NO339852B1 - DEVICE AND PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING PARTICULATED MATERIAL - Google Patents

Description

DEVICE AND PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING OF

PARTICULAR MATERIAL

Field of the invention

The present invention generally relates to a method for removing particulate material which is particularly formed during test drilling and offshore production operations.

In particular, the present invention relates to a method and device for removing particulate material in a more efficient and rapid manner, for its final disposal so that the handling of drilling waste can be done in a technically perfect manner.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for removing the particulate material formed during test drilling and production operations according to claim 1's preamble and a device according to claim 8's preamble.

Technical background for the invention

It is known that during drilling operations, at sea or on land, drilling waste such as cuttings, chemicals, metallic wear materials, petroleum residues and the like are formed. All of these are generally particulate matter, sometimes dough-like, heavy and sticky.

With increasingly strict environmental requirements for the disposal of such drilling cuttings and the like (hereafter all such materials are referred to as drilling cuttings/particulate material for the sake of simplicity) especially in environments on land or at sea, there has been an ever-increasing need for an efficient disposal of such drilling cuttings .

It is known that traditionally such drilling cuttings were disposed of by filling up boxes or containers on the rig and then lifting and lowering these onto boats for transport, treatment and final disposal. However, crane lifting and filling crates is not only expensive, but this technique is not perfect in terms of health, safety and environmental hazards.

More particularly, crane operations are almost impossible in high seas and in bad weather, so that the removal of the waste is delayed. Crane operations with boxes or containers can also cause spillage of the particulate material and affect the health of the workers on the rig and pollute the marine environment there. A large number of crates will also take up valuable deck space that is needed for other deck cargo.

The above-mentioned disadvantages have led to the development of new techniques for disposal of drilling cuttings. For example, international patent application published as WO 00/76889 describes a method of transferring a non-free flowing paste comprising loading the paste into a container and supplying a compressed gas into the container, allowing the material to flow out of the container and into a storage device , placed on a transport vessel. However, this publication does not describe how to remove bridges that form when only the material in the center is discharged leaving material near the container/edge or plugs that form into the container that completely block the outlet, when supplying compressed gas to the particulate the material, which is temporarily stored in the container.

Attempts have been made to solve the problem in the previous section by using tanks that are exposed to vibration, as soon as such bridges or plugs of drilling cuttings are formed inside the tank. This technique is not sufficient in terms of completely removing such plugs, which in turn leads to inefficient removal of particulate material in the storage tanks of a transport vessel. This technique also leads to increased productive time. The same is also the case with other prior art, which uses a cylindrical tank with a rotating knife arrangement, which discharges into a screw feeder. This technique also experiences acute plugging problems.

In general, the prior art has no description of preventing plugging with particulate material in a temporary storage device, during the supply of compressed air. It is also not described how to simultaneously ensure an efficient evacuation of particulate material to units on a transport vessel, for final disposal of this drilling waste.

From US 2005183574 A1, a device for transferring drilling cuttings comprising two containers, an intermediate valve and vibration devices is known.

From US 2011162838 A1, a system for transferring proppant materials is known which is considered to be easier to transport than drilling cuttings. This publication further describes two containers and an intermediate valve, and where the material is transferred via the valve using compressed air, gravity and vibration devices.

The present invention provides a method and a device which specifically solves these two problems mentioned in the preceding paragraph. In particular, the bridging and plug formation problems are solved and an efficient transfer of particulate material to storage tanks on the transport vessel is also ensured.

Purpose of the invention

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a method and a device for efficient emptying of particulate material that is formed during test drilling and production operations which largely eliminates bridging and plugging of materials in storage tanks on the transport vessel.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a method and a device for the effective removal of particulate material formed during test drilling and production operations, which is not only fast and cost-effective, but which is also effective at the same time.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a method and a device for the removal of particulate material which is efficient and fast, so that the handling of the drilling waste can be done in a technically perfect manner which is in accordance with environmental regulations.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a device for removing particulate material, which has a simple construction, occupies a substantially small deck space and which is easy to replace, install and dismantle.

