NO340028B1 - A method for production of injection water from seawater - Google Patents
A method for production of injection water from seawater Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- NO340028B1 NO340028B1 NO20160329A NO20160329A NO340028B1 NO 340028 B1 NO340028 B1 NO 340028B1 NO 20160329 A NO20160329 A NO 20160329A NO 20160329 A NO20160329 A NO 20160329A NO 340028 B1 NO340028 B1 NO 340028B1
- Authority
- NO
- Norway
- Prior art keywords
- seawater
- sweep gas
- membrane contactor
- manifold
- injection water
- Prior art date
Links
- 239000013535 sea water Substances 0.000 title claims description 56
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 title claims description 55
- 238000002347 injection Methods 0.000 title claims description 32
- 239000007924 injection Substances 0.000 title claims description 32
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 title claims description 9
- 239000012528 membrane Substances 0.000 claims description 93
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 claims description 70
- QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N atomic oxygen Chemical compound [O] QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 31
- 239000001301 oxygen Substances 0.000 claims description 31
- 229910052760 oxygen Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 31
- 239000000835 fiber Substances 0.000 claims description 18
- 230000002209 hydrophobic effect Effects 0.000 claims description 18
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 17
- IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N Atomic nitrogen Chemical compound N#N IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 8
- 238000009826 distribution Methods 0.000 claims description 8
- 229930195733 hydrocarbon Natural products 0.000 claims description 5
- 150000002430 hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000001257 hydrogen Substances 0.000 claims description 5
- 229910052739 hydrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 5
- XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Argon Chemical compound [Ar] XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000001914 filtration Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000004743 Polypropylene Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 229910052757 nitrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 3
- -1 polypropylene Polymers 0.000 claims description 3
- 229920001155 polypropylene Polymers 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 claims description 3
- XOJVVFBFDXDTEG-UHFFFAOYSA-N Norphytane Natural products CC(C)CCCC(C)CCCC(C)CCCC(C)C XOJVVFBFDXDTEG-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 2
- QAOWNCQODCNURD-UHFFFAOYSA-L Sulfate Chemical compound [O-]S([O-])(=O)=O QAOWNCQODCNURD-UHFFFAOYSA-L 0.000 claims description 2
- 229910052786 argon Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 150000003839 salts Chemical class 0.000 claims description 2
- 229910021653 sulphate ion Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 2
- 125000004435 hydrogen atom Chemical class [H]* 0.000 claims 1
- 238000000605 extraction Methods 0.000 description 11
- 238000007872 degassing Methods 0.000 description 4
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 description 4
- 239000004215 Carbon black (E152) Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 3
- 239000011148 porous material Substances 0.000 description 3
- UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrogen Chemical compound [H][H] UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- KDLHZDBZIXYQEI-UHFFFAOYSA-N Palladium Chemical compound [Pd] KDLHZDBZIXYQEI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910001873 dinitrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 238000005265 energy consumption Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 150000002431 hydrogen Chemical class 0.000 description 2
- 230000005499 meniscus Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000011084 recovery Methods 0.000 description 2
- 241000894006 Bacteria Species 0.000 description 1
- 241001465754 Metazoa Species 0.000 description 1
- 239000003054 catalyst Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005260 corrosion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000007797 corrosion Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000009792 diffusion process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052763 palladium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000000135 prohibitive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010926 purge Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000011435 rock Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000926 separation method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004094 surface-active agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000011282 treatment Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910021642 ultra pure water Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000012498 ultrapure water Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012795 verification Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
- C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
- C02F1/00—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
- C02F1/20—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by degassing, i.e. liberation of dissolved gases
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D19/00—Degasification of liquids
- B01D19/0031—Degasification of liquids by filtration
