Graphene Oxide Coated Membrane for Well Fluid Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The management of fluids recovered from oil and gas wells is challenging due to contamination and the need for costly disposal or transportation, with existing methods failing to efficiently separate and reuse brine, slop water, and fracturing fluids effectively.
Innovation Solution
The use of a membrane unit with a porous substrate coated with graphene oxide, which separates water from other components in the fluid stream, allowing for the reuse and recycling of these fluids by removing contaminants and adjusting brine density, thereby reducing disposal and storage costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If conventional methods are used to treat recovered well fluids, then disposal costs are high, but separation efficiency is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a porous substrate as the foundation of the membrane structure, providing a three-dimensional network with interconnected pores that enable fluid penetration while supporting the graphene oxide coating. This porous architecture increases the effective surface area for separation and facilitates efficient mass transfer, directly addressing the separation efficiency limitation of conventional treatment methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite membrane structure by coating graphene oxide on a porous substrate. This composite material combines the mechanical strength and porosity of the substrate with the selective separation properties of graphene oxide layers. The synergistic combination enables both high separation efficiency for contaminants and effective brine-water separation, resolving the contradiction between separation performance and fluid reuse capability.
2Productivity
If graphene oxide coated membrane is used to separate water from contaminants, then separation efficiency improves, but membrane complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes thin film graphene oxide coatings deposited on porous substrate structures. These thin films provide the necessary separation functionality without requiring complex three-dimensional structures. The thin film approach maintains structural simplicity while achieving high separation efficiency, as the graphene oxide layers are only nanometers thick yet provide effective contaminant rejection.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous substrate provides a simple yet effective structural framework that naturally facilitates fluid flow through its interconnected pore network. This porous architecture eliminates the need for complex channel designs or mechanical structures, achieving both structural simplicity and high separation performance through the inherent properties of the porous material combined with the graphene oxide coating.
3Adaptability or versatility
If brine density is adjusted for reuse, then fluid recyclability improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts water from the recovered fluid stream through the graphene oxide coated membrane, separating it from brine and contaminants. By removing excess water, the brine concentration and density increase automatically, achieving the desired recyclability without requiring additional time-consuming processing steps for density adjustment. The extraction process simultaneously achieves separation and concentration.
Solution Approach 2:
The membrane separation process inherently changes the concentration parameter of the brine stream as water permeates through the membrane. This parameter change occurs continuously during operation, allowing the brine density to be adjusted to suitable levels for reuse without separate processing steps, thereby maintaining short processing times while achieving high recyclability.
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 graphene oxide coated membrane effectively separates water from contaminants, enabling the reuse of brine, treatment of slop water for environmental discharge, and recycling of fracturing fluids, thus reducing costs and environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
a first membrane including a porous substrate at least partially coated with graphene oxide, wherein the first membrane separates a first portion of the fluid stream from a second portion of the fluid stream
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods using: a membrane unit to treat fluids recovered from an oil and gas well are provided. The membrane unit may include a membrane having a porous substrate at. least partially coated with graphene oxide, making the membrane hydrophilic. The membrane separates water from other components within a fluid stream. The membrane unit may include an inlet to receive a fluid stream into the membrane unit. The fluid stream may be pretreated prior to reaching the membrane unit The membrane unit may also include a first outlet in fluid communication with one side of the membrane and a second outlet in fluid communication with the opposite side of the membrane.