In the present description and requirements, terms such as "vessel", "tank/container", "particulate material/drilling cuttings",

"evacuation tank/blower", "storage tank", "valve", "frame",

"vibrations/micro-vibrations", "dampers", "flat/cylindrical", "conical silo" and all these terms are to be interpreted in the broadest sense of the respective term and include all similar elements/devices/methods within the field, which are known with other terms, as will be clear to a person skilled in the art.

Restrictions/limitations, if any, which are stated in the description, are given only as examples and for the understanding of the present invention.

Summary of the invention

According to a feature of the present invention, there is provided a method for removing particulate material that is formed during test drilling and production operations. Method comprises allowing particulate material to enter at least one container with a storage tank having a top portion and a bottom portion. A control valve at the bottom of the tank is kept closed during such an inflow of particulate material into the tank. In the case of opening the control valve to allow particulate material to be released from the tank into an evacuation unit, which is operatively connected to the lower part with the valve, the tank is simultaneously vibrated by means of vibration devices such as motors. These motors are connected directly to the tank and due to such vibrations, the particulate material is released from the lower part of the tank into the evacuation unit. The evacuation of material from the evacuation unit to a transport vessel is enhanced by airflow in a cyclonic movement, formed by the evacuation unit due to its design.

Preferably, the particulate material is introduced into the container by means of inlet pipes, and during such filling, excess air is released through an air outlet bend which enters an air outlet outlet and the inlet pipes are closed when the particulate material is led into the evacuation unit.

More preferably, the evacuation unit is a pneumatic blower, which creates a predetermined recoil pressure inside the tank to remove all residual material along the walls of the tank, once the removal of material from the tank into the blower is over and the control valve is open.

Most preferably, when the pneumatic blower is full, the control valve is closed and the vibration motors are stopped and the air pressure is increased with compressed air inside the blower via its air inlet pipe by opening an air inlet valve and when sufficient working pressure is achieved, the material and air are released from the blower via its material discharge pipe upon opening the material discharge valve, for feeding to storage tanks on a transport vessel.

In order to improve the process of discharging the particulate material to storage tanks on the transport vessel, as soon as the pneumatic blower is empty, the material outlet valve is closed and air is continuously compressed via the material outlet pipe, until the material reaches the transport vessel. Immediately when the material discharge valve is closed, the next filling cycle starts by opening the valve to fill up the pneumatic blower from the lower part of the tank and the same steps of filling and emptying are repeated.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a device for discharging particulate material formed during test drilling and production operations. It includes a container with a storage tank having a top portion and a bottom portion, the bottom portion having a control valve to stop or discharge material from the bottom portion to the tank. Vibrating devices, such as motors, are connected directly to the tank to vibrate the tank during discharge of material from the bottom portion of the tank into an evacuation unit operatively connected to the lower portion of the control valve. The evacuation unit has a design so that during emptying of the material through it to a transport vehicle, a cyclone movement can be achieved.

Short figure description

Having described the main features of the invention, a more detailed description of a preferred embodiment will now be given, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a front view of the device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a non-assembled front view of the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1, without the frame structure and without inlet and outlet pipes, for ease of understanding.

Detailed description of the invention

In what follows, the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in figures 1 and 2 is described, which is a pure example for understanding the invention and which is not limiting.

In all figures, like reference numbers represent like traits. Furthermore, when reference is made hereinafter to "top", "bottom", "upwards", "downwards", "above" or "below", "right side" or "left side", "upper part", " lower part" and corresponding terms, this only refers to an orientation with reference to

the seabed, where the seabed is assumed to be horizontal and on the bottom.

It should also be understood that the orientation of the various components and their number may be different from what is shown in the drawings, without deviating from the principle of the invention.

Figure 1 schematically shows a front view of the device A. It includes a storage tank, for temporary storage of the particulate material. The upper part of this tank is a cylindrical bulk tank 16a, while the lower part is conical 16b.

The lower end of the conical part 16b of the tank has an extension joint 7. The latter has at its lower end a control valve 8, which is connected to a pneumatic blower 10 at its bottom part.