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D61/00—Processes of separation using semi-permeable membranes, e.g. dialysis, osmosis or ultrafiltration; Apparatus, accessories or auxiliary operations specially adapted therefor
- B01D61/24—Dialysis ; Membrane extraction
- B01D61/246—Membrane extraction
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D63/00—Apparatus in general for separation processes using semi-permeable membranes
- B01D63/02—Hollow fibre modules
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D71/00—Semi-permeable membranes for separation processes or apparatus characterised by the material; Manufacturing processes specially adapted therefor
- B01D71/06—Organic material
- B01D71/26—Polyalkenes
- B01D71/262—Polypropylene
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B41/00—Equipment or details not covered by groups E21B15/00 - E21B40/00
- E21B41/02—Equipment or details not covered by groups E21B15/00 - E21B40/00 in situ inhibition of corrosion in boreholes or wells
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
- E21B43/16—Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons
- E21B43/20—Displacing by water
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D2311/00—Details relating to membrane separation process operations and control
- B01D2311/13—Use of sweep gas
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D2315/00—Details relating to the membrane module operation
- B01D2315/22—Membrane contactor
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D2317/00—Membrane module arrangements within a plant or an apparatus
- B01D2317/04—Elements in parallel
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D2325/00—Details relating to properties of membranes
- B01D2325/38—Hydrophobic membranes
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
- C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
- C02F2103/00—Nature of the water, waste water, sewage or sludge to be treated
- C02F2103/08—Seawater, e.g. for desalination
Landscapes
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Geology (AREA)
- Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
- Hydrology & Water Resources (AREA)
- Organic Chemistry (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Urology & Nephrology (AREA)
- Separation Using Semi-Permeable Membranes (AREA)
- Degasification And Air Bubble Elimination (AREA)
- Extraction Or Liquid Replacement (AREA)
- Seasonings (AREA)
Description
The present invention relates to a low-cost and an energy efficient method for insitu production of injection water for offshore hydrocarbon extraction.
Background
Oil in an oil reservoir is usually pressurized from nature and will flow by its own pressure to the surface through a production well made to contact the reservoir in the first stage of an oil extraction process. This stage of an oil extraction is known as primary oil extraction. Typically, the primary oil extraction may extract up to about 1/5 of the original oil content.
As the oil is being extracted, the underground oil pressure in the reservoir decreases such that after a period the underground oil pressure has decreased sufficiently for the well not to be self-producing any longer. From this moment it becomes necessary to actively increase the underground oil pressure to force the oil up to the surface. This is typically obtained by injecting water and/or a gas into the oil carrying rock structure. This stage of an oil extraction is known as secondary oil extraction, and may typically extract another 1/5 of the original oil content of the reservoir.
Enhanced, or tertiary, oil production may increase the extraction rate further by changing the mobility (flow resistance) of the remaining oil in the reservoir by heating by injection of steam, adding surfactants etc.
For offshore oil extraction (from reservoirs beneath the seabed) it is usually necessary to carry most of the processing equipment on offshore platforms due to the distance to the nearest land location. A typical offshore oil and gas platform is designed for a life-span of around 50 years in rather harsh weather conditions. As a consequence, the structure carrying parts of an offshore platform needs to be dimensioned so robust that every kg of process equipment the platform is intended to carry, results in a weight increase of the load carrying structure of the platform of about 3 - 5 kg. The weight of the process equipment to be mounted on an offshore oil and gas platform is therefore an important cost-factor. It is important to reduce both the foot-print (required instalment area), the weight of the process equipment and its energy demand.
The typical distance from offshore platforms to the nearest land location and the relatively large vol urnes of injection water required for secondary oil recovery makes it desirable and economical to produce injection water on-site at the platform. The transport costs associated with producing the injection water at land based locations becomes prohibitive.
The injection water needs to be almost completely depleted in oxygen to prevent in-hole problems with corrosion and/or bacteria growth. The oil industry has set a maximum limit for the oxygen content of 20 ppb. As a comparison, water in thermodynamic equilibrium with air at one atmosphere pressure contains about 8.5 - 10 ppm. It is i.e. necessary to reduce the oxygen content by a factor of 1000 to satisfy the requirements for being used as injection water in offshore secondary oil extraction.
