US573142A - Francis a - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

- P. A. PLANEGIN. METHOD 0E AND MEANS FOR REMOVING PARAEEIN FROM OIL WELLS No. 573,142.- Patented Deo. 15, 189.6.

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-Y removalof the paraffin except on the surfac I I a citizen of the United States, residing at My present invention relates to oil-Wells,

Inoval of the parain which had accumulated in the crevices. Heated bars of metal have reached the bottom of the well it had cooled to a grea accumulation ofparaflin, which has lled the UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS-AFLANEGIN, or WASHINGTON, DISTRICT or COLUMBIA.

vMETHOD 0F AND MEANS FOR REMOVING PARAFFIN FROM OIL-WELLS.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 573,142, dated December 15, .1896.

I l Application tiled April 7,1896. Serial No. 586,520. (No model' To all whom it'jmay concern:- Beit known that I, FRANCIS A. FLANEGIN,

lV-ashington, inthe District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improve- -Iuents in Methods of and Means for Removing Parafiin from Oil-lVells.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.`

and has for its object the removal of paraiiin which accumulates in the crevices of the oilbearing portion of the well.

To increase theilow of oil-wells, it has heretofore been the' practice to explode torpedoes', which increased the capacity of the crevices by separation, but the, parain was driven back into compactness in the crevices,.so the increased flow was not effected by the rebeen lowered into the oilbearing strata of wells for the purpose of heating water for removing ythe paraiiin, but by the time the bar t degree, so that the water could not be heated to the boiling-point, and the' result was that but little good was eected in the of thefwall of the well. Steam has been it troduced into wells for the same purpose and the results were no better than produced by the heated metal.- Steam has also been conducted4 into wells through pipes extending to thebot-tom-of va. well and communicatingwith Electrical heaters' have also operated-upon a small portion of the creviccs trate. the crevice's to any considerable extent' and remove the parain therefrom, because oI--the limitations nature imposes uponthe ggvrer of the'heated body to diffuse its heat youd #certain distance from' tlie'heated Because of the impractical character of the;

several means' enumerated, thousands of 'oilwells havebeen 'abandoned on account of the 'crevices in the well and prevented the flow of oil.

It is my purposeA to remove paraffin from oil-Wells by heating a liquid, preferably petroleum-oil or its distillate, to the boiling` point as a minimum degree of heat, augment andinaintain the heat to produce ebullition, and circulate the liquid through the heater, on the surface of the walls, and into and out of the crevices in the oil-bearing rock or other strata from which the oil issues to dissolve `the paraffin, open thc Crevices, and cause the melted paraiiin to form a union with the hot petroleum, coal-oil, gasolene, benzene, or other distillate or liquid.

The invention will be fully disclosedinltheyI A following specification and claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings, which forml part of this specification, Figu l represents' avertic'al section of an oil-wel showing the heater in the bottom of the Well surrounded by a liquid; Fig. 2, a vertical section of the heater, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3, a transversesection on the line 3 3, Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a

side View of a section of the core of the heater; e Fig. 5, a section of the Wall of the same, and

Fig. 6 a top plan view of the electrical contact-disk detached.

Reference being had to the drawings andthe letters thereon, A indicates an oil-Awell,'

B its casing, and C the heater.

The heater consists o f a cent-ral porcelain core a, which is preferably 'made `hollow 'and provided with external spiral grooves b c, running in opposite directions, the former to receive andjsupport the positive wire d-,and the latter the negative wire e, which are electrically connected to the main and like positive and negative cables D E, which extend to the top of the well and are attached to a suitable generator of electricity, (not .shown-J and around said core is an insulating-jacket f, preferably f mica, and 'serves as a cond uctor of heat and a nou-conductor of electricity. The cord with its jacket rests' upon a seat g, of, plaster-of-pars, in the lower end. of and resting u n the, lower head h of the metal tuberi, w ich maybe made of ordinary gas or steam pipe and surrounds and incloses the core a` and its jacket f, and at the upper eud roo" of-paris or other suitable material, `irvrhichis provided with a 'central bore Z, preferabiy conical, anda vertical hole m, through the latter of which connectionis made with the wire d and the cable D, and through the former connection is made with the wire e and cable tion extends throughV the bo're lof the block k into the tubular core a to make electrical contact with the upper end of the negative'wire e, which is passed throughtl hole q in the upper end of the core and brought Ato the -center of the core, so 'that the disk p will engage it when inserted. 'lhe projection-o is alsoprovided with a bore r, through which the -lower end of the negative cable E extends and makes electrical contact with the disk or button p, or a separate piece oflwi're maybe used to connectthe cable with the disk. Through the upper portion of the block n is allelesI for the passage of the lower end of the positive cable D.

