Apparatus and method for generating inert gas and heating injected gas
First Claim
1. A burner for heating a hydrocarbonaceous formation or reservoir and for producing economical inert injectant, to thereby recover hydrocarbonaceous materials from said formation, said burner comprising:
- a combustion chamber having an open lower end and having an upper end attached to an air supply conduit;
a nozzle, movably contained within said combustion chamber, and having a first end connected to a fuel supply conduit contained within said air supply conduit;
stopping means located within said combustion chamber for preventing said nozzle from being positioned beyond a predefined location toward said open lower end of said combustion chamber.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A downhole burner that economically generates hot inert gas and injects this gas into a subterranean formation. The burner has a nipple attached to a first tubing string that carries an oxidizer to the burner. The first tubing string also contains a coil tubing string that carries fuel to a movable nozzle inside the nipple. A small orifice in the nozzle increases the velocity of the fuel, and the nozzle extends out through a small orifice in a burner shroud that increases the velocity of the oxidizer flowing around the nozzle. The high velocity of the fuel and oxidizer keeps the flame front below the shroud and nozzle. A second tubing string supplies coolant gas around the burner shroud. Injection of an oxygen containing coolant gas provides a method for enhancing in situ combustion reactions through superheating the oxygen containing mix of coolant and exhaust gas.
42 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A burner for heating a hydrocarbonaceous formation or reservoir and for producing economical inert injectant, to thereby recover hydrocarbonaceous materials from said formation, said burner comprising:
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a combustion chamber having an open lower end and having an upper end attached to an air supply conduit; a nozzle, movably contained within said combustion chamber, and having a first end connected to a fuel supply conduit contained within said air supply conduit; stopping means located within said combustion chamber for preventing said nozzle from being positioned beyond a predefined location toward said open lower end of said combustion chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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12. A burner for heating a hydrocarbonaceous formation or reservoir and for producing economical inert injectant, to thereby recover hydrocarbonaceous materials from said formation, said burner comprising:
a combustion chamber comprising a burner nipple having a first end attached to an air supply conduit, a burner shroud having a first end attached to a second end of said burner nipple opposite said first end of said burner nipple, and a burner shroud extension attached to a second end of said burner shroud, said burner shroud extension having an open lower end to allow combustion gasses to exit said combustion chamber; a nozzle, movably contained within said combustion chamber, said nozzle having a nozzle body contained within said burner nipple, a first end connected to a fuel supply conduit contained within said air supply conduit, and having an elongated second end extending through said burner shroud; stopping means located within said burner nipple for preventing said nozzle from being positioned beyond a predefined location toward said open lower end of said combustion chamber. - View Dependent Claims (13, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for in situ combustion of hydrocarbons present in a subterranean formation which is penetrated by a well in fluid communication therewith, the method comprising:
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raising the temperature of the formation adjacent the well to an ignition temperature which is sufficient to ignite hydrocarbons present in the formation; superheating an oxygen-containing gas within the well to a temperature which is greater than said ignition temperature; and injecting said superheated oxygen-containing gas into the formation to sustain and propagate the combustion of hydrocarbons present in the formation. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification