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US 7,736,521 B2Granted
Viscosity control and filtration of well fluids
AssigneeTotal Separation Solutions, LLC
InventorsRobert L. Sloan, Kevin W. Smith, Harry D. Smith, Jr.
Life of this patent
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AssigneeTotal Separation Solutions, LLC
InventorsRobert L. Sloan, Kevin W. Smith, Harry D. Smith, Jr.
Estimating the term…
Circulating completion, workover and drilling fluids used in hydrocarbon recovery are filtered after monitoring for viscosity, which frequently causes plugging of filters. A viscometer generates a signal representative of viscosity in the fluid; the signal is used by a programmable controller to divert viscous fluid from the filter, or to take other action to prevent damage to the filter. The viscometer can be used in various positions in the system. Fluids deemed too viscous for the filter can be sent to a viscosity-reducing device, which may be a heating, shear-thinning, or cavitation device, to reduce its viscosity, enabling the fluid to pass through a filter without fouling. After filtering and a return to a lower temperature, the fluid may be treated if necessary to become viscous again for a useful purpose.
Method of filtering and conserving a used oil well fluid containing a viscosifying agent comprising (a) monitoring the viscosity of said fluid, (b) if the viscosity of said fluid is deemed too high to pass through a filter, reducing the viscosity thereof to a value acceptable for filtering, filtering said fluid and recovering said filtered fluid for reuse of at least a portion of said fluid as a well fluid or a well fluid component, (c) if the viscosity of said fluid is deemed too low to be reused, removing water therefrom, thereby obtaining a concentrated fluid, filtering said fluid before or after removing water from it, and recovering said filtered concentrated fluid for reuse of at least a portion of said fluid as a well fluid or a well fluid component, and (d) if the viscosity of said fluid is neither deemed too high to pass through a filter nor too low for said fluid to be reused, filtering said fluid and recovering the filtered fluid thus obtained for reuse of at least a portion of said filtered fluid as a well fluid or a well fluid component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.