Modular Transport System for Proppant Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The oil and gas industry faces challenges with proppant storage and transportation, including high railcar utilization losses, significant demurrage charges, infrastructure limitations, and congestion at transload sites, which result in costly embargos and reduced efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A modular, bolt-together material transport system using lighter weight materials, such as composite materials, with a removable container design that allows for increased capacity without exceeding legal road haul limits, reducing maintenance costs and downtime, and enabling flexible storage and transportation options.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If proppant is stored in railcar hopper cars at transload sites, then storage capacity is available, but railcar utilization is lost and demurrage charges accumulate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the storage function from the railcar hopper and creates a separate, dedicated storage silo system. This allows the railcar to be quickly emptied and removed from the transload site, eliminating demurrage charges while maintaining storage capacity through the permanent silo infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the transportation and storage functions into separate components: railcars for transport and permanent silos for storage. This separation allows railcars to be rapidly exchanged while proppant is transferred to and stored in the silo system, resolving the conflict between storage needs and railcar utilization.
2Quantity of substance
If more railcars are used for storage at transload sites, then storage capacity increases, but railroad track congestion increases leading to embargos
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from horizontal storage (using multiple railcars occupying track space) to vertical storage (using tall silos that store proppant above ground). This dimensional change eliminates track congestion while maintaining or increasing storage capacity, as silos occupy minimal ground space.
3Strength
If conventional steel transport containers are used, then structural strength is adequate, but weight limits prevent increased cargo capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials (such as fiber-reinforced polymers) for container construction. These composites provide sufficient structural strength while being significantly lighter than conventional steel, allowing increased cargo capacity within legal weight limits. The weight reduction directly translates to more proppant that can be transported per container.
4Productivity
If permanent infrastructure is used for transloading, then processing capacity is sufficient, but flexibility and adaptability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces modular, movable components to the transloading infrastructure. Rather than completely fixed permanent structures, the system uses relocatable silos and adjustable equipment that can be reconfigured or moved as needed. This dynamic approach maintains processing capacity while significantly improving flexibility and adaptability to changing operational requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A material transport system and method having a frame with a plurality of upright frame members, upper lateral frame members, central lateral frame members, and lower lateral frame members. In one aspect, removable sidewalls can be affixed to the frame. In other aspects, the removable sidewalls have a density that is less than the density of the frame members. In other aspects, a modular container can be disposed in the frame. The frame can be constructed from a material having a lower density than the materials used for the frame.