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US 4,702,758 AGranted
Turbine cooling waxy oil
AssigneeShell Western E&P Inc.
InventorJulia S. Geer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A stream of gas and waxy oil is cooled by an expansion turbine to form a wax/oil slurry, and the slurry is pipeline transported without wax deposition in the pipeline and/or to prevent melting of permafrost along the pipeline right of way.
Claims25
A process for pipelining a waxy oil to essentially eliminate deposition of wax on the pipeline wall, comprising:
- providing a pressurized mixture of said waxy oil and a gas;
- effecting a sudden pressure drop of said mixture of the oil and the gas through an expansion turbine, thereby expanding the gas and quickly cooling the oil to below its cloud point in the substantial absence of wax deposition and forming a slurry of wax particles and oil;
- and
- pipelining the slurry.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.