Wellhead gas heater
AssigneeAdler Hot Oil Service, LLC
InventorPaul Briggs
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed that may include providing a wellhead gas burner to burn wellhead gas produced from a wellhead to heat water and/or other chemicals used in hydrocarbon production and/or well completion processes, including, but not limited to hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The wellhead gas burner may include a pressure regulator and an expansion chamber that permit the wellhead gas burner to continuously operate and accommodate wellhead gas pressure fluctuations. The wellhead gas burner may also be configured as a primary heat source and integrated with a traditional propane/diesel gas burner system configured as a supplemental heat source. The wellhead gas burner may also be mounted to a mobile superheater truck.
Claims20
A method of burning wellhead gas, comprising:
- providing a wellhead gas burner comprising an expansion chamber, a fuel rail, and a plurality of fuel rail fingers each connected to the fuel rail and comprising a plurality of combustion chambers, wherein each combustion chamber comprises a combustion tube holder connected to one of the fuel rail fingers, a combustion tube connected to the combustion tube holder, and a combustion nozzle connected to one of the fuel rail fingers, wherein a longitudinal axis of each combustion tube holder extends in a vertical direction;
- receiving a flow of wellhead gas from a wellhead in a first pipe;
- accommodating pressure fluctuations in the flow of wellhead gas by expanding the wellhead gas within the expansion chamber, wherein the expansion chamber has a larger inner diameter than the first pipe;
- passing the expanded wellhead gas from the expansion chamber to the fuel rail;
- distributing the expanded wellhead gas from the fuel rail to the plurality of fuel rail fingers and to the plurality of combustion chambers of each fuel rail finger;
- combusting the distributed wellhead gas within the plurality of combustion chambers;
- heating a wellbore treatment fluid with heat produced by the combustion of the distributed wellhead gas;
- and
- treating a wellbore with the heated wellbore treatment fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.