Patent ID: 8632625
Filing Date: 2014-01-21
Classification: B01D,E21B,G01N,G01V

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for liberating gases from drilling fluid, the apparatus comprising: (a) a sample enclosure having a liquid inlet and a gas sample outlet and delineated by a sample enclosure wall comprising a sample enclosure wall portion and a shared wall portion; (b) a bubbler enclosure having a bubbler air inlet and a bubbler air outlet and delineated by a bubbler enclosure wall comprising a bubbler enclosure wall portion and the shared wall portion, wherein the sample enclosure and the bubbler enclosure are fluidly coupled through the shared wall portion such that the sample and bubbler enclosures are equally pressurized so that sufficiently pressurized bubbler air entering through the bubbler air inlet maintains the drilling fluid in the sample enclosure at a level determined by the location of the bubbler air outlet when the liquid inlet and the bubbler air outlet are both submerged in the drilling fluid, and such that agitated drilling fluid enters the bubbler enclosure from the sample enclosure; (c) an agitator disposed within the sample enclosure and configured to agitate drilling fluid located within the sample enclosure to liberate gases entrained in the drilling fluid so that the gases can exit through the gas sample outlet; and (d) a brushless, DC motor rotatably coupled to the agitator to power the agitator.