Re: Handling Offshore Drill Cuttings By Pneumatic Conveying
Off Drill Cuttings can be pneumatically conveyed. They are conveyed in dense phase pressure vessel systems. Kindly check MI Swaco website. ■
Re: Offshore Drill Cutting Handling By Pneumatics By Rotolok
Russell, it is interesting that your reaction is the same I had nearly 20 years ago, when the idea was first proposed. I have now been working with powder handling systems for 40 years and at the time the thought of liquid slurry in our systems did raise some questions.
But it works; not by entraining the product in a moving air steam as with lean phase systems , or having fluidized plugs of product in a dense phase system, but by using high pressure compressed air to force the wet slurry like material along the pipe. Something of a cross between a dense phase system and a concrete pump.
This type of system is well established in the Oil & Gas Industry for handling drill cuttings, which has a tendency to flow in its own right so helping the situation a little, and given the correct system design and discharge assistance as developed by the Rotolok Group it works well. This incorporates the Rotolok Dome Valve, plug and flap diverters. The Blo-Tech bottom discharge dense phase tank is effectively self-draining and the drill cuttings take the free liquid with it along the pipe causing something of a spray effect at the discharge point, but as the receiving vessel is contained this is not a problem, and clearly there is no dust so filters are not a requirement and the air can vent freely to atmosphere.
It clearly is an arduous application and environment so as with all such things good regular and preventive maintenance policies need to be adopted, so giving a solution to the need of recovering the drill cuttings for on-shore reprocessing which has now become an environmental requirement.
Ken Richardson
General Manager
Blo-Tech division
Rotolok Group
38 Woodham Lane
New Haw
Addlestone
Surrey. KT15 3NA
Tele:- 0044 (0)1932 854756
Email:- www.blotech.co.ukwww.blotech.co.uk
A Member of the Rotolok Group of Companies;- www.rotolok.comwww.rotolok.com ■
Handling Offshore Drill Cuttings by Pneumatic Conveying
Offshore Drill Cutting Handling by Pneumatic Conveying
My name is Russell Konesheck and I am an engineer with Wood Group Mustang. I am curious as to how your pneumatic conveying systems work with wet drill cuttings. To me wet drill cuttings would seem to plug at the discharge of the storage tanks. And further any free liquid would tend to collect in the bottom of the storage tank further exacerbating a plugging problem.
Any insight into the working of the referenced system would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Russ Konesheck, P.E.
Mechanical Facilities Engineering
Wood Group Mustang ■