Coated Pipe Sections for Wastewater Contaminant Sequestration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic fracturing generates contaminated wastewater with toxic and radioactive substances that pose environmental risks due to inadequate treatment in sewage plants, often resulting in disposal into water supplies and aquifers.
Innovation Solution
A method involving pipes with sections coated with contaminant-capturing substances, either on the interior surface or on proppants, to sequester contaminants within the shale formation or borehole, preventing their return to the surface and ensuring permanent underground storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wastewater is processed in sewerage treatment plants, then treatment capacity is maintained, but treatment effectiveness deteriorates because the plants are not designed to handle radioactive and toxic contaminants
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the contaminant removal function from the wastewater stream by introducing specialized proppants coated with selective sequestering agents. These proppants selectively bind and remove specific contaminants (radionuclides, heavy metals, etc.) from the wastewater as it flows through the fractured formation, separating the treatment function from conventional sewerage infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses coated proppants as intermediary substances that facilitate contaminant removal. The proppants are coated with selective sequestering agents that act as intermediaries between the wastewater contaminants and the subsurface environment, enabling selective binding and immobilization of harmful substances without requiring complex treatment plants.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If contaminants are disposed of in injection wells or surface ponds, then disposal capacity is maintained, but environmental contamination increases due to potential leakage into water supplies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful contaminants into beneficially immobilized substances by using selective sequestering agents on proppant surfaces. The contaminants that would otherwise be harmful are bound to the proppants and permanently stored in the subsurface geologic formation, transforming a waste disposal problem into a permanent storage solution that protects environmental resources.
3Reliability
If proppants coated with selective sequestering substances are used, then contaminant removal effectiveness is improved, but proppant coating complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by coating only specific portions of the proppant surface with selective sequestering agents rather than requiring complete coating. This localized coating approach maintains contaminant removal effectiveness while reducing material costs and simplifying the manufacturing process. The coating is applied where it is most needed - on the surface areas that will contact wastewater.
4Reliability
If multiple layers of different proppants are pumped into the formation, then selective contaminant sequestration is improved, but injection process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the proppant injection process into distinct stages or zones, with different proppant types (coated with different selective sequestering agents) being injected at different times or into different fracture zones. This segmented approach enables targeted contaminant removal for different contaminant types while maintaining manageable injection operations through systematic sequencing.
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
Effectively removes contaminants like radionuclides from wastewater, eliminating the need for costly disposal and reducing environmental contamination by keeping the contaminants underground, thus addressing the environmental and health risks associated with hydraulic fracturing wastewater.
Implementation Method 1
The interior surface of at least one section of the pipe is coated with a contaminant-capturing substance. The wastewater re-enters the pipe from the shale and moves through the coated pipe section, where the contaminants are sequestered in the coating
Data Source
AI summary
A borehole is drilled from the surface to an underground shale matrix. A pipe is inserted into the borehole. Openings are created in the pipe in fluid communication with fractures in the shale matrix. The interior surface of at least one section of pipe is coated with a contaminant-capturing substance. Fracturing fluid including water, proppants and chemicals is pumped through the pipe and into the fractures in the shale matrix. The fluid re-enters the pipe from the shale matrix and moves toward the surface through the coated pipe section where contaminants are sequestered by the coating. Natural gas or oil from the fractured shale then enters the pipe and moves to the surface to be collected. The coated pipe section remains in the ground permanently such that the necessity of disposing of the captured contaminants is eliminated.