The tank as a whole and the other features (hereafter sometimes referred to together as tank unit or device) as described in the two previous paragraphs, are produced in one piece and all of these are suspended in a frame 14, using dampers 5. I in the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the dampers 5 are positioned when the middle part of the cylindrical part 16a and near the lower part of the cone 16b so that the whole tank unit is perfectly suspended in the frame 14. However, it should be understood that the position of these dampers can vary, depending on the construction of the frame 14 and the tank assembly, all of which fall within the scope of the present invention.

Since the entire device is manufactured in one piece, it takes up minimal floor space on the rig/ship. This aspect also ensures that the device is easy to lift, replace, install and dismantle. The equipment is built on land and is transported out to rigs or ships with supply ships.

These dampers 5 are in reality vibration dampers as will be apparent from the operation of the device which will be described later.

Vibration devices such as motors 6 are provided on the two sides of the conical part 16b at its lower end. These are mainly in direct contact with the tank and can also be located at other positions. The motors 6 are adjustable with respect to frequency and amplitude. The functions of these motors 6 will be explained later.

The pipe inlet 1 enters the top part of the cylindrical part 16a by means of an inlet bend 2. These lead the particulate material into the tank. The air outlet bend 3 which originates from the top part of the tank is connected to an air outlet 4. These release excess air when the tank is filled with particulate material. The detailed function of all these will be explained later.

From Figure 1 it appears that the inlet pipes 1, 2 and the air outlets 3, 4 are located on opposite sides of the cylindrical part 16a, at its top part along both sides of the frame 14. This is done to prevent the entrainment of cuttings particles in the air outlet 4 .

The tank unit together with the frame 14 is placed on the rig/ship for temporary storage and then for the transport of particulate material/drilling cuttings, for final disposal. The frame 14 is locked at its four corners by means of suitable locking devices 15.

For transporting material from the blower 10 to a storage tank/container (not shown) on a transport vessel (not shown), the blower 10 has a suitable design. This design improves the transport of material by creating a cyclonic movement. This design is clear from Figures 1 and 2. With reference to Figure 1 again, the blower 10 has a conical cross-section.

On one side of the blower 10 there is an air inlet pipe 12, through which compressed air is supplied into the blower 10. The air inlet valve 9 regulates the opening and closing of the air inlet pipe 12. On the other side of the blower 10 there is a material outlet pipe 13, where opening and closing of this is controlled by the material outlet valve 11. Figure 2 is an unassembled sketch of the entire tank unit. The inlet and outlet pipes and the frame 14 are not shown for easier understanding. Figure 2 clearly shows the construction of the tank unit, as previously explained with reference to Figure 1. The top part 16a of the tank is cylindrical and the lower part is a conical funnel 16b. The upper end of the expansion joint 7 is connected to the lower end of the cone 16b, while its bottom end is connected to the top end of the blower 10. The position of the vibration dampers 5 and the vibration motors 6 is also clear. Since the vibration motors 6 are in contact with the tank, the vibrations that are generated will be more effectively transferred to the tank unit.

It is also clear from Figure 2 that the device with all the connections at the bottom is produced in one piece and thereby occupies minimal floor space on the rig or on the ship. In addition to this, figure 2 clearly shows that the device A (see fig. 1) can be easily moved, replaced, assembled or dismantled since it is in one piece as explained earlier. The control valve 8 in fig. 2 is shown as a dome valve. However, the invention is not limited to this and it can be a knife valve or any other type of valve known to the person skilled in the art.

Referring again to figure 1, drilling cuttings (drilling mud and/or drilling fluid)/particulate material from a preceding screening and cleaning step is fed to the top portion of the cylindrical unit 16a by means of the inlet pipe 1. The purpose of the tank 16a, 16b, which is usually placed on a drilling rig/drillship or FPSO, is to store cuttings for further transport to other containers, e.g. on board a supply ship or other ship for transport ashore. Since the device is most often, but not always, placed on a drilling rig, the entire device is placed in a frame 14 to be able to hoist the entire device on board or from a deck. The compact design achieves as small a "footprint" as possible on the tire, due to space limitations.

