Interval Isolation Disk for Liquid CO2 Well Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Treating the entire screened section of a water well casing with liquid CO2 is inefficient, unsafe, and ineffective due to preferential movement through more permeable zones, leaving less permeable zones untreated, and increasing pressure poses safety risks.
Innovation Solution
An interval isolation assembly with an eductor pipe and disk system that isolates liquid CO2 within specific intervals of the well casing, allowing targeted treatment and reducing pressure risks by using a rubber-sealed disk assembly to contain CO2 between upper and lower disks within the eductor pipe.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the entire screened section of the well casing is treated with liquid CO2 simultaneously, then the treatment covers all zones, but the CO2 preferentially moves through more permeable zones leaving less permeable zones untreated
Solution Approach 1:
The well screened section is divided into multiple intervals using isolator assemblies with disks. Each isolator assembly treats a specific interval separately, ensuring uniform CO2 distribution across different permeability zones. The segmentation prevents preferential flow through high-permeability zones by physically isolating each treatment interval.
Solution Approach 2:
Each isolator assembly is configured with specific disk properties (perforations, materials) tailored to the local geologic conditions of that interval. This allows customization of CO2 delivery characteristics for each specific zone, optimizing treatment effectiveness for varying permeability conditions.
2Manufacturing precision
If CO2 pressure is increased to treat less permeable zones, then treatment effectiveness improves, but safety risks increase due to over-pressurizing the casing
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the well into isolated intervals, each interval can be pressurized independently to the appropriate level for its specific permeability characteristics. This prevents the need to over-pressurize the entire well, as lower-permeability zones receive targeted high pressure only where needed, without compromising overall casing safety.
Solution Approach 2:
Pressure levels are optimized locally for each treatment interval based on its specific geologic properties. Less permeable zones receive higher localized pressure while more permeable zones receive lower pressure, eliminating the need for uniform high-pressure treatment across the entire well and thereby maintaining casing safety.
3Manufacturing precision
If CO2 pressure is increased to treat less permeable zones, then treatment of low-permeability areas improves, but large volumes of CO2 escape through more permeable zones reducing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The isolator assemblies segment the well into discrete treatment intervals, preventing CO2 injected for treating low-permeability zones from escaping through high-permeability zones. This containment ensures that CO2 is utilized efficiently in the target zone without being lost to preferential flow paths.
Solution Approach 2:
Each interval receives CO2 at pressure levels optimized for its specific permeability characteristics. This localized optimization ensures that CO2 is used efficiently in each zone without being wasted by escaping through more permeable areas, as each interval is independently controlled.
4Productivity
If the entire screened section is treated simultaneously, then treatment speed is fast, but the process is inefficient and unsafe
Solution Approach 1:
The well is divided into multiple intervals that can be treated in sequence using isolator assemblies. While this appears to slow the process, it actually improves overall efficiency by preventing CO2 waste and allowing optimized pressure treatment for each zone, reducing the need for repeated treatments and thereby improving long-term productivity and safety.
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
Enhances water production by ensuring thorough treatment of both permeable and less permeable zones, maintaining safety by controlling pressure and preventing CO2 escape through more permeable zones, thereby increasing efficiency and safety of the treatment process.
Implementation Method 1
a rubber disk that provides a seal during injection of the liquid CO2. The upper disk may include a rubber disk that cups up and down against the well wall.
Implementation Method 2
Depressurizing and warming liquid CO2 125 will rapidly transform the liquid to a solid form. Solid CO2 is commonly referred to as dry ice. Dry ice sublimates back to the natural gaseous state. In that regard, sublimation energy can be harnessed for mechanical work.
Implementation Method 3
The chemical and physical reactions that occur when liquid CO2 125 interacts with fluids within the confines of a well include, for example, dissolving oil residue by the formation of carbonic acid
Implementation Method 4
removing deposits through mechanical sublimation and pressurization due to sublimation
Data Source
AI summary
The system delivers liquid CO2 125 into the casing screened interval of an eductor pipe 110 within a water well. The eductor pipe 110 assembly extends from the top of the well (or land surface) to the top of a disk interval isolation assembly 123. The disk assembly isolates a predetermined length of screened interval, so liquid CO2 125 can be injected and contained within the interval and immediately outside the casing.