This invention relates generally to separation systems for separating solids from a fluid stream and, more particularly, to a system and method for separating solids from a slurry recovered from a hydrocarbon well that uses inverted pyramid settling compartments.
A wellbore is the actual hole that forms the well that is drilled to aid in the exploration and recovery of natural resources, including oil, gas, or water. When successful, the wellbore creates a well that can extract oil and gas for a protracted period of time. This extraction of oil and gas may use the process known as “fracking.” Drilling a wellbore, however, is complex and requires specialized training, tools, and equipment. At first, a slurry is advantageous in that the suspended solids within a semi-liquid water stream is useful for providing stability to the wellbore itself. A wellbore requires drilling through many layers of ground material, including mud, rock, water, minerals, and the like and results in a slurry that must be cleaned before its water can be used for other purposes and before the drilled materials may be recycled or disposed of. In addition, it is important clean the wellbore itself and that operating efficiency and cost is compromised when mud and debris is mixed with the oil or gas being extracted through the wellbore.
Various devices have been proposed in the art for separating solids from a slurry extracted or recovered from a hydrocarbon well. More particularly, proposed systems, such as the separating systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 10,751,654 and 11,040,300 disclose at least one tank having a V-shaped compartment with sloping sidewalls, a bottom, and a top. The systems further disclose a series of baffles positioned within the tank that cause a settling of solids within the slurry and then an auger operatively positioned on the bottom of the tank that is configured for rotation to cause the solids to be moved and eventually removed. The proposed systems may also include a linear shaker and other components for dewatering or moving a slurry.
Although presumably effective for their intended purposes, the settling of solids present in a slurry is slow and incomplete and their removal using an auger is inefficient and costly.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system for separating gas vapor and solids from a wellbore fluid stream that includes a first compartment having an inverted pyramid compartment that enhances a settling of solids from the fluid stream. Further, it would be desirable to have a system for separating gas vapor and solids from a wellbore fluid stream that includes a desander pump situated in fluid communication with the first compartment and configured to operatively suction the settling solids into a desander that produces a second slurry for direction into a second compartment. In addition, it would be desirable to have a system for separating gas vapor and solids from a wellbore fluid stream that includes a desilter pump situated in fluid communication with the second compartment and configured to operatively suction settling solids into a desilter that produces a third slurry for direction into a third compartment.
Accordingly, a system for cleaning or purifying a slurry recovered from a wellbore includes a plurality of inverted pyramidal shaped compartments for settling solids downwardly within the liquid stream. Further, each compartment defines an outlet for receiving a portion of the slurry and through which a desander pump and a desilter pump draws solids from the partially cleaned slurry into a desander and desilter, respectively, for removal of solids from the stream. The system includes a network of Weir plates for directing cleaned slurry streams downstream through successive compartments. In fact, a slurry may be drawn through the desander and desilter multiple times until a predetermined amount of solids are removed from the water stream—removal of which is indicative that the slurry has been satisfactorily cleansed.
Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a system and method for separating solids from a slurry recovered from a hydrocarbon well.
Another object of this invention is to provide a system and method, as aforesaid, that uses inverted pyramid compartments for settling solids downwardly within the liquid stream.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a system and method, as aforesaid, that includes a desander pump that draws solids from the slurry into a desander for removal of sand from the stream.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a system and method, as aforesaid, that includes a desilter pump that draws solids from the partially cleaned slurry into a desilter for removal of silt from the revised stream.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a system and method, as aforesaid, that includes a network of Weir plates positioned to direct the liquid stream through a plurality of cleaning compartments.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.
A system and method for separating solids from a slurry recovered from a hydrocarbon well according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
The term slurry is used in a variety of fields to refer to a combination of solids with liquid. Sometimes, the semi-liquid mixture could have different degrees of thickness depending on the application. The use of a slurry allows for the rapid movement of solid particles during the excavation process, and it is useful in applying pressure to stabilize a borehole. In the end, however, it may become desirable to clean cleanse the slurry so as to remove the previously advantageous suspended or solid particles such that the cleansed water stream may be used for other purposes.
