Wellbore Fluid Mixing System for Polymer Hydration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mixing techniques for wellbore fluids in oilfield applications are inefficient, leading to inadequate rheological capabilities and performance issues due to agglomerates, fisheyes, and molecular degradation, resulting in significant cost inefficiencies and reduced hydrocarbon recovery.
Innovation Solution
A modular system comprising storage vessels and mixing devices, including static and dynamic mixers, that facilitate the mixing, shearing, and storage of wellbore fluids, allowing for the efficient combination and hydration of materials, such as dry polymers and liquids, to produce wellbore fluids that can be injected into wells.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If manual mixing techniques are used to prepare wellbore fluids, then the process is simple and low-cost, but the mixing is inadequate leading to agglomerates and fisheyes that reduce fluid performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical mixing with an automated mixing system that uses controlled fluid injection and mixing chambers. The system injects fluid through nozzles into a mixing chamber where it automatically mixes with polymer particles, eliminating the need for manual mixing while achieving thorough hydration and eliminating fisheyes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the mixing parameters by controlling fluid injection rate, pressure, and mixing chamber conditions. By adjusting these parameters, the system achieves optimal hydration of polymer particles while preventing agglomerate formation and eliminating fisheyes, thereby improving fluid performance reliability.
2Manufacturing precision
If mechanical mixers are used to process fisheyes, then the fisheyes can be processed to some extent, but the mixing requires energy and degrades molecular bonds of the polymer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes high-energy mechanical mixing with a low-energy fluid injection system. Fluid is injected through nozzles into a mixing chamber where it automatically hydrates polymer particles through controlled diffusion and advection, achieving homogeneous wetting without the energy-intensive mechanical agitation that degrades polymer molecular bonds.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses hydraulic principles by injecting fluid under controlled pressure through nozzles into the mixing chamber. This hydraulic approach enables thorough mixing and hydration of polymer particles without requiring mechanical agitation, thereby reducing energy consumption and preventing polymer degradation while achieving homogeneous wetting.
3Reliability
If screen shakers are used to remove drill cuttings, then cuttings can be separated from fluid, but up to thirty percent of initial fluid components are filtered out
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes only the necessary drill cuttings from the fluid using controlled filtration systems, while preserving the majority of fluid components. The system uses selective filtration that allows cuttings to be removed while maintaining fluid integrity and preventing loss of valuable fluid components that would otherwise be discarded.
Solution Approach 2:
The system recovers and reuses the majority of fluid components after cutting removal, rather than discarding them. The filtration process is designed to separate cuttings from fluid, and the recovered fluid is returned to the mixing system for reuse, thereby minimizing fluid component loss and improving overall system efficiency.
4Productivity
If dry polymer particles are mixed with liquid, then hydration occurs, but the outer portion wets instantaneously while the center remains unwetted creating fisheyes
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses controlled fluid injection through nozzles to deliver liquid to polymer particles in a mixing chamber. This hydraulic approach enables simultaneous hydration of the entire polymer particle surface while maintaining uniform wetting distribution, preventing the formation of fisheyes by ensuring consistent fluid distribution throughout the particle structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary mixing and hydration in a controlled mixing chamber before the polymer-laden fluid is injected into the wellbore. This preliminary action ensures that polymer particles are thoroughly hydrated and uniformly wetted before downhole use, eliminating fisheyes and ensuring consistent polymer performance.
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 ensures thorough mixing and hydration of wellbore fluids, enhancing their rheological properties and performance, reducing the loss of components, and improving hydrocarbon recovery by addressing the inefficiencies of existing methods.
Implementation Method 1
a pump in fluid communication with at least the second storage vessel and the first mixing device, wherein the pump is configured to provide a flow of the second material from the second storage vessel to the first mixing device
Implementation Method 2
the first mixing device is configured to mix the first material and the second material to produce a wellbore fluid
Implementation Method 3
transferring the wellbore fluid to a second mixer, shearing the wellbore fluid in the second mixer
Data Source
AI summary
A system for mixing fluids for oilfield applications, the system including a first storage vessel (101) configured to hold a first material and a first mixing device (108) in fluid communication with the first storage vessel. The system also including a second mixing device (115) in fluid communication with the first mixing device and a second storage vessel (102) in fluid communication with the second mixing device, wherein the second storage vessel is configured to hold a second material. Additionally, the system including a pump (109) in fluid communication with at least the second storage vessel and the first mixing device, wherein the pump is configured to provide a flow of the second material from the second storage vessel to the first mixing device, and wherein the first mixing device is configured to mix the first material and the second material to produce a wellbore fluid.