Patent ID: 9234631
Filing Date: 2016-01-12
CPC Classification: F17D,Y02E,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. A method for reducing the pressure drop associated with the turbulent flow of a low molecular weight fluid through a pipeline, said method comprising: (a) introducing a drag reducing polymer into said low molecular weight fluid to form a mixture comprising said low molecular weight fluid and said drag reducing polymer; (b) heating to partially vaporize said mixture comprising said low molecular weight fluid and said drag reducing polymer in a vaporization vessel, wherein said vaporization vessel contains a high molecular weight liquid that is miscible with said mixture and contacts said mixture, such that said low molecular weight fluid enters a gas phase and said high molecular weight liquid remains in a liquid phase; (c) transferring said drag reducing polymer into said high molecular weight liquid from said mixture comprising said low molecular weight fluid and said drag reducing polymer to form (i) a drag reducer-containing high molecular weight liquid and (ii) a substantially drag reducer-free low molecular weight vapor; and (d) recovering said substantially drag reducer-free low molecular weight vapor, wherein said drag reducing polymer is a polymer selected from the group consisting of alpha-olefins, acrylamides, acrylamide acrylic acid copolymers (and salts thereof), acrylic esters, and methacrylic esters; wherein said low molecular weight fluid is low molecular weight non-hydrocarbon fluids or low molecular weight hydrocarbon fluid; and wherein said drag reducing polymer is a high molecular weight polymer having a weight average molecular weight greater than about 4 million.