Patent ID: 6978851

Claim:
Apparatus for treating drill cuttings contaminated with oil, comprising: means for continuously introducing the drill cuttings into an inlet end of a first reactor; the first reactor comprising at least one rotatable shaft disposed longitudinally in a housing and a plurality of impellors spaced along the shaft; means for continuously introducing an aqueous emulsion breaker into the first reactor at a first location adjacent the inlet end; means for continuously introducing a mineral acid into the first reactor at a second location spaced from an outlet end of the first reactor; means for rotating the at least one shaft of the first reactor to continuously maintain high shear conditions in the first reactor and discharge an acidified intermediate product; means for continuously introducing the acidified intermediate product into an inlet end of a second reactor; the second reactor comprising at least one shaft disposed longitudinally in a housing and a plurality of impellors spaced along the shaft; means for continuously introducing alkaline earth into the second reactor at a location adjacent the inlet end thereof; means for rotating the at least one shaft of the second reactor to maintain high shear conditions in the second reactor to continuously discharge a reaction product from the outlet end of the second reactor essentially free of oil.