IP Library Granted Patent US 11,022,299
Granted Patent B2
US 11,022,299 · App. 15/347,209 · Granted Jun 1, 2021

Multi-circulation heat recovery steam generator for enhanced oil recovery/steam assisted gravity drainage

Inventors: Gary R Barker (Cambridge, CA); Dong Chen (Waterloo, CA); Jonathan D Fleming (Kitchener, CA); Colin Malcolm MacKenzie (Guelph, CA)
Assignee: Babcock & Wilcox Canada Corp.
F22B1/1815E21B43/2406F22B9/10F22B35/007
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,022,299
App. No.
15/347,209
Granted
Jun 1, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

A multi-circulation heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) for steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD)/Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes comprises a steam drum internally partitioned to provide a clean side and a dirty side. The clean side downcomer pipe supplies water to one or more generating banks as part of a clean circuit located in a high heat flux zone of the boiler. Boiler water is fed from the clean side of the drum to the dirty side of the drum via natural head differential. Water is then fed through a corresponding downcomer to a dirty generating bank, which is located in a low heat flux zone of the boiler.

Claims (48)

1. A heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) boiler with multi-circulation for steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) or enhanced oil recovery (EOR), comprising:

an inlet coupled to an exhaust source;

a steam drum internally partitioned to have a clean side and a dirty side,

a clean downcomer pipe connected to the clean side of the steam drum;

a clean riser pipe connected to the clean side of the stream drum;

a dirty downcomer pipe connected to the dirty side of the steam drum;

a dirty riser pipe connected to the dirty side of the steam drum;

a clean steam generator bank located in a high heat flux zone and coupled to the clean downcomer pipe and the clean riser pipe; and

a dirty steam generator bank located in a low heat flux zone and coupled to the dirty downcomer pipe and the dirty riser pipe;

wherein boiler water is fed from the clean side of the drum to the dirty side of the steam drum via natural head differential.

2. The boiler of claim 1 , wherein boiler water is fed from the clean side to the dirty side of the drum via natural head differential created by a baffle or weir.

3. The boiler of claim 1 , wherein boiler water is fed from the clean side to the dirty side of the drum via natural head differential created by an internal distribution configuration of pipes within the drum.

4. The boiler of claim 1 , wherein the exhaust source is a gas turbine generator.

5. The boiler of claim 1 , wherein an internal partition of the steam drum is normal to an axis of the steam drum.

6. The boiler of claim 1 , further comprising an economizer, wherein the clean side is fed by feedwater from the economizer.

7. The boiler of claim 1 , further comprising:

a furnace having a plurality of individually replaceable membrane wall modules, each module comprising at least one upper header, a membrane roof connected to and sloping downwardly away from the upper header, a membrane wall connected to and descending from the membrane roof, a membrane floor connected to and sloping downwardly from the membrane wall, and at least one lower header connected to the membrane floor, the roof, the wall and the floor together defining a fire box having an inlet end and an outlet end, and the furnace including a membrane front wall connected to the upper and lower headers and being at the inlet end of the fire box.

8. The boiler of claim 7 , wherein the inlet coupled to the hot exhaust gas is coupled to the firebox inlet providing heat thereto.

9. A boiler with multi-circulation for a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) for steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) or enhanced oil recovery (EOR), comprising:

a steam drum internally partitioned to have a clean side and a dirty side;

a clean downcomer pipe connected to the clean side of the steam drum;

a clean riser pipe connected to the clean side of the steam drum;

a dirty downcomer pipe connected to the dirty side of the steam drum;

a dirty riser pipe connected to the dirty side of the steam drum;

a furnace having a plurality of individually replaceable membrane wall modules, each module comprising at least one upper header, a membrane roof connected to and sloping downwardly away from the upper header, a membrane wall connected to and descending from the membrane roof, a membrane floor connected to and sloping downwardly from the membrane wall, and at least one lower header connected to the membrane floor, the roof, the wall and the floor together defining a fire box having an inlet end and an outlet end, and the furnace including a membrane front wall connected to the upper and lower headers and being at the inlet end of the fire box;

an inlet coupled to a hot exhaust gas source for heating the firebox;

a clean steam generator bank located in a high heat flux zone and coupled to the clean downcomer pipe and the clean riser pipe; and

a dirty steam generator bank located in a low heat flux zone and coupled to the dirty downcomer pipe and the dirty riser pipe.

10. The boiler of claim 9 , further comprising an economizer, wherein the clean side is fed by feedwater from the economizer.

11. The boiler of claim 9 , further comprising a stack connected to the firebox outlet downstream of the clean and dirty steam generator banks.

12. The boiler of claim 9 , wherein boiler water is fed from the clean side of the drum to the dirty side of the drum via natural head differential.

13. The boiler of claim 12 , wherein boiler water is fed from the clean side to the dirty side of the drum via natural head differential created by a baffle or weir.

14. The boiler of claim 12 , wherein boiler water is fed from the clean side to the dirty side of the drum via natural head differential created by an internal distribution configuration of pipes within the drum.

15. A heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) boiler with multi-circulation for steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) or enhanced oil recovery (EOR), comprising:

an inlet coupled to an exhaust source;

a steam drum having an internal partition that provides a clean side and a dirty side, wherein an interconnecting feed pipe extends through the internal partition from the clean side to the dirty side;

a clean downcomer pipe connected to the clean side of the steam drum;

a clean riser pipe connected to the clean side of the steam drum;

a dirty downcomer pipe connected to the dirty side of the steam drum;

a dirty riser pipe connected to the dirty side of the steam drum;

a clean steam generator bank located in a high heat flux zone and coupled to the clean downcomer pipe and the clean riser pipe; and

a dirty steam generator bank located in a low heat flux zone and coupled to the dirty downcomer pipe and the dirty riser pipe.

