Produced-Water Direct Air Capture for Lower-Cost CO2 Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing direct air capture (DAC) systems have high operating costs, and produced water from oil and gas facilities is not fully leveraged for additional environmental benefits beyond traditional treatment processes.
Innovation Solution
Integrate a DAC subsystem within an oil and gas production facility to capture carbon dioxide from atmospheric air into produced water, using chemical additives like hydroxides to enhance CO2 capture, and incorporate an electrolysis subsystem to generate hydroxide sources for further CO2 dissolution, with a control system to manage water quality and reinjection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If traditional produced water treatment processes are used, then water is treated for disposal or recycling, but carbon dioxide emissions are not reduced and operating costs remain high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the produced water treatment process with a direct air capture (DAC) system by integrating CO2 absorption units into the existing water treatment infrastructure. The produced water, after traditional treatment, is routed through absorbers where it captures CO2 from ambient air, merging two separate processes (water treatment and carbon capture) into a unified system that achieves both objectives simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The produced water is given multiple functions: first, it undergoes traditional treatment for disposal or recycling purposes; second, it serves as a solvent for CO2 absorption in the DAC system. This multi-functional use of produced water maximizes environmental benefits without requiring separate dedicated systems for each function, thereby improving productivity in terms of environmental impact.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If direct air capture systems are implemented, then CO2 can be captured from air, but operating costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses produced water, which is already present at the oil and gas facility as a byproduct, to perform the CO2 absorption function. This eliminates or reduces the need for purchasing external absorbents or solvents, making the DAC system self-sufficient and reducing operating costs. The produced water effectively serves itself by being treated and then reused for carbon capture within the same facility.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding treated produced water after traditional treatment, the system recovers and reuses it for CO2 absorption in the DAC process. This recovery approach extracts additional value from a waste stream, reducing the need for expensive external materials and lowering overall operating costs while maintaining CO2 capture effectiveness.
3Reliability
If produced water is fully treated for environmental compliance, then water quality is improved, but additional environmental benefits such as CO2 capture are not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous produced water treatment for quality compliance while extending the water's useful life by routing it through CO2 absorption units. This continuous dual-action process ensures that water quality standards are met for environmental compliance while simultaneously achieving carbon capture, preventing atmospheric carbon accumulation without compromising water quality reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary treatment of produced water to ensure it meets quality standards before routing it to the CO2 absorption stage. This preliminary action sequence ensures that water is properly conditioned for both environmental compliance and effective carbon capture, addressing both water quality and atmospheric carbon concerns in a staged manner.
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
Achieves near net-zero CO2 emissions for the facility by capturing significant CO2 in produced water, reducing operational costs, and ensuring safe reinjection by managing water corrosivity and oxygen levels.
Implementation Method 1
one or more air-water contactors configured to contact the flow of air with the flow of produced water to dissolve carbon dioxide from the air into the produced water
Implementation Method 2
incorporate an electrolysis subsystem to generate hydroxide sources for further CO2 dissolution
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for carbon capture using produced water are provided. One such system includes a direct air capture (DAC) subsystem. The DAC subsystem includes an air inlet configured to receive a flow of air comprising carbon dioxide, a water inlet configured to receive a flow of produced water from a production system. The DAC subsystem also includes one or more air-water contactors configured to contact the flow of air with the flow of produced water to dissolve carbon dioxide from the air into the produced water to produce a treated air and a water output, where the water output includes a carbon rich aqueous solution including dissolved carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, carbonate anions, bicarbonate anions, or a combination thereof.