Apparatus and methods for separating hydrocarbons from particulates
Assignee3P Technology Corp.
InventorTrent Hunter
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Abstract
The invention relates to an apparatus and method for separating hydrocarbons from solid particles in a hydrocarbon-particulate-aqueous mixture. The apparatus comprises: a container for the mixture; a shockwave generator comprising two electrical terminals; and a pulsed power supply. The pulsed power supply is configured to apply a series of one or more voltage pulses to the terminals, such that, when each voltage pulse is applied to the terminals, a shockwave is applied to the mixture to promote separation of the components of the mixture. This may mitigate the need to heat the mixture and/or add chemicals to facilitate separation of hydrocarbons from solid particles such as sand or soil, mineral or carbonate particles.
Claims19
An apparatus for separating hydrocarbons from solid particles in a hydrocarbon-particulate-aqueous mixture, the apparatus comprising:
- a container for containing the hydrocarbon-particulate-aqueous mixture;
- two augers for moving the hydrocarbon-particulate-aqueous mixture within the container, wherein an interaction region is formed in a space between bottom halves of the two augers and a bottom of the container, relative to a longitudinal axis of the container;
- a shockwave generator comprising an electrical terminal pair, the electrical terminal pair being located within the interaction region within the container;
- and
- a pulsed power supply configured to apply one or more voltage pulses to the electrical terminal pair;
- the apparatus being configured such that, when a voltage pulse of said one or more voltage pulses is applied to the electrical terminal pair, a shockwave is generated within the interaction region in the hydrocarbon-particulate-aqueous mixture to promote separation of components of the hydrocarbon-particulate-aqueous mixture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.