Pyros evaporation technology provides safe alternative to steam boilers

June 1, 2006
Total Separation Solutions, LLC has introduced what it calls a safe and problem-free alternative to steam boilers for heating in oilfield applications.

Total Separation Solutions, LLC has introduced what it calls a safe and problem-free alternative to steam boilers for heating in oilfield applications. The company’s Pyros Series 1 heater reportedly produces highly favorable results by using a patented evaporation process without a traditional heat exchanger setup.

The Pyros unit and skid.
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While most boilers can corrode and present explosion hazards without a regular maintenance program, Pyros technology offers continuous heating without surfaces that can scale up or flame that can cause safety concerns. The basis of the technology is the patented Shockwave Power Reactor (SPR) technology, which harnesses the power of controlled cavitation to transfer mechanical energy directly to the fluid.

The SPR contains a spinning disk with closed boreholes that create low pressure areas in the fluid. Tiny cavitation bubbles form as a result and then rapidly collapse. During this collapse, energy is released into the fluid.

The transfer of this energy creates heat without the use of flame, which efficiently evaporates water from brine and creates continuous steam without generating heating surfaces that can scale. The company reports that the SPR will only grow as hot as the fluid, and the unit is capable of heating any type of fluid including crude oil, water, completion fluids and drilling muds.

The SPR unit is powered by a 650 hp continuous-service diesel engine that can produce over 2,000 lbs of steam per hour. The heat generated is equivalent to a 75-hp boiler, but without any associated steam losses.

Used to re-densify expensive brines, the Pyros has a foot print of 30 ft x 8 ft and weighs 26,000 lbs. It has an on-board fuel capacity of 430 gal, and consumes 33 gal of fuel per hour operating under full load.

Construction consists of 316 SS for the SPR and piping in all of the wet areas.

Additional applications and systems are currently under development.

Note: Total Separation Solutions is the exclusive licensee for SPR technology in the oil and gas industry. License provided by Hydro Dynamics, Inc.