Prior art
From WO 2001/85622 it is known that membrane separators may be utilised for on-site production of injection water from seawater. The apparatus (1) comprises a substantially porous membrane (12) being provided with a catalyst means such as palladium and at least one inlet (16, 18) and one outlet (20, 22) for input of the oxygenated water and recovery of the de-oxygenated water. The sea water and hydrogen are introduced into the apparatus (1), the hydrogen typically being dispersed by the porous membrane (12). Excess oxygen in the water reacts with the hydrogen, thus de-oxygenating the water.
From Pabby et al. (ed.), "Handbook of Membrane Separations, Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Food, and Biotechnological Applications", CRC Press, ed. 2009, pages 7-27, it is known that a type of membrane separator, which is often denoted contact membrane, is an effective type of membrane able to reduce the oxygen content of a water phase to significantly less than 20 ppb.
Document US 2010/0230366 teaches producing injection water on an offshore oil platform from seawater by using a battery involving serially connected membrane contactors using nitrogen gas as sweep gas.
A membrane contactor is usually composed of one elongated hollow cylinder housing håving a liquid inlet at a first end of the cylinder housing and a liquid outlet at a second end opposite the first end of the cylinder housing. Inside the hollow room of the cylinder housing, there is a bundle of hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes extending from a first gas distribution manifold at the second end of the cylinder body and to a second gas distribution manifold at the first end of the cylinder body. The first gas distribution manifold is connected to an external gas supply and makes the supplied gas to enter the inside (also denoted as the lumen side in the literature) of the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes, flow through them and be collected by the second gas distribution manifold which is connected to a gas outlet, usually equipped with a downstream vacuum pump to create a suction force which lowers the gas pressure inside the hydrophobic micro-porous hollow-fibre membranes. A liquid, e.g. water, is made to flow on the outside (also denoted as the shell side in the literature) of the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes in the opposite direction of the gas flowing on the lumen side. Due to the hydrophobic nature of the microporous hollow-fibre membrane and the resulting capillary force on a water phase flowing at the , the water phase at the shell side will be prevented from flowing through the micro-pores and enter the lumen side, but will instead protrude partially into the pores. The water phase forms thus a meniscus inside the micro-pores which comes in direct contact with the flowing gas phase in the lumen side, thus the name contact membrane. The gas transport across the gas-liquid interface (the meniscus) becomes governed by Henry's law and transport equations for mass diffusion over an interface. See e.g. Wiesler [2] for further details.
At present, there is a major commercial producer of contact membranes for deoxidation of water. These membrane contactors are sold under the trademark name Liqui-Cel® Membrane Contactor. These membrane contactors are known to be tested for formation of injection water, as may be seen from e.g. a TechBrief [1]. This membrane contactor has been tested for production of injection water from seawater. The present invention is based on the use of commercially available contactors sold under the trademark Liqui-Cel® Membrane Contactor.
Under operation of a contact membrane in the practical life, there may be several factors which may have an effect on the degassing efficiency, such as e.g. inlet water temperature, inlet water composition, atmospheric air pressure, etc. Thus, to ensure that a membrane contactor operates within the specified maximum limit for oxygen content of the degassed water, it is conventionally considered necessary to set the operation parameters (seawater temperature, sweep gas purity and flow volume rate, water flow volume rate and vacuum level) to obtain a theoretically obtainable oxygen removal level well below the maximum limit for oxygen level of injection water. It is customary to run the membrane contactors such that they obtain an average performance well below the set limit for maximum oxygen content to ensure that the natural variation does not result in producing injection water with too much oxygen.
Objective of the invention
The main objective of the invention is to provide a method for production of injection water from seawater in an energy efficient manner.
Description of the invention
The present invention is the reduction to practice of the discovery that in the real life there is no need for using such a large safety margin when applying membrane contactors for producing injection water from seawater. Thus, it becomes possible to save considerable amounts of energy and footprint/weight by allowing the membrane contactor apparatus to be run closer to the set limit for maximum oxygen content than which is presently considered safe. There is i.e. no need for håving such large safety margin as presently thought necessary in this field.
