Patent ID: 11859454
Assignee: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY
Field: Chemical engineering (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC E  B | IPC B  E

Claim 0:
1. An apparatus for separating drill cuttings from drilling fluid, the apparatus comprising:
a receptacle configured to receive a mixture of the drill cuttings and the drilling fluid;
a screen, wherein the receptacle is positioned at a first end of the screen, and the receptacle is configured to distribute the mixture of the drill cuttings and the drilling fluid across the first end of the screen, wherein the screen defines a plurality of holes sized to allow the drilling fluid to fall through the screen via the holes;
a plurality of acoustic transducers attached to the screen, wherein each acoustic transducer is configured to generate acoustic vibrations at a different frequency, wherein the generated acoustic vibrations facilitate travel of the mixture across the screen and cause the drill cuttings themselves to separate based on density as the drill cuttings travel across the screen; and
a plurality of collection pans configured to receive at least a portion of the drill cuttings that have traveled across the screen, wherein the plurality of collection pans are positioned at a second end of the screen opposite the receptacle, wherein the acoustic vibrations generated at different frequencies facilitate distribution of the drill cuttings across the plurality of collection pans based on density.