Patent ID: 8852393

Claim:
A method for evaporating waste water from a natural gas well having dissolved solids therein, the method comprising: providing a holding tank having an inlet for receiving waste water, a submerged combustion chamber with burner suspended within the holding tank, and a vent stack coupled to an upper portion of the holding tank for allowing water vapor to exit the holding tank, wherein the burner produces a flame in an upper portion of the combustion chamber and wherein the combustion chamber has a plurality of vertical slots defined therein in a lower portion of the combustion chamber between the flame and a bottom end of the combustion chamber; providing the burner with air under positive pressure and natural gas from the natural gas well; and, burning the natural gas with the burner to generate hot combustion gasses under positive pressure within the submerged combustion chamber such that a liquid level within the submerged combustion chamber is lower than a liquid level within the holding tank and the hot combustion gasses exit the submerged combustion chamber through the slots and bubble upwardly through liquid in the holding tank, wherein at least some of the slots are vertically spaced such that different slots are exposed to vent the combustion gases from the combustion chamber as the level of liquid in the combustion chamber varies during evaporating of the waste water.