US3764008A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Well operation for recovering oil from produced sand
Assignee: Shell USA Inc
•
Filing: 1972-04-27
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Granted: 1973-10-09
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Expires: 1992-04-27
Abstract
Abstract In a well operating process for treating a mixture of water, unadsorbed gas and/or liquid hydrocarbons, and oily sand, after removing the unadsorbed hydrocarbons, the sand is de-oiled by repeatedly entraining it in streams of relatively high speed jets of water, centrifically separating an overflow of oily water and an underflow of sandy water in which the sand is substantially oil-free, and removing the oil from the overflow to leave a water which is substantially oil-free.
Inventors
- 👤 H Darley
- 👤 M Place
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 23:22
CPC Classifications
C; C10; C10G; C10G1/00; C10G1/04; C10G1/045; E; E21; E21B; E21B41/00; E21B41/005; E21B43/00; E21B43/34; E21B43/35; B; B03; B03D; B03D1/00; B03D1/02
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 6
Claim 1
Independent Claim
53 words
The process of claim 1 in which the centrifugal separations of said suspensions of sand in water streams are effected by flowing the streams in circular paths in which sand-separating centrifugal forces are generated by the rapid swirling motions of the streams substantially immediately after the sand has been entrained in the streams.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
18 words
The process of claim 2 in which said removing of oil from oily water is effected by flotation.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The process of claim 1 in which a plurality of wells are operated by treating a mixture of their produced fluids.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
36 words
The process of claim 1 in which at least a portion of the oil-free water left by said separation of oil is used to form at least one of said relatively high speed jets of water.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
35 words
The process of claim 1 in which a surfactant material adapted to increase the surface tension of an oil-phase liquid is mixed with the water suspension of oily sand left by said removal of hydrocarbons.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
The process of claim 6 in which said surfactant material is a polar-group-containing aliphatic solvent solution of a relatively long chain aliphatic alcohol.
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) | 1976-10-08 | 1977-04-09 | 1977-10-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-10-08 | 1981-04-09 | 1981-10-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-10-08 | 1985-04-09 | 1985-10-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |