Vacuum tank for use in handling oil and gas well cuttings

A vacuum tank apparatus, comprising:

• a) a frame having a plurality of corners reinforced by structural corner columns;
• b) the frame including a base having a structural, generally horizontally extended base that includes a plurality of base perimeter beams, said columns connected structurally to said base at said perimeter beams;
• c) the frame including an upper end portion including a plurality of upper perimeter beams, said columns being structurally connected to said upper perimeter beams;
• d) a hopper supported by the frame and being contained entirely within an envelope defined by the upper and lower perimeter beams and corner columns, the hopper including at least a pair of inclined sidewalls having upper end portions connected to the frame at the upper perimeter beams and lower end portions that approach one another near the lower end of the frame;
• e) an outlet header at the bottom of the hopper next to the lower end portions of the inclined sidewalls. the outlet header including a discharge outlet for discharging material from the hopper interior and a trough portion that connects to the lower end of the tank body;
• and
• f) a top wall of the hopper having multiple hatches including a first hatch near a first upper perimeter beam and a second hatch next to a second upper perimeter beam that is parallel to the first upper perimeter beam.

A vacuum tank apparatus comprising:

• a) a tank body having an interior, a top wall, a plurality of sidewalls, at least a pair of said sidewalls being inclined, and a lower end of the tank body, the tank body defining a closed structure that can be subjected to a vacuum;
• b) at least one opening in the top wall;
• c) a hatch for closing the opening;
• d) an inlet for transmitting solid material into the tank interior;
• e) an outlet header at the lower end of the tank body for discharging material from the tank interior, the outlet header including a trough portion that connects to the lower end of the tank body, the outlet header having opposed first and second open end portions;
• f) a source of pressurized air for injecting air into the outlet header at the first open end portion;
• and
• g) a vacuum source for pulling a vacuum on the tank at the second end portion of the outlet header.

A method of removing drill cuttings from an oil and gas well platform that uses a drill bit supported with a drill string and a well drilling fluid during a digging of a well bore, comprising the steps of:

• a) separating drill cuttings from the well drilling fluid on the drilling platform so that the drilling fluids can be recycled into the well bore during drilling operations;
• b) transmitting the separated cuttings to a cuttings receiving area;
• c) A suctioning the separated drill cuttings with a first suction line having an intake end portion that can be positioned at the cuttings receiving area;
• d) transmitting the drill cuttings via a the suction line to a first vessel that has an interior, a lower end portion with an outlet header, at least one access opening for communicating with the first vessel interior, and a valve that can disallow flow of material from the first vessel when a vacuum is present in the first vessel interior;
• e) forming a vacuum within the first vessel interior with a vacuum source that is in fluid communication with the first vessel interior via a second vacuum line;
• f) separating liquids and solids from at least one of the vacuum lines before said liquids and solids can enter the vacuum source;
• and
• g) emptying the first vessel of drill cuttings by discharging the cuttings via the outlet header from the first vessel interior to the second vessel.

A method of removing drill cuttings from an oil and gas well drilling platform that uses a drill bit supported with a drill string and a well drilling fluid during a digging of a well bore, comprising the steps of:

• a) separating drill cuttings from the well drilling fluid on the drilling platform so that the drilling fluids can be recycled into the well bore during drilling operations;
• b) transmitting the cuttings to a cuttings receiving area;
• c) suctioning the separated drill cuttings from the cuttings receiving area with a suction line having an intake end portion that can be positioned at the cuttings receiving area;
• d) transmitting the drill cuttings via the suction line to a vessel that has an interior and an outlet header;
• e) forming a vacuum within the interior of the vessel;
• and
• f) purging the vessel of drill cuttings through the outlet header.

A method of removing drill cuttings from an oil and gas well platform that uses a drill bit supported with a drill string and a well drilling fluid during a digging of a well bore, comprising the steps of:

• a) separating drill cuttings from the well drilling fluid on the drilling platform so that the drilling fluids can be recycled into the well bore during drilling operations;
• b) transmitting the cuttings to a cuttings collection area;
• c) suctioning the separated drill cuttings with a suction line having an intake end portion that can be positioned at the cutting collection area;
• d) transmitting the drill cuttings via the suction line to a vessel that has an interior;
• e) forming a vacuum within the suction line and vessel interior in steps “a” through “d”;
• and
• f) discharging cuttings from the vessel into a second vessel via an outlet header at the bottom of the vessel.