Shaker and degasser combination

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10094183-B2
Application number	US-201514792279-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 6, 2015
Priority date	Sep 29, 2006
Publication date	Oct 9, 2018
Grant date	Oct 9, 2018

Abstract

A system for separating components from a slurry of drilling fluid and drill cuttings on a shaker screen having an upper side and a lower side within a shaker. The system also has a pressure differential generator to pull an effective volume of air through a section of the shaker screen to enhance the flow of drilling fluid through the section of the shaker screen and the separation of drilling fluid from drill cuttings and further maintain an effective flow of drill cuttings off the shaker. A method of separating components of a slurry of drilling fluids and solids has the steps of delivering the slurry to a shaker, flowing the slurry over a first screen and applying an effective amount of vacuum to a first portion of the first screen to remove the drilling fluids from the slurry without stalling the solids on the first screen.

First claim

I claim:

1. A method comprising:
introducing material to a shaker having a plurality of screens;
flowing the material over the plurality of screens;
collecting a liquid portion of the material and air or vapor passing through an inlet screen of the plurality of screens located adjacent an inlet end of the shaker in a first sump;
collecting a liquid portion of the material and air or vapor passing through a discharge screen of the plurality of screens located adjacent a discharge end of the shaker in a second sump;
utilizing a pressure differential device to create a constant pressure differential between a space above the inlet screen and the first sump to pull all of the liquid portion of the material and the air or vapor from the first sump to a degassing chamber;
utilizing the pressure differential device to create a pressure differential between a space above the discharge screen and the second sump to pull all of the liquid portion of the material and the air or vapor from the second sump to the degassing chamber;
pulsing the pressure differential created between the space above the discharge screen and the second sump from a static pressure differential to a partial or full vacuum, such that the pressure differential prevents stalling of the material on at least one of the plurality of screens.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the degassing chamber is external to the shaker and wherein the pulling all of the liquid portion of the material and the air or vapor from the first sump and the second sump to the degassing chamber is performed while maintaining the pressure differentials.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising separating the vapor or air from the liquid portion in the degassing chamber while maintaining the pressure differential across at least one of the plurality of screens.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the pressure differential enhances an amount of the material passing through the one of the plurality of screens relative to an amount of the material passing through the one of the plurality of screens without the pressure differential.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising controlling the pressure differential such that solids in the material proceed unhindered across the one of the plurality of screens.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein controlling the pressure differential comprises pulsing the pressure differential created between the space above the discharge screen and the second sump between a static value greater than zero and zero.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the pressure differential device is located external to the shaker.

8. A system comprising
a vibratory screen separator having a plurality of screens for receiving a slurry of liquid and solids, the plurality of screens comprising an inlet screen and a discharge screen;
a first sump located below the inlet screen of the plurality of screens;
a second sump located below the discharge screen of the plurality of screens;
a pressure differential device configured to generate a constant pressure differential between a space above the inlet screen and the first sump and a pulsed pressure differential between a space above the discharge screen and the second sump, the pressure differential device configured to enhance recovery of the liquid through the screen while avoiding solids accumulating on the one screen; and
a chamber located external to the vibratory screen separator for collecting a liquid portion of the material passing through the inlet screen and the discharge screen and separating air or vapor from the liquid material while the pressure differential device generates the constant and pulsed pressure differentials.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the pressure differential device is configured to create the pressure differential while conveying the material passing through the inlet screen and the discharge screen to the chamber.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the chamber is positioned between the first and second sumps and the pressure differential device.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the pressure differential device pulls a vacuum or partial vacuum to separate gas from the chamber.

12. The system of claim 10 further comprising a first flow line connected to the chamber and the pressure differential device.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein gas collecting in the chamber is vented from the chamber or conveyed to the first flow line.

14. The system of claim 10 wherein liquid collecting in the chamber is conveyed from the chamber with a second flow line.

15. The system of claim 8 further comprising a valve positioned between the pressure differential device and the chamber.

16. A method comprising:
delivering a slurry of drill cuttings and drilling fluid to a shaker having at least an inlet screen adjacent the inlet end of the shaker and a discharge screen adjacent the discharge end of the shaker;
connecting a pressure differential device to a chamber located external to the shaker to separate air or vapor in the chamber from the drilling fluid;
connecting the chamber to a sump located below the discharge screen to generate a pressure differential across the discharge screen to enhance the drilling fluid recovered through the discharge screen as compared to the drilling fluid recovered without the pressure differential;
connecting a flow line between the chamber and an outlet of the sump; and
conveying, via the pressure differential, substantially all of the drilling fluid passing through the discharge screen with the air or vapor through the sump into the flow line connected to the chamber.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the conveying the drilling fluid to the chamber occurs while the pressure differential is created across the discharge screen.

Assignees

• Mi Llc

Inventors

• Carr Brian S

Classifications

• B01D33/0376

  supported · CPC title

• B01D19/0036 Primary

  Flash degasification (the other groups take precedence) · CPC title

• B07B2201/04

  Multiple deck screening devices comprising one or more superimposed screens · CPC title

• B01D33/72

  for feeding · CPC title

• B07B2230/01

  Wet separation · CPC title