DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0023] The present invention is an apparatus 10 used for removing gas G from the drilling mud M of natural gas and oil well-bores, as depicted in FIG. 1. The invention also involves a method 220 (FIG. 4) that is used to remove gas G from the drilling mud M of natural gas and oil well-bores, which is outlined in more detail below.

[0024] As depicted in FIG. 2, the apparatus 10 is comprised of a steel cylinder reaction vessel 20 that receives the gas ladened drilling mud M that travels upward within the reaction vessel 20, a set of helical contact blades 30 that are impinged by the gas ladened drilling mud M within the processing vessel 20, the helical contact blades 30 also discharging the gas ladened drilling mud M from below, and a set of blower type blades 40 that are generated by the energy from the impinged helical contact blades 30 that expel any gas G released from the gas ladened drilling mud M.

[0025] The apparatus 10 is further comprised of a set of conical trays 50, that are alternatively concave and convex, that catch the dispersed drilling mud M and allow the drilling mud M to flow down the conical trays 50 and allows gas G (minute gas bubbles) to disperse within the reaction vessel 20, a truncated cone 60 that forms a liquid trap 70 that prevents ambient air at atmospheric pressure from entering the bottom portion of the reaction vessel 20, a flare line 80 on top of the reaction vessel 20 to burn off any gas G expelled or dispersed from the drilling mud M and an annular pathway 90 for the clean drilling mud CM that falls from the conical trays 50 and through the liquid trap 70 and to the bottom of the reaction vessel 20.

[0026] Gas ladened mud M is transported to the bottom of the apparatus 10 from a well-bore 100 via a 3″ wide line 110 and a 6″ wide line 112 from the mud tanks. The well-bore 100 provides enough energy in the movement of the gas ladened mud M to power the entire apparatus 10 and degassing method 220 (FIG. 4). The gas G is physically within (in the form of small gas bubbles) the gas ladened mud M, which must be removed to ensure safety and more efficient drilling during its next recycled use.

[0027] Once the gas ladened mud M enters the apparatus 10, it is transported straight up through a pathway 120 in the center of the reaction vessel 20. As the gas ladened mud M flows up the pathway 120, it is separated radially, in all directions by a funnel-shaped flange 130 situated in the pathway 120. The divided stream of gas ladened mud M then makes impinging contact with multiple helical contact blades 30 (which are tilted inward) to receive both streams of the gas ladened mud M.

[0028] A multiple pathway 140 is provided between the flange 130 and the helical contact blades 30 to ensure proper contact of the fluid flow with the helical contact blades 30. This is crucial to the operation of the apparatus 10, since energy carried into the vessel 20, from the gas ladened mud M is transferred to the helical contact blades 30. In turn, the energy from the helical contact blades 30 is used to power the blower type blades 40 that eventually discharge the gas G that is liberated from the overall degassing process taking place throughout the reaction vessel 20.

[0029] In addition, the rotating speed and orientation of the blower type blades 40 creates a partial vacuum 170 inside the reaction vessel 20. The blower type blades 40 also gather gas from the inside perimeter of the upper cylinder 180 and move it towards the center of the upper cylinder 190, generating sufficient pressure to expel the gas through the flare line 80. A supplemental pump (not shown) can also be attached to the reaction vessel 20. This type of technology is well-known to those schooled in the related art and is not a novel feature of this invention.

[0030] After the gas ladened mud M impinges the helical contact blades 30, it is then dispersed beneath the helical contact blades 30 onto a series of alternating concave and convex conical trays 50 that are provided in the middle section of the reaction vessel 20. These conical trays 50 are slanted downward and act as a laminar flow vehicle that create a very thin layer of gas ladened mud M over the surface of the conical trays 50.

[0031] As the gas ladened mud M slowly flows downward in very thin layers, it allows minute gas bubbles to migrate and be suctioned out of the reaction vessel 20 by the partial vacuum 170 created by the blower type blades 40 and is sent via tubular outlet 200 to a flare line 80 to be burned off or is released directly into the air. As the gas G is removed from the gas ladened mud M, the now clean mud CM exits the bottom of the reaction vessel 20 through the truncated cone 60 and annular pathway 90, while maintaining the integrity of the liquid trap 70. The clean mud CM is then transferred from the bottom of the apparatus 10, typically via pipeline 210, to a mud tank (not shown) that will reuse the clean mud CM again.

[0032] Use of the apparatus 10 in a process flow diagram is expressed in FIG. 3, which have already been described in detail in the discussion of FIG. 2.

[0033] The removal of the gas G from the gas ladened mud M can also be thought of in terms of a process or method. Specific steps of this method are outlined in FIG. 4. A method 220 of removing gas G from the gas ladened drilling mud M from natural gas and oil well-bores 100, comprises the steps of flowing the gas ladened drilling mud M into a reaction vessel 20, impinging the flowing gas ladened drilling mud M on a set of helical blades 30 and dispersing the gas ladened drilling mud M on a set of laminar flow trays 50 allowing more gas G to be released from the gas ladened drilling mud M.

[0034] The method 220 further comprises the steps of expelling the gas G generated within the reaction vessel 20, utilizing a set of blower blades 40 that are powered by the helical blades 30 impinged by the flowing gas ladened drilling mud M and exiting the degassed clean drilling mud CM from the bottom of the reaction vessel 20. The steps of the method 220 also correspond and follow the process flowchart in FIG. 3 and the discussion of the apparatus 10 in FIG. 2.

[0035] Operation of the apparatus 10 and method 220 is typically automated, where a line of gas ladened mud M is transported to the apparatus 10, which operates by itself and transfers the clean mud CM via another line to a mud tank (not shown) to be stored until it is used again.

[0036] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.