In the embodiment shown, the inlet pipe 1 runs from the bottom of the device to the top of the closed bulk tank 16, but this arrangement is a secondary feature to get all the inlets and outlets at the bottom of the entire structure when used on a drilling rig/drill ship and so on.

The entire function is now explained sequentially with reference to figures 1 and 2.

As mentioned earlier, the sieved and cleaned material is transported into the tank via material inlet pipe 1 through the material inlet bend 2 and into the tank. The transport air is vented out via the material outlet bend 3 and further through the material outlet pipe 4. The material is then stored temporarily in the tank, by keeping the control valve 8 closed, until a typical transport cargo arrives on site.

As soon as the transport vessel arrives, the material is first brought down into the pneumatic blower 10. This process is made possible when the control valve 8 is opened between the conical silo 16b and the pneumatic blower 10. Immediately and simultaneously the vibration motors 6 start and form vibrations in the tank 16a, 16b. This is possible since the tank is suspended in the tank frame 14 via the vibration dampers 5.

The material is shaken loose from the tank wall (both from the walls of the cylindrical tank 16a and the conical silo 16b) and with the help of gravity the material moves through the valve 8 and into the pneumatic blower 10. This means that the formation of bridges/plugs in the tank. This aspect of making the temporary storage tank dynamic while emptying the material from the tank is unique. The fact that the vibration motors 6 are in contact with the tank, especially with the lower part of the tank, enables this unique aspect.

The vibration dampers 5 ensure that the vibrations formed in the tank are prevented from being transferred to the frame 14 and thereby to the tire. This is also made possible with the expansion coupling 7 at the lower end of the conical funnel 16b. Rubber or another compliant material is included with these features to prevent the vibration from reaching the valve 8 and the pneumatic blower 10 below.

The material movement from the bulk tank 16 to the pneumatic blower 10 is preferably assisted by closing the air discharge pipe 4 and blowing air through the material inlet pipe 1, while the control valve 8 is open and the micro-vibrations generated by the motors 6 are on.

Another unique aspect is that the pneumatic blower 10 provides an auxiliary recoil pressure to create a particle lifting pressure/motion to assist in loosening the material from the walls of the cylindrical portion 16a and also from the walls of the conical silo 16b. This is achieved by continue to blow air into the pneumatic blower 10 through the air inlet 12 by opening the air inlet valve 9, after the material has been emptied into the blower 10 from the tank and the material outlet valve 11 has been closed. Recoil pressure is monitored, varied and controlled depending on the required effect.

Now that the pneumatic blower 10 is full, the control valve 8 is closed, the vibration motors 6 are stopped and compressed air is pumped in via the air inlet pipe 12 by opening the air inlet valve 9. When sufficient working discharge pressure has been achieved, the material and air are released via the material outlet pipe 13 by opening the material outlet valve 11. The evacuation of the material takes place in a cyclonic movement due to the internal design of the pneumatic blower 10. All this constitutes a unique aspect of the present invention.

As soon as the pneumatic blower 10 is emptied, the material outlet valve 11 is closed and the compressor (not shown) continues to feed air via the air inlet valve 12, then via a bypass line to the outlet pipe 13 (not shown) and then through the material outlet pipe 13, until the material reaches the transport vessel. The material outlet pipe 13 is designed so that even if the material outlet valve 11 is closed, it will still be possible to pass air through the bypass line.

Immediately after the material outlet valve 11 is closed, the next filling cycle starts by opening valve 8 to fill the pneumatic blower 10 again from the vibrating tank 16a, 16b and the process is repeated as before.

From the description above, it will be clear to one skilled in the art that all the purposes of the invention have been achieved. Furthermore, only device A is shown and described. In reality, there may be many such devices which work in the same way and the invention also includes such an arrangement.

The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment and some drawings, for the sake of understanding only and it will be clear to a person skilled in the art that the present invention includes all legal modifications within the scope of what has been described and defined in the accompanying claims .