Surrounding the upper portionof the projection o of the block 'n and resting upon'the upper side ofV the block k is a disk t, of copper, which serves to connect the wire d and the cable D electrically. The disk lispro-v.

vided with a central openingu, through which the projection o passes, and with a hole fu, through which the lower end of the cable D passes and is secured on the under side ofthe disk by upsetting orspreading the wires which compose the cable.

The block k is held down in connection with the upper end of the core a by the 11p-- per cap w of the tube i, which engages the upper surface of the block n, and also secures it in its position inthe block k.

The cap w-may be provided with a bail y, by which to lower the heater into a well and withdraw it therefrom by a suitable line, (not sl1own,) but it is my purpose to lower and raise the heater through the medium of the cables D and E.

Thetube i is surrounded by a casing z, of -galvanized iron or other sheet metaljand preferably extends above and below-the tube t andl is contracted at its ends a' and b'and forms an annular chamber c' between the tube andthe casing, through which chamber h ql'lid F, preferably crude petroleum, coaloil, gasolene, or other distillate of petroleumoil, is circulated, thc cooler liquid entering at the bottom of the heater andbeingdischarged at the upper end into the center of the body of liquid inY the well, and by its circulation through the chamber c' is heated to such a degree as to produce ebullitionof the liquid, in which state the liquid is brought in contact with the parain coating the surface of the bore of the well in the oil-bearing rock and forced into'the crevices 'of the rock and ydissolves-,Tand by the motion imparted to the liqthe well after the heater has been withdrawn from the well either by the force of the gas vT he contracted ends 'of the casing z serve to guide the heater in its descent and ascent in a -well and prevent its lodging on joints. of the casing or projections in the well below the casing of the well, and in the operation .of the heaterlin a well the cold or'cooler liquid enters at the bottom of the heater, is

"heated and expanded in 'the chamber c', and

expelled at the vupper end, the liquid being directed by 'the contracted upper end of the 'heater toward the center of the body-of liquid in the. well, which `causes the cooler liquid adjacent to the wallof the well to descend rapidly andrenter the heater at its lower liquid through .the heater. IThe casing z is maintained in proper relative position with reference to the tube i by braces d'.' v

Liquid having been supplied to a well and the heater C having been let down into the well and the cables D E-attached to a d ynamo or other generator of electricity, the current which is now free to pass'through the crevices Aor by a pump.

`end `and elect a thorough circulation of the is turned on and the core a and its jacket f roo heated to incandescence and the tube i heated by the heat radiated from the core. The liquid which lls the chamber c' is heated to such a degree that it boils and produces ebullition of theliquid and causes it to rise in the chamber and discharge at the-upper end of the heater, while cold or cooler liquid enters the chamber c at its lower end and thus causes and maintains a thorough and constant circulation of the liquid through the heater, the heat. being continually augmented bythe current of electricity and maintained until the IIC paraiiin has been melted off the surface of theV bore of the well and out of the crevices in the OiLbeariug strata of the well, the liquid being' x i5 expanded by -the heat and forced into the most remote parts of the oil-bearing rock throughthe crevices.

In flowing wells the pressure'of gas at the head of the casing will indicate'. the progress' being made in the. removal of parali'in.

The` heater may vary in length from four to solvent* to the boilngQpoint, crculxttng the per -end and forming a ch'ambe between the :Ao

solvent inthe wellanditscrevces,augn1cnt heater amil the easing.-

ing the heat and maintaining the circulation b In testimony whereof I affix my signature of the schaun-thereby dissolving .the paran in presence of two witnesses.'

Abycontactwith the solvent and removingthe y v solvent and contained paraffin from thewell. g l l? RANCI A FIAA EG1\ 3. A device for removing paraffin from oil Witnesses:

wells, consisting of aheater provided with a i D. C. REINOHL,

surrounding casing-having vn contracted np- 1 yD. WEIMER .Ii-msnm.. I

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