16. The boiler of claim 15 , wherein the internal partition of the steam drum is normal to an axis of the steam drum.

17. The boiler of claim 15 , wherein the internal partition of the steam drum is formed by a baffle plate, a weir, or internal distribution pipes.

18. The boiler of claim 15 , further comprising an economizer, wherein the clean side is fed by feedwater from the economizer.

19. The boiler of claim 15 , further comprising:

a furnace having a plurality of individually replaceable membrane wall modules, each module comprising at least one upper header, a membrane roof connected to and sloping downwardly away from the upper header, a membrane wall connected to and descending from the membrane roof, a membrane floor connected to and sloping downwardly from the membrane wall, and at least one lower header connected to the membrane floor, the roof, the wall and the floor together defining a fire box having an inlet end and an outlet end, and the furnace including a membrane front wall connected to the upper and lower headers and being at the inlet end of the fire box.

20. The boiler of claim 19 , wherein the inlet coupled to the hot exhaust gas is coupled to the firebox inlet providing heat thereto.

Assignments (13)
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE APPLICATION NUMBERS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 72168 FRAME: 307. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Sep 8, 2025
From: BABCOCK & WILCOX CANADA CORP.; FOSSIL POWER SYSTEMS INC. (CURRENTLY KNOWN AS BABCOCK & WILCOX FPS INC.)
To: B. RILEY FINANCIAL, INC.
Reel/Frame 072582/0154 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 18, 2025
From: BABCOCK & WILCOX ENTERPRISES, INC.; THE BABCOCK & WILCOX COMPANY; DIAMOND POWER INTERNATIONAL, LLC; BABCOCK & WILCOX SPIG, INC.; BABCOCK & WILCOX CANADA CORP.; BABCOCK & WILCOX FPS INC.
To: B. RILEY FINANCIAL, INC.
Reel/Frame 072053/0943 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 23, 2025
From: BABCOCK & WILCOX ENTERPRISES, INC.; THE BABCOCK & WILCOX COMPANY; DIAMOND POWER INTERNATIONAL, LLC; BABCOCK & WILCOX SPIG, INC.; BABCOCK & WILCOX CANADA CORP.; BABCOCK & WILCOX FPS INC.
To: GLAS TRUST COMPANY LLC
Reel/Frame 071371/0835 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Mar 3, 2025
From: BABCOCK & WILCOX ENTERPRISES, INC.; THE BABCOCK & WILCOX COMPANY; DIAMOND POWER INTERNATIONAL, LLC; BABCOCK & WILCOX SPIG, INC.; BABCOCK & WILCOX CANADA CORP.; BABCOCK & WILCOX FPS INC.
To: PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 070380/0647 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jan 19, 2024
From: BABCOCK & WILCOX ENTERPRISES, INC.; THE BABCOCK & WILCOX COMPANY; DIAMOND POWER INTERNATIONAL, LLC; BABCOCK & WILCOX SPIG, INC.; BABCOCK & WILCOX CANADA CORP.; BABCOCK & WILCOX FPS INC.
To: AXOS BANK, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 066354/0765 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 5, 2021
From: BARKER, GARY R.; CHEN, DONG; FLEMING, JONATHAN D.; MACKENZIE, COLIN MALCOLM
To: BABCOCK & WILCOX POWER GENERATION GROUP CANADA CORP.
Reel/Frame 058037/0249 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 5, 2021
From: BABCOCK & WILCOX POWER GENERATION GROUP CANADA CORP.
To: BABCOCK & WILCOX CANADA CORP.
Reel/Frame 058040/0475 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 6, 2021
From: BARKER, GARY R.; CHEN, DONG; FLEMING, JONATHAN D.; MACKENZIE, COLIN MALCOLM
To: BABCOCK & WILCOX POWER GENERATION GROUP CANADA CORP.
Reel/Frame 057714/0470 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 1, 2021
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
To: DIAMOND POWER INTERNATIONAL, LLC (F/K/A DIAMOND POWER INTERNATIONAL, INC.); MEGTEC TURBOSONIC TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; THE BABCOCK & WILCOX COMPANY (F/K/A BABCOCK & WILCOX POWER GENERATION GROUP, INC.); BABCOCK & WILCOX SPIG, INC.; BABCOCK & WILCOX TECHNOLOGY, LLC (F/K/A MCDERMOTT TECHNOLOGY, INC.); SOFCO-EFS HOLDINGS LLC; BABCOCK & WILCOX MEGTEC, LLC
Reel/Frame 057337/0823 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Feb 12, 2021
From: BABCOCK & WILCOX POWER GENERATION GROUP CANADA CORP.
To: BABCOCK & WILCOX CANADA CORP.
Reel/Frame 055293/0271 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 27, 2018
From: BABCOCK & WILCOX POWER GENERATION GROUP CANADA CORP.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
Reel/Frame 046216/0432 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 9, 2018
From: THE BABCOCK & WILCOX COMPANY
To: BABCOCK & WILCOX POWER GENERATION GROUP CANADA CORP.
Reel/Frame 045753/0172 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 24, 2018
From: BARKER, GARY R; CHEN, DONG; FLEMING, JONATHAN D; MACKENZIE, COLIN MALCOLM
To: BABCOCK & WILCOX POWER GENERATION GROUP CANADA CORP.
Reel/Frame 045618/0800 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62253104 · Nov 9, 2015
Related Publication 20170130953A1 · May 11, 2017