Thus, in a first aspect the present invention relates to a method for production of injection water from seawater, wherein the method comprises:
- applying a set of at least one membrane contactor arranged in parallel,
where each membrane contactor in the set comprises:
- an elongated hollow housing håving an inner elongated space,
- a seawater inlet located at a first end of the housing and adapted to inject seawater into the inner elongated space, - a seawater outlet located at a second end opposite the first end of the housing and adapted to extract seawater from the inner elongated space, - a sweep gas inlet connected to a sweep gas distribution manifold located in the inner elongated space at the second end of the housing, - a sweep gas outlet connected to a sweep gas collection manifold located in the inner elongated space at the first end of the housing,
- a sweep gas supply connected to the sweep gas inlet,
- a vacuum pump located downstream of and connected to the sweep gas outlet, and - at least one bundle of hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes of polypropylene and håving a total surface area in the range of 200 - 250 m<2>located in the inner elongated space and connected in one end to the gas distribution manifold and in an other end to the gas collection manifold such that sweep gas may be passed through a lumen side of each of the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes in the bundle,characterised in that- the arrangement of the set of membrane contactor(s) in parallel is obtained by connecting the seawater inlet of each of the membrane contactor(s) in the set to a seawater supply manifold, connecting the seawater outlet of each of the membrane contactor(s) in the set to an injection water collector manifold, connecting the sweep gas inlet of each of the membrane contactor(s) in the set to a sweep gas supply manifold, and connecting the sweep gas outlet of each of the membrane contactor(s) in the set to a sweep gas collecting manifold, and - producing the injection water by supplying seawater which is to be degassed to the seawater supply manifold and simultaneously supplying sweep gas to the sweep gas supply manifold, engaging the vacuum pump, and collecting the degassed seawater
exiting the injection water collector manifold,
and in that
- the seawater to be degassed is håving a temperature in the range of 15 - 20 °C and is supplied to the seawater supply manifold at a volume flow rate in the range between 12-18 m<3>/hour per membrane contactor being applied in the set of parallel arranged membrane contactor(s), - the sweep gas contains less than 0.01 weight% oxygen and is supplied at a flow rate in the range between 0.8 - 1.1 Nm<3>/hour per membrane contactor being applied in the set of parallel arranged membrane contactor(s), and - the vacuum pump is regulated to give a sweep gas pressure at the lumen side of the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes is in the range of 6.67 - 11.33 kPa.
The term "arranging the set of membrane contactor(s) in parallel" as used herein, means that the membrane contactors being applied in the set of membrane contactors are mutually arranged such that the seawater which is to be degassed only can pass through one membrane contactor in the arrangement. That is, the invention according to the first and second aspect degasses the seawater in just one step by passing through one membrane contactor, as opposed to a series arrangement where the seawater is degassed in two or more steps by being successively passed through two or more membrane contactors.
The term "lumen side" as used herein, means the inside of a hydrophobic micro-porous hollow-fibre membrane, while the term "shell side" means at the outside of a hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membrane.
The term "sweep gas" as used herein, means any gas håving an oxygen content of less than 0.01 weight% and which does not react chemically with the water, the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes and/or the walls of the membrane collector. Examples of suitable sweep gases include, but are not limited to, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, gaseous hydrocarbons, and CO2.
The term "seawater" is used herein in a broad sense and includes any water tåken from the sea. The seawater may be pristine (i.e. used as is from the sea) or treated in any known manner before being deoxidised by the process according to the present invention. The upstream treatments of the seawater may be one or more of; sulphate reduction, salt reduction, filtration, and combinations of these. The seawater may advantageously be subject to a filtration step upstream to remove particulates and other entrained objects håving a characteristic diameter above 5 microns.
The invention according to the first aspect provides a surprisingly good performance enabling using only one degassing step without being "punished" by håving to use excessive amounts of the purging gas and/or excessive energy to create low vacuums in the lumen side of the membranes. This is obtained by allowing the process to be run with parameters providing an average oxygen level in the degassed seawater so close to the maximum allowable oxygen content that it is conventionally considered to be unsafe operation conditions. However, experience by the inventor has found that this is not a problem in the practical life.
