Wellhead gas separator system
AssigneeAdler Hot Oil Service, LLC
InventorPaul Briggs
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed that may include producing wellhead gas from a wellbore, removing hydrocarbons and/or other particulates from the wellhead gas produced from the wellbore to maximize and/or provide a consistent BTU level to the wellhead gas, and burning the wellhead gas in a wellhead gas burner to heat water and/or other chemicals used in hydrocarbon production and/or well completion processes, including, but not limited to hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The wellhead gas burner may also be configured as a primary heat source and integrated with a traditional gas burner system configured as a supplemental heat source. The wellhead gas burner and the traditional gas burner may also be operated simultaneously. The wellhead gas burner may also be mounted to a mobile superheater truck.
Claims31
A wellhead gas system, comprising:
- a separator connected in fluid communication with a wellhead gas source and configured to separate wellhead gas from liquid hydrocarbons produced from the wellhead gas source;
- and
- a wellhead gas burner connected in fluid communication with the separator and configured to burn the separated wellhead gas received from the separator to heat a wellbore treatment fluid,
- wherein the wellhead gas burner comprises an expansion chamber and a fuel rail in fluid communication with the expansion chamber,
- wherein the expansion chamber is configured to reduce at least one of a pressure or a velocity of the separated wellhead gas prior to delivering the separated wellhead gas to the fuel rail,
- wherein the wellhead gas burner comprises a plurality of fuel rail fingers connected in fluid communication with the fuel rail,
- wherein each fuel rail finger comprises a plurality of combustion chambers for burning the separated wellhead gas, and
- wherein each of the plurality of combustion chambers comprises at least one orifice configured to allow the separated wellhead gas to exit an associated fuel rail finger into an associated combustion chamber.
A wellhead gas system, comprising:
- a separator connected in fluid communication with a wellhead gas source and configured to separate wellhead gas from liquid hydrocarbons produced from the wellhead gas source;
- a wellhead gas burner connected in fluid communication with the separator and configured to burn the separated wellhead gas received from the separator to heat a wellbore treatment fluid, wherein the wellhead gas burner comprises an expansion chamber and a first fuel rail in fluid communication with the expansion chamber, wherein the expansion chamber is configured to reduce at least one of a pressure or a velocity of the separated wellhead gas prior to delivering the separated wellhead gas to the first fuel rail, wherein the wellhead gas burner comprises a plurality of fuel rail fingers connected in fluid communication with the first fuel rail, wherein each fuel rail finger comprises a plurality of combustion chambers for burning the separated wellhead gas, and wherein each of the plurality of combustion chambers comprises at least one orifice configured to allow the separated wellhead gas to exit an associated fuel rail finger into an associated combustion chamber;
- and
- a second fuel burner configured to burn a second fuel, wherein the second fuel burner comprises a plurality of fuel rail fingers connected in fluid communication with a second fuel rail, wherein each fuel rail finger of the second fuel burner comprises a plurality of combustion chambers for burning the second fuel, and wherein the plurality of fuel rail fingers of the wellhead gas burner are integrated with the plurality of fuel rail fingers of the second fuel burner.
A method of operating a wellhead gas system, comprising:
- receiving wellhead gas from a wellbore;
- removing liquid hydrocarbons from the wellhead gas produced from the wellbore;
- passing the wellhead gas through an expansion chamber to reduce at least one of a pressure or a velocity of the wellhead gas;
- combusting the wellhead gas in a wellhead gas burner;
- heating a wellbore treatment fluid with heat produced by combusting the wellhead gas in the wellhead gas burner;
- and
- treating a wellbore with the heated wellbore treatment fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.