US1868003A - Sand and gas separator - Google Patents

Description

July 19, 1932. w. J. DUNLAP SAND AND GAS SEPARA TOR Filed April 22, 1931 III Patented July 19, 1932 Y 1,868,003

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM J. DUNLAP, F LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA SAND AND GAS SEPARATOR Application filed April 22, 1931. Serial No. 532,034..

This invention relates to improvements in employed to bean or choke back the well. sand and gas separators and may be regarded. Referring to the accompanying drawing, as an improvement over the construction diswherein 811111131 reference characters desigclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,7 59,004, 1snate 311111131" parts throughout, designates sued May 20, 1930. a seat for a standing valve which is conven- 65 An object of the present invention is to tionally employed in deep well pumps. Gonprovide an improved sand and gas separator nected to the seat 10 are various fittings 11 for use in oil wells and the like which is of and a collar 12 which is preferably provided simple construction and which permits of the w th set screws 13 to prevent unscrewing 0 omission of the so called mosquito bill While 1n the well. The sand and gas sepa- 0 which is attached to and extends downwardrator comprises an outer tube 14, the upper 1y from the standing valve. end of which is screwed into the collar12.

Another object of the present invention is This tube is of conslderable length and has a to provide a sand and gas separator which removable closure 15 at its bottom. Within 15 will effectively separate sand and most of the outer tube there 1s an inner tube 16 havll the gas from the oil and which has a replacemg a removable closure 17 at its bottom. The able fitting serving to bean back the well outer tube 14 1s made up of sections and a so that oil in the well will not be caused to jolnt mollcated at 18 is preferably arranged surge by the pump to such an extent as to near the lower end of the inner tube 16 so that h bring about a caving in of the well walls. by breakmg the jolnt 1n the outer tube ac- 70 In other words the purpose is to choke back cess to closure 17 may easily be had. A cloto a certain extent the flow of oil to the pump sure r1ng 19 1s welded to the outer tube 14 so that the flow of oil from the well into the and to the inner tube 16 adjacent the to pump will be more steady or constant, thus thereof, forming a closure between the tubes. 25 reducing the surging tendency and the tend- A diametrical partition 20 is likewise welded T5 ency to bring about cave-in between the tubes and extends from the clo- A th bj t f th i ti i t sure r1ng 19 to substant ally the bottom of id a gas d d separator employing the inner tube 16,'d1v1d1ng the interior of merely two tubes, enabling the device to be t Outer tube 14 about the inner tub 16 0 constructed in very small sizes and yet ef- 111130 limylindrical chambers 21 and 8 fectively separate sand and gas from the oil. 5 1 1nl t 23 1s formed 1n the outer tube The improved construction has the tubes pro- 14 adjacent '05 op so as to be arranged on vided with removable closures adjacent the s1de the p rtltlon 20. An 1nlet 24 bottom so that the separator can be emptied 18 rmed 1n the top of the inn r t b 16 on ith t b i E the opposite s1de from 1nlet 23 so as to be With the foregoing and other objects i arranged on the opposite side of the bafile. i hi h ill b d if t i th The distance from closure 17 to closure 15 following detailed description, and specificonstltlltes a hg hamber 25 for sand cally pointed out in the appended claims, refand 151115 chamber 13 loflated a Suificlent grence is had to thg accompanying drawing tance below the standing valve SO the 90 for an illustrative embodiment of the inven p phn the o t deal Working conditi h i tlons is incapable of llfting sand from the Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the imbottom of this chamber. The interior of clo- 45 proved sand and gas separator. sure rlng 19 1S internally threaded as indi- Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken upon cated at 26 and is adapted to receive a stand- 5 the line 2-2 upon Figure 1. ard flow nipple 27 having an aperture or Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken upon orifice 28 therein of predetermined size, or the line 33 upon Figure 1. if desired a flow bean 29 having a smaller Fig. 4: is a partial sectional view illussized aperture 30 may be substituted therean trating a replaceable fitting which may be for. l

