US3713499A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for treating drilling mud
Assignee: Gulf Research and Development Co
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Filing: 1971-08-11
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Granted: 1973-01-30
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Expires: 1991-08-11
Abstract
Abstract A method for treating drilling mud discharged from a well in an abrasive jet drilling process using ferrous abrasives to recondition the drilling mud for reuse in which the drilling mud is passed over a shale shaker to remove oversized cuttings and is then delivered into a magnetic separator in which the abrasive particles are separated from the major portion of the drilling mud. The ferrous abrasive particles from the separator are further cleaned of drilling mud in a centrifugal cleaner and dried. The dried abrasive particles are screened to remove broken abrasives, and the resultant sized abrasive particles are stored in a dry condition in a hopper from which they are introduced into drilling mud at a controlled rate and recirculated through the abrasive jet drilling process.
Inventors
- 👤 R Arscott
- 👤 R Morris
- 👤 E Gaylord
- 👤 E Mori
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 06:32
CPC Classifications
E; E21; E21B; E21B21/00; E21B21/06; E21B21/063; E21B21/065; E21B21/066
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
103 words
A method of treating ferrous abrasive laden drilling mud discharged from a well for recirculation in an abrasive jet drilling process comprising screening oversize cuttings from the drilling mud, dividing the screened drilling mud into a ferrous-abrasive-rich stream and a drilling mud stream substantially devoid of ferrous abrasives, cleaning the ferrous abrasives in the ferrous-abrasive-rich stream to reduce the concentration of drilling mud with the ferrous abrasives to below about 5 percent by weight, drying the clean ferrous abrasives, and mixing the dried ferrous abrasive with drilling mud liquids at a controlled rate to form a drilling mud for recirculating through the well.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
103 words
A method of treating ferrous abrasive laden drilling mud discharged from a well for recirculation in an abrasive jet drilling process comprising screening oversize cuttings from the drilling mud, dividing the screened drilling mud into a ferrous-abrasive-rich stream and a drilling mud stream substantially devoid of ferrous abrasives, cleaning the ferrous abrasives in the ferrous-abrasive-rich stream to reduce the concentration of drilling mud with the ferrous abrasives to below about 5 percent by weight, drying the clean ferrous abrasives, and mixing the dried ferrous abrasive with drilling mud liquids at a controlled rate to form a drilling mud for recirculating through the well.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as set forth in claim 1 in which the division of the screened drilling mud is accomplished by magnetically separating ferrous abrasives from the drilling mud.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
53 words
A method a set forth in claim 1 in which the division of the screened drilling mud is accomplished by magnetically separating ferrous abrasives from drilling mud and the reduction of the concentration of drilling mud on the ferrous abrasives is accomplished by centrifugally cleaning the drilling mud from the ferrous abrasive particles.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method as set forth in claim 3 in which the dried ferrous abrasives are screened to remove particles larger than 20 mesh and particles smaller than 80 mesh before mixing with drilling mud liquids.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
49 words
A method as set forth in claim 3 in which drilling mud discharged from the centrifugal cleaning is passed through a cyclone separator to separate abrasive particles therefrom and the abrasive particles from the separator are dried with abrasive particles delivered from the centrifugal cleaner directly to the drier.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method as set forth in claim 3 in which drilling mud discharged during centrifugal cleaning of the magnetically separated ferrous abrasive particles is recycled through the magnetic separator.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
56 words
A method as set forth in claim 1 in which the stream of drilling mud substantially devoid of abrasive particles that was divided from the screened drilling mud is passed through a cyclone separator to remove fine particles therefrom and form a clean drilling mud, and the cleaned drilling mud is mixed with dried abrasive particles.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method as set forth in claim 7 in which the cleaned drilling mud is cooled and screened, and the cooled and screened drilling mud is mixed with the dried ferrous abrasive particles to form the abrasive laden drilling mud for recirculating to the well.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
186 words
A method of treating ferrous abrasive laden drilling mud discharged from a well for recirculation in an abrasive jet drilling process comprising screening oversize cuttings from the drilling mud, magnetically separating ferrous abrasives from the screened drilling mud, cleaning the magnetically separated ferrous abrasives to reduce the concentration of drilling mud thereon to less than 5 percent by weight of the ferrous abrasives, drying the cleaned ferrous abrasives, screening the dried ferrous abrasives to remove oversize and undersize particles, passing drilling mud from the magnetic separation through a cyclone separator to remove solid particles therefrom and form a clean drilling liquid, cooling the clean drilling liquid, blending screened dried ferrous abrasives with a first portion of the cleaned drilling liquid to form a slurry containing 15 - 50 percent abrasive particles, increasing the pressure on the slurry to 5,000 - 20,000 p.s.i., pumping a second portion of the clean drilling liquid to a pressure of 5,000 - 20, 000 p.s.i., mixing the clean drilling liquid and the slurry at a pressure of 5,000 - 20,000 p.s.i. to form a drilling mud for recirculating to the well.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
186 words
A method of treating ferrous abrasive laden drilling mud discharged from a well for recirculation in an abrasive jet drilling process comprising screening oversize cuttings from the drilling mud, magnetically separating ferrous abrasives from the screened drilling mud, cleaning the magnetically separated ferrous abrasives to reduce the concentration of drilling mud thereon to less than 5 percent by weight of the ferrous abrasives, drying the cleaned ferrous abrasives, screening the dried ferrous abrasives to remove oversize and undersize particles, passing drilling mud from the magnetic separation through a cyclone separator to remove solid particles therefrom and form a clean drilling liquid, cooling the clean drilling liquid, blending screened dried ferrous abrasives with a first portion of the cleaned drilling liquid to form a slurry containing 15 - 50 percent abrasive particles, increasing the pressure on the slurry to 5,000 - 20,000 p.s.i., pumping a second portion of the clean drilling liquid to a pressure of 5,000 - 20, 000 p.s.i., mixing the clean drilling liquid and the slurry at a pressure of 5,000 - 20,000 p.s.i. to form a drilling mud for recirculating to the well.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
110 words
Apparatus for treating ferrous abrasive laden drilling mud discharged from a well in an abrasive jet drilling process to form an abrasive laden drilling mud for recirculation through the well comprising means for separating abrasive particles from the drilling mud discharged from the well, a cleaner for removing drilling mud from the separated abrasive particles, means for transporting the ferrous abrasive particles to the cleaner, a drier for drying the clean abrasive particles, means for delivering the cleaned abrasive particles to the drier, and means for mixing dried abrasive particles at a controlled rate into drilling mud liquids to form an abrasive laden drilling mud for recirculating to the well.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
110 words
Apparatus for treating ferrous abrasive laden drilling mud discharged from a well in an abrasive jet drilling process to form an abrasive laden drilling mud for recirculation through the well comprising means for separating abrasive particles from the drilling mud discharged from the well, a cleaner for removing drilling mud from the separated abrasive particles, means for transporting the ferrous abrasive particles to the cleaner, a drier for drying the clean abrasive particles, means for delivering the cleaned abrasive particles to the drier, and means for mixing dried abrasive particles at a controlled rate into drilling mud liquids to form an abrasive laden drilling mud for recirculating to the well.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
17 words
Apparatus as set forth in claim 10 in which the means for separating is a magnetic separator.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
24 words
Apparatus as set forth in claim 10 in which the means for removing drilling mud from the separated abrasive particles is a centrifugal cleaner.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-01-30 | 1976-07-31 | 1977-01-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-01-30 | 1980-07-31 | 1981-01-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-01-30 | 1984-07-31 | 1985-01-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |