US 12,403,483 B2
Smart solids control system
Robert Charles Mason Birchfield, Coldspring, TX (US); Charles Stocker, Spring, TX (US); Mitchell J. Derrick, Houston, TX (US); Brian J. Rooney, Amherst, NY (US); Michael J. Schwec, Boston, NY (US); Christian Newman, Cheektowaga, NY (US); and Raymond Kirsch, Strykersville, NY (US)
Assigned to Derrick Corporation, Buffalo, NY (US)
Filed by Derrick Corporation, Buffalo, NY (US)
Filed on Jul. 16, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/931,242.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/874,853, filed on Jul. 16, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0016297 A1, Jan. 21, 2021
Int. Cl. B04B 11/02 (2006.01); B01D 21/30 (2006.01); B01D 36/04 (2006.01); B04B 1/10 (2006.01); B04B 7/08 (2006.01); B04B 11/06 (2006.01); B04B 13/00 (2006.01); E21B 21/06 (2006.01)
CPC B04B 11/02 (2013.01) [B01D 21/30 (2013.01); B01D 36/045 (2013.01); B04B 1/10 (2013.01); B04B 7/08 (2013.01); B04B 13/00 (2013.01); E21B 21/065 (2013.01); B01D 2201/54 (2013.01); B04B 11/06 (2013.01); B04B 2013/006 (2013.01); E21B 2200/22 (2020.05)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-controlled method for operating a solid-liquid separation system for a target well drilling site, the solid-liquid separation system including at least one vibratory screening machine that receives cuttings and well drilling fluid removed from a well at the target well drilling site and that separates the cuttings from the well drilling fluid, the method comprising:
obtaining historical solid-liquid separation system data for a plurality of well drilling sites, the data including, for each well drilling site, settings at which vibratory screening machines operated, an amount of cuttings and well drilling fluid that was removed from the well during well drilling operations and that was processed by the solid-liquid separation system per unit of time, an amount of well drilling fluid that was added during drilling operations per unit of time and an amount of waste solids that were removed and discarded during well drilling operations per unit of time;
conducting a financial analysis of the obtained historical solid-liquid separation system data to identify the well drilling site that provided the lowest operating costs for the solid-liquid separation system per unit of volume of cuttings and well drilling fluid processed by the solid-liquid separation system;
establishing the settings at which the vibratory screening machines operated at the well drilling site that was identified as providing the lowest operating costs as target vibratory screening machine settings;
causing one or more adjustments to be made to the settings of the at least one vibratory screening machine at the target well drilling site until the settings of the at least one vibratory screening machine approximate the target vibratory screening machine settings.