A common safety precaution applied by the oil industry related to membrane based deoxidation of injection water is to assume that the oxygen-removal efficiency of the membranes typically varies at a level requiring a safety factor of 1.7. That is, if the maximum allowable oxygen content is 20 ppb, the average oxygen content of the water exiting the membrane based deoxidation must be no more than 11.8 ppb to avoid the natural variation resulting in producing water håving more than 20 ppb oxygen. The present inventor has discovered that this safety precaution is not properly founded in the real life. A membrane contactor may be run at a higher average oxygen content even though the natural variation in the membrane based deoxidation process may then, in theory, provide water håving more than 20 ppb oxygen. In the practical life, this is no problem because if the maximum content is surpassed, it will only be the case for sufficiently small quanta of treated water to represent a problem for its use as injection water. Thus, the membrane process according to the present invention is tuned to run at parameter levels which, in theory, may produce injection water håving more than 20 ppb oxygen, but not in an amount that represent a problem for its use as injection water. The technical effect of this is a considerable saving in material and energy use for deoxidation of seawater for use as injection water.
The above effect of the invention is obtained in practice when the volume flow rate of the sweep gas is in one of the following ranges; from 0.8 to 1.1 Nm<3>/hour, from 0.8 to 1.0 Nm<3>/hour, or from 0.85 to 0.95 Nm<3>/hour, combined with any of the following ranges of the vacuum at the lumen side of the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes of; from 50 to 85 Torr (6.67 to 11.33 kPa), from 60 to 82 Torr (7.99 to 10.93 kPa), or from 70 to 80 Torr (9.33 - 10.67 kPa). An especially preferred combination of sweep gas consumption and vacuum level is a volume flow rate of the sweep gas of 0.8 Nm<3>/hour and a vacuum at the lumen side of the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes of 80 Torr (10.67 kPa).
By degassing the seawater to an acceptable level of oxygen content to be used as injection water by only one degassing step, the invention according to the first and second aspect enables a considerable cost saving for offshore hydrocarbon extraction by using a relatively small number of membrane contactors (the present invention manages with less contact membranes as the system disclosed in e.g. US 2010/0230366 which teaches using three contactors assembled in series. Thus the present apparatus has a significantly reduced footprint (required installation area) and weight, both very important aspects when designing offshore platform. The sweep gas consumption and the required vacuum formation capacity also becomes significantly less.
Verification of the invention
A membrane contactor sold under the trademark name Liqui-Cel® 8x80 Extra-Flow by the 3M Company has been tested. This membrane contactor has a bundle of 2210 mm long micro-porous polypropylene membranes with a total surface area of 242 m<2>. The seawater was filtered to remove particulates and small animals etc. before being passed into the membrane contactor.
The obtained test results are presented in Table 1. These are calculated results with a seawater temperature of 20 °C, sweep gas at 99.99 % purity and seawater flow volume rate of 15 m<3>/hour. As seen by Table 1, the vacuum load (i.e. the suction capacity of the vacuum pump) decreases considerably if the membrane contactor is run with a sweep gas pressure on the lumen side of around 10 kPa while the average oxygen content of the degassed seawater is around 14 ppb, and the maximum oxygen content due to the normal variation in contact membranes may become as high as around 24 ppb. However, if the standard safety-precaution which dem ands that the maximum oxygen content due to the normal variation is to be kept below 20 ppb is applied, i.e. that the average oxygen content needs to be lowered to less than about 12 ppb, we see from Table 1 that the vacuum load increases by a factor of two or more.
Comparison test
Recommended specifications by the supplier of the Liqui-Cel® 8x80 Extra-Flow membrane contactor, indicates that the membrane contactor should be applied with a sweep gas volume flow rate of 2.7 Nm<3>/hour and a vacuum at 50 Torr when the water flow volume rate is 15 m<3>/hour and the sweep gas contains less than 0.01 weight% oxygen.
