| 摘要 |
Method and apparatus for reducing the viscosity of clogging hydrocarbons in an oil well (58). The apparatus is preferably trailer-mounted for portability. It includes a tube type heat exchanger (30) enabling heated gases to pass within feed water coils (48, 44) to heat the water to a predetermined temperature and at a pressure which prevents any flashing or phase change of the feed water within the heat exchanger (30). From the heat exchanger (30) the heated feed water passes through a conduit (54) which empties into the oil well. The well is open to atmosphere so that the feed water undergoes a phase change or flashing when it is introduced into the oil well. The resulting combined steam and hot water reduce the viscosity of the hydrocarbons sufficiently to facilitate their flow out of the oil well. One embodiment of the heat exchanger (30) includes special coil arrangements to promote heating efficiency.
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