiments, a suction source is applied to the drain to facilitate removal of the fluid and sediment within the tank and direct it to an appropriate waste removal system without exposure to air.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed concepts. As part of this description, some of this disclosure's drawings represent structures and devices in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the novel aspects of the disclosed embodiments. In this context, it should be understood that references to numbered drawing elements without associated identifiers (e.g., 100) refer to all instances of the drawing element with identifiers (e.g., 100a and 100b). Further, as part of this description, some of this disclosure's drawings may be provided in the form of a flow diagram. The boxes in any particular flow diagram may be presented in a particular order. However, it should be understood that the particular flow of any flow diagram is used only to exemplify one embodiment. In other embodiments, any of the various components depicted in the flow diagram may be deleted, or the components may be performed in a different order, or even concurrently. In addition, other embodiments may include additional steps not depicted as part of the flow diagram. The language used in this disclosure has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the disclosed subject matter. Reference in this disclosure to “one embodiment” or to “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment, and multiple references to “one embodiment” or to “an embodiment” should not be understood as necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or to different embodiments.
It should be appreciated that in the development of any actual implementation (as in any development project), numerous decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals (e.g., compliance with system and business-related constraints), and that these goals will vary from one implementation to another. It will also be appreciated that such development efforts might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
Referring to
The number of nozzles 110A-N may be determined based on the size of storage tank 100. Generally, there should be a sufficient number of nozzles 110A-N to dislodge sediment from the entire bottom of storage tank 100. In some embodiments, where the bottom of storage tank 100 is particularly large, a single nozzle 110 may be insufficient because the available fluid pressure decreases over distance until it is insufficient to dislodge the sediment at a point within the tank farthest from the single nozzle. In those embodiments, two or more nozzles 110A-N are implemented according to the size of storage tank 100 and the fluid pressure required to dislodge the sediment. Similarly, the placement of the one or more nozzles 110A-N within storage tank 100 is determined based on the size of storage tank 100. In some embodiments where two or more nozzles 110A-N are implemented, the nozzles 110A-N may be spaced throughout storage tank 100 such that all areas of storage tank 100 experience fluid pressure sufficient to dislodge sediment. For example, where three nozzles 110A-C are implemented in storage tank 100, the nozzles 110A-C may be spaced evenly around the cylindrical sides of storage tank 100, approximately 120 degrees apart. In some embodiments, the one or more nozzles 110A-N are positioned within the tank such that the fluid pressure dislodges the sediment at or near the bottom of storage tank 100. For example, if the one or more nozzles 110A-N are positioned on the side walls of storage tank 100 at a short height off the bottom of storage tank 100, the fluid pressure from the one or more nozzles 110 may be used to dislodge the sediment at the base of storage tank 100 and by extension, substantially all sediment in storage tank 100, rather than merely the top layers of sediment. The position of the one or more nozzles 110A-N at a short height off the bottom of storage tank 100 may also facilitate draining of the fluid and sediment through drain 120 by decreasing the likelihood of clogs in drain 120.
In some embodiments each of the one or more nozzles 110A-N may include one or more sub-nozzles for more efficient dislodgment of sediment within storage tank 100. The number and positioning of sub-nozzles may be chosen to optimize dislodgment of sediment and ease of draining storage tank 100. For example, each nozzle 110 may include two bi-directional sub-nozzles positioned such that one sub-nozzle aids in dislodging sediment from the bottom of storage tank 100 and the second sub-nozzle aids in flushing the fluid and sediment through drain 120.
Storage tank 100 also includes drain 120 located at the bottom of storage tank 100. Fluid pumped through nozzles 110A-N and sediment dislodged by it are removed from storage tank 100 through drain 120. In some embodiments, the fluid and the sediment passively drain through drain 120 according to the weight of the fluid and sediment. In other embodiments, the fluid and sediment actively drain through drain 120 according to an external suction source applied to drain 120. For example, a suction source may connect to drain 120 and remove the fluid and sediment from storage tank 100 through drain 120 without exposure to air. In some embodiments, the suction source includes a hose to be connected from drain 120 to a sediment disposal container, such that the sediment may be removed from storage tank 100 and placed within the sediment disposal container without exposure to air. This may be advantageous where the sediment includes iron sulfide, which may ignite when exposed to air. The suction source may be connected to drain 120 by a clear nipple which indicates storage tank 100 is clean when the fluid sucked from the storage tank no longer appears to carry sediment. For example, where the fluid pumped into storage tank 100 is water, storage tank 100 is clean and may be returned to operation when the clear nipple shows the water running clear.
In some embodiments including an external suction source applied to drain 120, any lines into and out of the storage tank 100 under a predetermined height except for the one or more nozzles 110A-N are sealed before the suction is applied to drain 120. Because lines into and out of the storage tank 100 above the predetermined height remain open, pressure within the tank is equalized. The predetermined height may be selected any number of ways based at least in part on the configuration of nozzles 110A-N and lines into and out of storage tank 100. For example, the predetermined height may be selected based on the estimated volume of sediment within storage tank 100 and the estimated volume of fluid necessary to dislodge and flush the sediment out of storage tank 100. To illustrate, if the sediment within storage tank 100 is estimated at three feet high and the fluid necessary to clean the sediment out of storage tank 100 is estimated to be two feet, the predetermined height may be set at five feet.
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The scope of the inventions contained within the disclosed subject matter should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.”
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/593,748 filed Dec. 1, 2017 and hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62593748 | Dec 2017 | US |