A wellbore fluid stream (also referred to as a slurry or “mud”) may be initially introduced into the system 100 via a separator 11. An oil and gas separator is a vessel that is used for separating the fluid components of an oil and gas well stream into both gaseous and liquid constituents. Gaseous elements may be directed to a stack 11B for burning or venting to the atmosphere. Solids and liquids may be directed from the separator 11 via an inlet 11A for cleaning as will described below and then into compartment 1 as will be described below.
The system 100 includes a framework comprised of a plurality of cleaning compartments coupled together in downstream succession, each compartment having a defined structure and role to play in the method for cleaning a water stream, also referred to as a slurry, taken from a wellbore. Preferably, each compartment may be constructed of sheet metal having an inverted pyramidal shape configuration. More particularly, each compartment may include V-shaped walls that, together, define an opening or bottom outlet through which solids having settled out of the water stream are urged out of the stream and out of the compartment, respectively. For clarity in the description, the compartments are labeled 1, 2, 3, and 4. Further and as shown in
In a related aspect, each bottom outlet may include a 6″ butterfly valve 5 and a 6″ tee 9 and is in fluid communication with a conduit which will be referred to as a suction line 6. The suction line 6 is in fluid communication with the desander pump 16 or the desilter pump 17, respectively, as will be discussed in greater detail later. Both pumps may be referred to as centrifugal pumps.
In another aspect, the system 100 includes equipment for separating solids out of a wellbore fluid stream, including a shaker 10, a desander 12, and a desilter 13. Desanders and desilters are solid control equipment with a set of hydrocyclones that separate sand and silt from the drilling fluids in a wellbore. Each may use centrifugal movement to separate liquid and solid aspects of the stream. The desander 12 is in fluid communication with the desander pump 16 and the desilter 13 is in fluid communication with the desilter pump 17, such as with conduit in fluid communication with a respective outlet of a respective cleaning container. Preferably, each conduit passes through the desander 12 or desilter 13, respectively, and then the revised outflow is discharged onto the shaker 10 to remove large solids (cuttings) from the drilling fluid (a.k.a. “mud”), removal being via a solids trough 15. Removal of the largest solids via the shaker 10 is important so that successively smaller solid elements can be successively removed by the desander 12 and desilter 13, and so that downstream equipment remains clean.
A method for filtration of a wellbore slurry will now be disclosed with reference to the components of the system 100 described above. Fluid flow is shown via arrows in
As shown, the second revised fluid stream is allowed to flow up and over Weir plate 8A where it is immediately drawn downwardly along V-shaped walls of the inverted pyramidal shaped compartment 2 and as downwardly suction by electrical operation of the desilter pump 17. The desilter pump 17, via a respective conduit, is configured to direct the collected slurry through the desilter 13 where silt may be centrifugally removed and the outflow is discharged onto the shaker 10. Now thrice revised, the revised fluid stream may be directed, such as by conduit, back into the second compartment 2 to where solids may again be separated out as described above while the clean liquid is directed under Weir plate 7B then over Weir plate 8B and into compartment 3.
Compartment 3 also defines an outlet or valve 9 that is still under the suction influence of the desilter pump 17 such that the fluid stream may be further cleaned as necessary while clean liquid is directed under Weir plate 7C then over Weir plate 8C and into compartment 4. Compartment 4 also defines an outlet or valve 9 that is still under the suction influence of the desilter pump 17 such that the fluid stream may be further cleaned as necessary while clean liquid is directed under Weir plate 7D then over Weir plate 8D and through an outlet 18.
It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application 63/351,891 filed Jun. 14, 2022, titled Wellbore Filtration System and Method for Using Inverse Pyramid Compartments and Suction Pumps, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63351891 | Jun 2022 | US |