Patents
US 7578345 B2: Process for recovering heavy oil using multiple effect evaporation
- Granted
- 2009-08-25
- Filed
- 2008-02-21 application 12035163
- Type
- Utility · 25 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
A method for recovering heavy oil including recovering an oil-water mixture from a well and separating oil from the oil-water mixture to produce an oil product and produced water. The produced water is separated into a series of produced water streams. Each produced water stream is directed into each of a plurality of interconnected evaporators in a multiple effect evaporator. A first produced water stream is heated and vaporized to form a first vapor stream. The first vapor stream then heats and vaporizes a second produced water stream to form a second vapor stream. This process may continue wherein the second vapor stream heats and vaporizes a third produced water stream. The vapor streams are condensed to form a distillate that is directed to a steam generator. The steam generator then heats the distillate and produces steam to inject into an oil injection well.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg090825.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HPD, LLC 8 patents | US company or organization | Plainfield, IL | HPD, LLC State business registration EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith R. Minnich | Pewaukee, WI | 11 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Dorothy Neu | Pewaukee, WI | 2 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| B01D | Separation | B01D1/26 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-01-27 | Name change Change of name | VEOLIA WATER SOLUTIONS & TECHNOLOGIES NORTH AMERICA, INC. signed 2014-12-19 | VEOLIA WATER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. MOON TOWNSHIP, PA | 34817/444 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2013-01-10 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | HPD, LLC signed 2012-12-28 | VEOLIA WATER SOLUTIONS & TECHNOLOGIES NORTH AMERICA, INC. MOON TOWNSHIP, PA | 29601/496 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2008-05-06 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | NEU, DOROTHY signed 2008-02-22 MINNICH, KEITH R signed 2008-05-06 | HPD, LLC PLAINFIELD, IL | 20905/8 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.