Patent ID: 11970917
Assignee: ELAVO ENERGY SOLUTIONS LTD.
Field: Chemical engineering (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC E  B | IPC B  E

Claim 9:
10. A system for removing drilling fluid from wet drill cuttings, comprising:
an internal combustion engine having at least one of an air inlet, a fuel inlet and an exhaust outlet, wherein the internal combustion engine is configured to combust an air-fuel mixture comprising air and a hydrocarbon-based fuel, thereby producing a combustion exhaust at a first temperature;
a processor having a processing chamber, the processing chamber having a cuttings inlet through which the wet drill cuttings are received into the processing chamber, an evaporated drilling fluids outlet, a dry drilling solids outlet, a combustion exhaust inlet configured to receive combustion exhaust, a fixed stage comprising a fixed bed in fluid communication with the combustion exhaust inlet and configured to receive the process gas therefrom, an agitator stage upstream of and in fluid communication with the fixed bed and configured to receive the combustion exhaust therefrom, the agitator stage operatively connected to the cuttings inlet and having a mixing device configured to agitate the wet drill cuttings received therefrom;
wherein the processor is configured to:
provide the combustion exhaust to the fixed bed and the agitator stage, thereby heating the fixed bed and agitator stage so as to heat and agitate the wet drill cuttings so that at least a portion of drilling fluid is evaporated therefrom and at least some dry solid drill cuttings remain,
provide the evaporated fluid to the evaporated fluids outlet for recovery therefrom, and
provide dry solid drill cuttings to the dry solids outlet for recovery therefrom; and

at least one condensing device having a condenser inlet in fluid communication with the evaporated fluids outlet, a condensed drilling fluids outlet, a non-condensable inert gas outlet and a water outlet;
wherein the at least one condensing device is configured to:
condense at least a portion of the evaporated fluid, received directly or indirectly from the evaporated fluids outlet, to produce condensed drilling fluid, water and non-condensable inert gas,
provide the condensed drilling fluid to the condensed drilling fluids outlet for recovery therefrom,
provide the non-condensable inert gas to the non-condensable inert gas outlet for recovery therefrom, and
provide the water to the water outlet for recovery therefrom;

wherein the internal combustion engine, the processor and the at least one condensing device operate at a pressure above atmospheric pressure; and
wherein in providing the combustion exhaust to the fixed bed and the agitator stage the combustion exhaust is provided to the processing chamber to contact and directly heat the wet drill cuttings by convection.