Coandă Ejector Manifold for Low-Pressure Natural Gas Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies are inefficient in extracting low-pressure natural gas from abandoned or near-abandoned hydrocarbon reservoirs, leading to potential gas leakage and loss, as they rely on pressure differentials that become ineffective in low-pressure conditions.
Innovation Solution
An ejector manifold system utilizing the Coandă effect, where a high-pressure motive fluid is used to create a pressure differential, encouraging natural gas to flow into the manifold through inflow ports and mix with the motive fluid, which is then evacuated to the surface, enhancing gas extraction efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional pressure differential methods are used to extract natural gas, then extraction is effective in high-pressure reservoirs, but extraction becomes inefficient in low-pressure or abandoned reservoirs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a motive fluid as an intermediary substance to facilitate natural gas extraction. The motive fluid is injected into the wellbore to create a pressure differential that drives natural gas from the reservoir through the wellbore to the surface, enabling extraction in low-pressure reservoirs where traditional methods fail
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs pneumatic principles by using compressed motive fluid (gas or liquid) to create pressure differentials and drive flow. The system uses pressure gradients and fluid dynamics to move natural gas through the wellbore, applying pneumatic/hydraulic mechanisms to solve the low-pressure extraction problem
2Productivity
If compressors are used to pull suction on wellheads in low-pressure reservoirs, then some gas can be extracted, but the system becomes inefficient and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service extraction by using the injected motive fluid to naturally drive the natural gas to the surface through pressure differentials and flow dynamics, eliminating the need for external compressors and their associated energy consumption
3Loss of substance
If abandoned wellbores are left without controlled extraction, then no active extraction is needed, but natural gas leaks to the surface and is lost to the atmosphere
Solution Approach 1:
The motive fluid acts as an intermediary that creates a controlled flow path through the wellbore, preventing uncontrolled leakage while enabling systematic extraction and recovery of natural gas from abandoned reservoirs
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses pneumatic pressure gradients to establish controlled flow through the wellbore, replacing uncontrolled atmospheric leakage with managed fluid dynamics that capture and transport natural gas to the surface
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively extracts remaining low-pressure natural gas by generating a stronger pressure reduction than previous methods, making it more efficient for harvesting from abandoned or low-producing reservoirs, thereby preventing gas loss and increasing operational profitability.
Implementation Method 1
The motive fluid then moves into a motive manifold over a Coandă effect surface that generates a further pressure differential between the low-pressure natural gas and the motive fluid, creating a reduced pressure effect that encourages natural gas to move into the inflow manifold
Implementation Method 2
The ejector manifold utilizes a high-pressure motive fluid compressor that delivers motive fluid into a well and transports the motive fluid through the subsurface and across the hydrocarbon reservoir
Implementation Method 3
The natural gas and motive fluid mixture is then evacuated to the surface for harvest through the same or different well
Data Source
AI summary
A low-pressure natural gas harvesting system that injects motive fluid into a first well by a compressor, which flows into a motive manifold that utilizes the Coandă effect to introduce a reduced pressure effect. The reduced pressure effect draws natural gas into the system from natural gas reservoirs through one or more inflow ports that are part of inflow manifolds, which may connect to a motive manifold. The natural gas and motive fluid mix after the motive fluid flows over a Coandă effect surface and the mixture is subsequently directed to flow to a production well.