One method disclosed herein of processing a process fluid that comprises dissolved gas includes performing a degassing process on the process fluid by heating the process fluid via heat transfer with a heat transfer fluid, wherein at least some amount of the heat transfer fluid condenses in the first heat transfer process and latent heat of the heat transfer fluid as it condenses is used to increase the temperature of the process fluid. Thereafter, the heat transfer fluid is passed through an expansion device so as to produce a post-expansion heat transfer fluid. The temperature of the heated process fluid is decreased by performing a second heat transfer process between the post-expansion heat transfer fluid and the heated process fluid, wherein the temperature of the post-expansion heat transfer fluid is increased and the latent heat that was supplied to the process fluid in the first heat transfer process is removed.

A remediation plant for remediating drilling mud, cuttings, and fluids. The preferred plant includes a reboiler that is adapted to provide heat to the drilling mud, cuttings, and fluid, a mud drum that is operatively connected to the reboiler, a distillation column that is operatively connected to the reboiler, a heat exchanger that is operatively connected to the reboiler, a condenser that is operatively connected to the distillation column, a condenser tank that is operatively connected to the condenser, an oil-water separator that is operatively connected to the condenser tank, and a pump that is operatively connected to the oil-water separator. The preferred remediation plant is adapted to remove synthetic drilling fluid from drilling mud, cuttings, and fluids. A method for remediating drilling mud, cuttings, and fluid.

A method of extraction of a liquid hydrocarbon fraction from carbonaceous waste feedstock. Waste material is slurried, by grinding or comminution of same into a substantially uniform stream of around waste material. Fluid would be added as required to supplement the ground waste to yield a slurry of desirable parametersthe fluid used would be primarily liquid effluent fraction recovered from previous operation of the method. Feedstock slurry is placed into a pressurized heat transfer reactor where it is maintained at temperature and pressure for a predetermined period of time. On discharge from the heat transfer reactor the processed emulsion is separated into liquid hydrocarbon fraction, liquid effluent fraction and solid waste fraction. A novel heat transfer reactor design is also disclosed.

A subsea production unit for subsea treatment of oil has a frame that supports an onboard multiphase separation system for separating gas and water from a wellstream containing oil, and an onboard water treatment system for cleaning oil from water that is produced by the separation system.

A system for brine water desalinization includes a first heat exchanger having an inlet plenum and an outlet plenum for a first fluid comprising a concentrate in a liquid. The first heat exchanger includes a shell side fluid inlet and a shell side fluid outlet for a second fluid comprising a higher concentrated liquid than the first fluid. The system also comprises pipes configured to direct the first fluid from the outlet plenum to a shell side fluid inlet of a second heat exchanger and to direct the second fluid from the shell side fluid outlet to an inlet plenum of the second heat exchanger. The system further includes pipes configured to produce desalinized water by a serial distillation of multiple steams from an nth number of heat exchangers into respective distillates thereof and a parallel product of brine waste thereof from the heat exchangers.

Systems and methods for separation of hydrocarbon containing fluids are provided. More particularly, the disclosure is relevant to separating fluids having a gas phase, a hydrocarbon liquid phase, and an aqueous liquid phase using indirect heating. In general, the system uses a first three-phase gas separation. The gas stream separated out is cooled with the resulting hydrocarbon condensates reintroduced to the stream of hydrocarbon-liquid phase that was separated from the fluid. The resulting combined stream can be cooled or heated as necessary.

The present invention provides a method for the separation of a mixture having a first component and a second component, the method comprising the steps of: (a) applying at least two destabilizing energy forms to the mixture to destabilize the mixture, wherein the destabilizing energy forms are chosen from the list comprising: mechanical shear force, thermal energy, and/or surface energy; and (b) applying at least one enriching energy form to the mixture to form a first region that is enriched in a first component relative to the second component and a second region that is enriched in the second component relative to the first component, wherein the enriching energy form is surface energy.

Provided is an indirect heated separation assembly that includes a vessel assembly having a heating section and a separation section, a wall separating the heating section from the separation section, the wall configured to be heated by a heating fluid in the heating section to provide indirect heat to the separation section, and a coil assembly at least partially disposed in the heating section, the coil assembly including an inlet configured to receive a process fluid and an outlet in communication with an inlet of the separation section to direct the process fluid after heating to the separation section.

Provided is an indirect heated separation assembly that includes a vessel having a heating section and a separation section, a plate separating the heating section from the separation section, the plate being configured to be heated by a heating fluid in the heating section to provide indirect heat to the separation section, and a coil assembly disposed in the heating section, the coil assembly including an inlet configured to receive a process fluid and an outlet in communication with an inlet of the separation section to direct the process fluid after heating to the separation section.

Methods and systems for treating an oil/water vapor stream containing solids fines. Routing a feed composition of oil/water vapors containing fine solids to a condensing unit, combining the feed composition with a cooled OWS emulsion, forming a warmed OWS emulsion. The warmed OWS emulsion is routed to a surge vessel containing a volume of surge OWS emulsion, where after a first portion of the surge OWS emulsion is routed to a heat exchanger, forming the cooled OWS emulsion, and a second portion of the surge OWS emulsion is routed to an OWS separation unit. The OWS separation unit may be one or more disc stack centrifuges, in some cases preceded by one or more decanting centrifuges. In certain embodiments the oil/water vapor stream containing solids fines is generated from a thermal desorption unit, such as a turbulent vacuum thermal desorption unit. Systems may be integrated with thermal desorption units and drilling rigs.