Patent · US Expired

Priming methods for vacuum extraction wells

US5076360A · kind A · utility

36Cited by
21References
5Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateApr 4, 1990
Grant dateDec 31, 1991
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 4, 2010

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
  • CPC primaryE21B43/34
  • WIPO fieldCivil engineering
  • WIPO sectorOther fields

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for vacuum extraction of contaminants from the ground which, in a preferred embodiment, involves vacuum withdrawal of liquid and gaseous phases as a common stream, separation of the liquid and gaseous phases, and subsequent treatment of the separated liquid and gases to produce clean effluent. A primed vacuum extraction employs a single vacuum generating device to remove contaminants in both the liquid stream and soil gases through a single well casing utilizing a priming tube which introduces air or other gas to the liquid collected at the bottom of a well. The present invention permits vacuum extraction of both liquids and gases from the subsurface by way of wells having a liquid layer which is more than thirty feet below the soil surface or in which a screened interval of the extraction pipe is entirely below the liquid surface.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.