Automated effluence conditioning and treatment apparatus
AssigneeUltra Fine, Inc.
InventorsReginald A. Wiemers, Michael J. R. Costello, Alfred R. Simmons, Gerald L. Sealey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Automated process, conditioning and treatment apparatus and methods are disclosed that are particularly well adapted for closed loop systems using or producing aqueous effluence with varying amounts of suspended solids therein, the apparatus and methods directed to separation of the solids from the effluence and thus cleaning of the centrate. The apparatus includes a mass flow rate meter, liquid polymer injector, and a controller for receiving the monitored rate from the meter and performing analysis to optimize the rate of injection of liquid polymer. The injector is monitored to further optimize the injection rate.
Claims16
Apparatus for automated treatment of drilling fluid with polymer material to provide a preselected polymer conditioning of a fluid output from the apparatus, said apparatus comprising:
- a conduit for conducting flow of the drilling fluid;
- sensing means at said conduit providing an output indicative of mass flow rate of the drilling fluid conducted through the conduit;
- injecting means at said conduit including a pump for injecting the polymer material into the flow of drilling fluid;
- and
- control means connected with said sensing means and said pump of said injecting means for receiving said output from said sensing means and, responsive thereto, operating said pump to cause injection of an amount of the polymer material into the flow of drilling fluid calculated at said control means to provide the preselected polymer conditioning of the fluid output from said apparatus at said mass flow rate.
Self adjusting apparatus for automated liquid polymer conditioning of an aqueous effluence having varying amounts of suspended solids therein to prepare the effluence for treatment to remove the solids, said apparatus comprising:
- a conduit for conducting a flow of the aqueous effluence;
- a supply line connected with said conduit for conducting a flow of the liquid polymer;
- first sensing means at said conduit providing an output indicative of flow rate of the aqueous effluence and density of the aqueous effluence;
- a controllable injection pump connected at said supply line;
- second sensing means downstream of said controllable injection pump providing an output indicative of injection rate of the liquid polymer from said supply line into said conduit by said controllable injection pump;
- and
- control means connected with said first and second sensing means and said controllable injection pump for receiving said outputs from said first and second sensing means and, responsive thereto, providing a control signal output to said controllable injection pump to adjust pumping rate and thereby rate of injection of the liquid polymer into said conduit based at least in part on mass flow rate of the suspended solids in the aqueous effluence flowing through said conduit and sensed injection rate of said injection pump.
An apparatus for liquid polymer conditioning of an aqueous effluence having varying amounts of suspended solids therein to prepare the effluence for treatment to remove the solids, said apparatus comprising:
- means for conducting a flow of the aqueous effluence;
- means for continuously monitoring the conducted flow in said conducting means and continuously indicating mass flow rate of the conducted flow of the aqueous effluence;
- control means connected with said monitoring means for repeatedly determining, based on the indicated mass flow rate of the conducted flow from said monitoring means, likely mass flow rate of the suspended solids in the conducted flow and generating and continually adjusting a control signal indicative of a desired rate of liquid polymer injection into the conducted flow based at least in part on said likely mass flow rate of suspended solids in the conducted flow and on selected stored numerical values indicative of preferred treatment ratios of various types of liquid polymer to suspended solids in aqueous effluence;
- and
- a mechanism at said conducting means and connected with said control means utilizing the generated control signal to inject liquid polymer into the conducted flow of aqueous effluence at a desired injection rate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.