The device according to the present invention can also be used for temporary storage for other processes, such as mechanical dryers, pelletizing devices and thermal dryers for material on or near the site

Claims (11)

1. Method for emptying particulate material formed during test drilling and production drilling operations that allows particulate material to enter at least one container (A) having a storage tank with a top portion (16a) and a bottom portion (16b), and a control valve (8) at the bottom of the tank is kept closed during such inflow of material into the tank, where in the event of opening the control valve (8) to allow particulate material to be discharged from the tank into an evacuation unit (10) operatively connected to the lower part of the valve (8), the tank is simultaneously vibrated by means of vibration devices such as motors (6) which are connected directly to the tank and due to such vibrations the particulate material will be emptied freely from the lower part of the tank and into the evacuation unit (10), characterized in that the evacuation of material from the evacuation unit (10) to a transport vessel is enhanced by cyclone movement, then nnet of the evacuation unit (10) due to its design. 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the particulate material is allowed to enter the container (A) by means of inlet pipes (1, 2) and during this filling of material, excess air is released via air discharge legs (3) which run into in an air outlet (4). 3. Method according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the air outlet (4) is closed during material inflow from the tank, into the evacuation unit (10) and air is blown through the inlet pipes (1, 2), and that the vibrations formed in the tank are prevented from being transferred to the frame (14) and thereby to the base with dampers (5) which are suitably positioned so that they suspend the upper part (16a) and the lower part (16b) of the tank on a frame (14). 4. Method according to claims 1 and 3, characterized in that the evacuation unit (10) is a pneumatic blower which forms a recoil pressure inside the tank, for the removal of all residual material along the walls of the tank (16a, 16b) when the emptying of material from the tank into the blower (10) is finished and the control valve (8) is open. 5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the recoil pressure is formed by allowing air to enter the evacuation unit (10) through an air inlet pipe (12) to the evacuation unit (10), by opening an air inlet valve (9) to the evacuation unit (10) while a material outlet pipe (13) to the unit (10) is kept closed by means of a material outlet valve (11). 6. Method according to claims 4 and 5, characterized by the fact that the recoil pressure is monitored, varied and regulated depending on the required effect. 7. Method according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the evacuation unit (10) is a pneumatic blower and when it is full, the control valve (8) is closed and the vibration motors (6) are stopped and the air pressure is increased by compressing air inside the unit (10) via its air inlet pipe (12) by opening an air inlet valve (9) and that when sufficient working discharge pressure is achieved, the material and air are released from the unit (10) via its material outlet pipe (13) by opening a material outlet valve (11), for feeding into storage tanks on a transport vessel. 8. Device for emptying particulate material formed during test drilling and production drilling operations, comprising a container (A) with a storage tank having a top part (16a) and a bottom part (16b), which bottom part (16b) has a control valve (8) for punching or emptying material from the bottom of the tank, vibrating devices (6), such as motors, are connected directly to the tank to vibrate the tank simultaneously with the emptying of material from the bottom of the tank into an evacuation unit (10), which is operatively connected to the lower part of the control valve (8), characterized in that the evacuation unit (10) has a design such that during evacuation of the material through this to a transport vessel, a cyclone movement can occur. 9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the top part (16a) of the tank is cylindrical and the bottom part (16b) of the tank is conical and is connected to the control valve (8) at its lower end via an expansion connection (7) which acts as a vibration damper, and that the vibration motors (6) are provided along the side parts of the conical part (16b) and are adjustable with regard to frequency and amplitude. 10. Device according to claims 8 and 9, characterized by the fact that the device is made in one piece and the entire device is suspended in a frame structure (14) by means of suitably positioned vibration dampers (5). 11. Device according to claims 8 and 10, characterized in that the inlet pipe (1, 2) for filling the container (A) with more particulate material and the air outlet (3, 4) for releasing excess air during filling are connected to the top part of the tank so that the inlet pipes (1, 2) and the air outlets (3, 4) are located opposite the upper part (16a) of the tank along each side of the frame structure (14).