摘要 |
For use in degassing drilling mud, an improved apparatus is disclosed in the illustrated and preferred embodiment which incorporates an upstanding hollow cylindrical housing having a rotatable shaft therein. The shaft is centered within the housing and supports the flights of a screw conveyor. The screw conveyor flights are not spaced evenly; they are spread at the lower end of the equipment and are closer together at the upper end of the shaft to provide variations in volume to change velocity and pressure during separation. Moreover, the flights slope downwardly. The cylindrical housing has an opening into a circular manifold at the bottom for receiving mud. Mud is introduced to the screw and is forced upwardly on rotation of the shaft. The cylindrical housing is perforated at the upper end to enable the drilling mud to spill out of the cylindrical housing and to fall into a delivery manifold. Gas is forced from the mud by the lifting action of the screw and continues to flow upwardly to an exhaust manifold. It is sucked from the cylindrical housing by means of a fan. The mud is thus degassed for subsequent reuse.
|