The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 09, 2005
Filed:
Jul. 25, 2003
James Kevyn Smith, Houston, TX (US);
Thomas H. Lopez, Houston, TX (US);
C. Mitch Means, Houston, TX (US);
James Kevyn Smith, Houston, TX (US);
Thomas H. Lopez, Houston, TX (US);
C. Mitch Means, Houston, TX (US);
Baker Hughes Incorporated, Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
Real time determination of the presence of emulsion in a formation fluid is accomplished using an optical probe, preferably an attenuated total reflectance probe. The determination can then be used to appropriately increase, decrease or leave unchanged the use of demulsification additives or other means to control emulsion formation. The method is particularly useful for free water knock-out separations, where a plurality of probes can be used to distinguish the location and/or volume of emulsion, or 'rag', layer and thereby to facilitate decantation of relatively pure oil and water fractions. It can also be effectively used in pipelines, and can optionally determine the degree of emulsification and trends toward emulsification or demulsification.