Footed Hood Silica Dust Recirculation System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic fracturing operations in hydrocarbon well sites generate highly concentrated respirable silica dust, posing a health risk to field operators due to inhalation, and existing systems are inadequate for effective mitigation and recirculation.
Innovation Solution
A silica dust mitigation and recirculation system comprising a blender hopper with a footed hood, air amplifiers, and vacuum hoses that collect and recirculate silica dust from the blender hopper to proppant silos, reducing exposure to operators and enabling continued use of the dust in operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If frac sand is conveyed on a conveyor from source to blender, then hydraulic fracturing operations can be performed, but highly concentrated respirable silica dust particles are released into the surrounding air exposing field operators to health risks
Solution Approach 1:
A footed hood is positioned over the blender hopper to act as an intermediary structure that captures silica dust at the source. The hood includes a main hood portion with outlets and a footed portion that extends toward the conveyor, creating a containment zone that intercepts dust before it disperses into the surrounding air where operators work.
Solution Approach 2:
Air amplifiers are connected to the main hood portion to utilize pneumatic principles. Compressed air supplied to the air amplifiers creates a vacuum effect that draws silica dust and air through the outlets of the main hood portion and into vacuum hoses, which transport the dust to proppant silos for recirculation or disposal.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If silica dust is released into the surrounding air, then field operators are exposed to health risks, but implementing dust collection systems increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The footed hood structure serves multiple functions: it acts as a dust containment enclosure, provides mounting support for air amplifiers, and directs airflow patterns to enhance dust capture. The outlets of the main hood portion serve dual purposes as both structural elements and dust collection entry points, reducing the need for separate dedicated components.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of simply discarding silica dust as waste, the system recovers it by transporting captured dust through vacuum hoses to proppant silos where it can be stored and recirculated back into the frac sand supply system, eliminating the need for continuous fresh sand handling and reducing overall dust generation.
3Productivity
If silica dust is collected and recirculated to proppant silos, then dust exposure is reduced and operational efficiency is enhanced, but energy consumption increases due to vacuum and compressed air requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous operation of the air amplifiers and vacuum hoses during frac sand handling operations, ensuring uninterrupted dust capture and recirculation. This continuous action prevents dust accumulation and maintains consistent protection for operators throughout the hydraulic fracturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The recirculated silica dust stored in proppant silos serves the system's own needs by being fed back into the conveyor system for reuse in hydraulic fracturing operations. This self-service approach reduces the need for external sand supply and minimizes the generation of new dust, partially offsetting the energy consumed by the dust collection system.
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 limits operator exposure to respirable silica dust by recirculating and filtering the dust, enhancing safety and operational efficiency at hydrocarbon well sites.
Implementation Method 1
The supplied compressed air may enhance drawing of air and generated silica dust in regions underlying the footed hood and overlying the blender hopper by vacuum pressure through the outlets of the main hood portion of the footed hood.
Implementation Method 2
Air amplifiers connected to the main hood portion of the footed hood to amplify air in the footed hood. The supplied compressed air may enhance drawing of air and generated silica dust
Implementation Method 3
vacuum hoses in fluid communication with the outlets of the main hood portion of the footed hood. The embodiment of the vacuum hoses may extend away therefrom to the sand proppant silos to provide a path for the generated silica dust from the footed hood to sand proppant silos
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure includes embodiments of a recirculation system and methods for mitigating release of silica dust at a hydrocarbon well site. The embodiments of the recirculation system may include a blender hopper, one or more proppant silos, a footed hood, a conveyor, one or more amplifiers, one or more compressed air sources, one or more vacuum hoses, an augur, and a blender. In one or more embodiments, the methods of recirculating silica dust to mitigate the release of silica dust includes conveying sand proppant on a conveyor from the one or more proppant silos to a blender hopper, directing sand proppant from the conveyor into the blender hopper, supplying compressed air to one or more amplifiers, directing sand proppant from the blender hopper to a blender via an augur, and adjusting the extent of at least one of the two or more leg segments and the leg adjustment arrangement.