Measuring and testing – Gas content of a liquid or a solid – Particular separator
Patent
1996-09-11
1998-11-24
Brock, Michael
Measuring and testing
Gas content of a liquid or a solid
Particular separator
7386104, 73200, G01F 174
Patent
active
058410201
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an apparatus for mixing, measuring and forwarding a multi-phase gas mixture. The invention relates further to a method for operating the apparatus in accordance with the invention. The invention relates further to a buffer tank as well as to a forwarding apparatus with an apparatus in accordance with the invention or operated by the method in accordance with the invention.
A multi-phase gas mixture consists of at least two different phases, for example two fluid components which have a liquid as well as a gas or vapor component respectively. For certain processes it is necessary to mix or to homogenize the fluid components as well as to measure the rate of flow of the fluid flow.
Mixtures of this kind issue from a borehole of a source of crude oil, for example, with the mixture comprising various gases as well as crude oil and possibly also water in addition. Oil wells can have the property that the proportions of liquid and gaseous components vary over a wide range within a short time.
An apparatus for mixing and measuring a multi-phase fluid which uses a densitometer is known from WO 90/13859. This apparatus is used for example in the forwarding of crude oil. Oil wells deliver a mixture consisting of gas, crude oil and also water, whose composition of liquid and gaseous components can vary over a wide range. The known apparatus has a container into which the fluids are conducted as well as a perforated drainage tube in order to conduct the fluids out of the container and to mix them. The container serves as an intermediate storage for the fluids as well as a separator in which the liquid fluid components collect in the lower region of the container and the gaseous fluid components in the upper region of the container. A measuring apparatus is placed after the drainage tube outside the container with a Venturi nozzle in order to measure the flow rate and with a densitometer in order to measure the mass/density of the fluid flow.
This known apparatus has the disadvantage that the measuring apparatus is to be placed outside the container and that the measuring apparatus requires a densitometer, which generally operates with X-rays or gamma rays and is thus correspondingly complicated, expensive and trouble prone.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus as well as a method for mixing and measuring a multi-phase gas mixture which enables the flow rate and the density of a fluid flow inside a container to be measured in a simple manner.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for forwarding a multi-phase gas mixture by means of a multi-phase pump as well as an apparatus comprising a multi-phase pump in order to forward a multi-phase gas mixture whose composition of liquid and gaseous components can be subject to fluctuations.
The invention comprises a removal apparatus with a drainage means in order to drain fluids out of a container. In accordance with the invention, a pressure is measured in the container by means of sensors, in particular the pressure of the gaseous fluid, a pressure in the removal apparatus or in the drainage means, as well as a level of the surface of the liquid forming in the container. With the help of these measured values and a calibration curve of the drainage means or of the removal apparatus respectively, which is known in advance, it is possibility means of a signal evaluation apparatus to determine a flow rate for the gaseous component, a flow rate for the liquid component, as well as further characteristic values such as the relationship between the flow rates of the two components or the total flow rate as the sum of the two components.
The invention is particularly suitable for mixing and measuring a multi-phase fluid issuing from a source of crude oil. The advantages of the invention are to be seen in the fact that the flow rate of the liquid and the gaseous components of a mixed and/or homogenized fluid as well as the average specific mixture dens
REFERENCES:
patent: 4468962 (1984-09-01), Keech et al.
patent: 4476719 (1984-10-01), Millar et al.
patent: 5396807 (1995-03-01), Dowty et al.
patent: 5526684 (1996-06-01), Liu et al.
patent: 5679905 (1997-10-01), Wardle
Brock Michael
Sulzer Pumpen AG
Total S.A.
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