The o eration and advantages of the improved sand and gas separator are as follows. The oil carrying the gas and sand may enter the outer tube through inlet 23. It flows downwardly through semi-cylindrical chamber 22 and during this down flow much of the gas may separate out and escape through the inlet 23. The partition 20 causes the down flow to continue to a point near the bottom of inner tube 16. After passing the bottom of inner tube 16 and the bottom of partition 20, the oil enters the settling chamber 25. In this chamber there is but a slow flow of oil giving the sand, which may be carried by the oil, adequate opportunity to settle out and drop to the bottom of the settling chamber. The oil then flows upwardly through semicylindrical chamber 21 and enters the inner tube 16 through inlet 24. Within the inner tube 16 the sand is given a second opportunity to settle out with the sand collecting on top of closure 17 The oil then may flow up through the fittingQ'? to the pump. By virtue of the fact that the fitting 27 forms a somewhat constricted passage it has the effect of choking back to a certain extent the supply 01. oil to the pump. In other words if a conventional deep well pump is employed, on the up stroke of the plunger there is a surge of oil into the pump barrel. If all passages leading to the pump are large and free, this causes a surge of oil to take place in the well which is of a considerable velocity and which is quite sudden. This sudden surge has the effect of bringing about cave-ins in the walls of the well. By having the flow nipple 27 present, as the velocity of the oil to the pump has a tendency to increase, the resistance ofi'ered by the aperture 28 likewise in creases. Consequently the surging action which would otherwise have a tendency to take place is greatly reduced, eliminating to a large extent the tendency to cave or wash away the walls of the well. If in a given well it is found that the flow nipple 27 is too large to reduce this surging tendency, a flow bean 29 may be substituted therefor, having a' smaller orifice which will bring about the desired results. This flow bean can be easily substituted by detaching the separator from collar 12 which makes the top of the fitting readily accessible for the application of a suitable wrench.

From the above described construction it will be appreciated that the improved gas and sand separator is advantageous in that it employes only two tubes, enabling the device to be made in very small sizes if necessary. It is possible to eliminate the use of the mosquito bill and at the same time to bean back the well so that surging of the liquid in the well is reduced, if not eliminated. Whenever the separator becomes filled with sand, closure 15 can be removed to empty the outer tube and by breaking the outer tube at joint 18 closure 17 can be removed to empty the inner tube. In this manner the separator can be emptied while in an upright position.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sand and separator comprising an outer tube, an inner tube disposed therein, means providing a partition connecting the outer tube to the inner tube, means forming a' closure between the top of the outer tube and the inner tube, there being an inlet to the outer tube adjacent its top arranged on one side ofthe partition, there being an inlet to the inner tube adjacent its top arranged on the opposite side of the partition, and a replaceable member removably mounted at the top of the inner tube having an orifice therethrough of a predetermined size, said replaceable member being relatively shor as compared with the length of the inner tube so as to leave the major portion of the interior of the inner tube unobstructed.

2. A sand and gas separator comprising an outer tube, an inner tube disposed therein, means providing a partition connecting the outer tube to the inner tube, means forming a closure between the top of the outer tube and the inner tube, there being an inlet to the outer tube adjacent its top arranged on one side of the partition, there being an inlet to the inner tube adjacent its top arranged on the opposite side of the partition, a replaceable member removably mounted at the top of the inner tube havin an orifice therethrough of a predetermined size, said replaceable member being relatively short as compared with the length of the inner tube so as to leave the major portion of the interior of the inner tube unobstructed, and removable closures at the lower ends of said tube, the lower end of the outer tube being disposed a material distance below the lower end of the inner tube to provide an adequate settling chamber for sand, there being a joint in the outer tube adjacent the lower end of the inner tube.

3. A sand and gas separator comprising an outer tube, an inner tube disposed therein, means providing a partition connecting the outer tube to the inner tube, means form: ing a closure between the top of the outer tube and the inner tube, there being an inlet in the outer tube adjacent its top arranged on one side of the partition, there being an inlet to the inner tube adjacent its toparranged on the opposite side of the partition, and a member having an orifice therethrough of a predetermined size threadedly mounted at the juncture between said closure and the top of the inner tube, said member being relatively short as compared with the length of the inner tube so as to leave the major portion of the interior of the inner tube unobstructed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

WILLIAM J. DUNLAP.

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