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AssigneeRecover Energy Services Inc.
InventorsStan Ross, Mike Biersteker, Wendell Palmer, Paul Sudlow
Estimating the term…
A process for removing hydrocarbons and water from hydrocarbon and/or water containing drilling waste. The process includes introducing hydrocarbon contaminated drill cuttings and a cleaning solvent into a solvent wash tank. Prior to introducing the hydrocarbon contaminated drill cuttings into a solvent wash tank, the hydrocarbon contaminated drill cuttings are treated with a hydrocarbon solvent such as hexane to break the surface tension of the hydrocarbons in a solvent sealed vertical centrifugal separator to remove hydrocarbons from the hydrocarbon contaminated drill cuttings, resulting in improved efficiency of the hydrocarbon removal process. Apparatus for performing the process is also described.
A process for separating liquid phase-solid phase oil based drilling mud-containing drill cuttings, comprising flowing the drilling mud-containing drill cuttings through a vertical cuttings dryer to cause at least a portion of the liquid phase drilling mud to separate from the solid phase, wherein at least one diluent is added to the oil based drilling mud containing drill cuttings to lower the yield point of the diluent-liquid phase mixture and enhance liquid phase 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 oxygen containing air into the process from the external atmosphere.
A drill cuttings cleaning system for cleaning drill cuttings contaminated with a hydrocarbon liquids phase comprising, a hopper or storage device for receiving the contaminated drill cuttings, operatively connected with the separation apparatus, including a hermetic seal between the contaminated drill cuttings feed hopper/storage device and the separation apparatus, wherein the rheology of the liquids phase is altered by adding a diluent so that the liquids phase has a yield point equal to or less than 1.0 Pa.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.