With these parameters combined with the standard safety-precaution of a factor of 1.7 times the average oxygen content is applied, i.e. the average oxygen content should be no higher than about 12 ppb to ensure that the maximum oxygen content does not exceed 20 ppb, it is obtained the following results summarised in Table 2 for a similar seawater flow of 15 m<3>/hour, a sweep gas volume flow of 2.7 Nm<3>/hour and vacuum of 6,67 kPa (50 torr) at the lumen side for seawater temperatures ranging from 4 to 13 °C:
The results of Table 2 compared with the results of Table 1, show that the vacuum load when running the membrane contactor as recommended by the supplier gives a vacuum load of about a factor of four times higher than obtained by the present invention and about three times as high nitrogen consumption. This gives a significant increase in the energy consumption for running the vacuum pump and producing the nitrogen gas, which is calculated to result in about 20 % less cost-efficient deoxidation facility than the present invention. That is, the reduced footprint and energy consumption of a membrane contactor facility for producing injection water from seawater running with the process parameters of the present invention, may produce a similar amount of injection water at about 20 % less operation costs than a similar facility run as recommended by the supplier.
References
1. MEMBRANA, " Liqui- Cel® Membrane Contactor Technology Being Evaluatedfor Dissolved Gas Removal from Water in Many Hydrocarbon Processes", TechBrief no. 83, Rev. 1, 2012; published on the internet: http:// www. liquicel. com/ uploads/ documents/ TB% 2083% 20Membrane% 20Degassin g% 20in% 20the% 20Hvdrocarbon% 20Industrv% 2010- 12% 20Rev 1 . odf 2. Wiesler, " Membranes - Membrane Contactors: An introduction to the technology", UltraPure Water, May/June 1996; published on the internet: http:// www. liquicel. com/ uploads/ documents/ Membrane% 20Contactors% 20-% 20An% 20Introduction% 20To% 20The% 20Technology. pdf
Claims (6)
1. A method for production of injection water from seawater, wherein the method comprises: - applying a set of at least one membrane contactor arranged in parallel,
where each membrane contactor in the set comprises: - an elongated hollow housing håving an inner elongated space, - a seawater inlet located at a first end of the housing and adapted to inject seawater into the inner elongated space, - a seawater outlet located at a second end opposite the first end of the housing and adapted to extract seawater from the inner elongated space, - a sweep gas inlet connected to a sweep gas distribution manifold located in the inner elongated space at the second end of the housing, - a sweep gas outlet connected to a sweep gas collection manifold located in the inner elongated space at the first end of the housing, - a sweep gas supply connected to the sweep gas inlet, - a vacuum pump located downstream of and connected to the sweep gas outlet, and - at least one bundle of hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes of polypropylene and håving a total surface area in the range of 200 - 250 m<2>located in the inner elongated space and connected in one end to the gas distribution manifold and in an other end to the gas collection manifold such that sweep gas may be passed through a lumen side of each of the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes in the bundle, - arranging the set of membrane contactor(s) in parallel by connecting the seawater inlet of each of the membrane contactor(s) in the set to a seawater supply manifold, connecting the seawater outlet of each of the membrane contactor(s) in the set to an injection water collector manifold, connecting the sweep gas inlet of each of the membrane contactor(s) in the set to a sweep gas supply manifold, and connecting the sweep gas outlet of each of the membrane contactor(s) in the set to a sweep gas collecting manifold, and - producing the injection water by supplying seawater which is to be degassed to the seawater supply manifold and simultaneously supplying sweep gas to the sweep gas supply manifold, engaging the vacuum pump, and collecting the degassed seawater exiting the injection water collector manifold,
and in that - the seawater to be degassed is håving a temperature in the range of 15 - 20 °C and is supplied to the seawater supply manifold at a volume flow rate in the range between 12-18 m<3>/hour per membrane contactor being applied in the set of parallel arranged membrane contactor(s), - the sweep gas contains less than 0.01 weight% oxygen and is supplied at a flow volume rate in the range from 0.8 to 1.1 Nm<3>/hour per membrane contactor being applied in the set of parallel arranged membrane contactor(s), and - the vacuum pump is regulated to give a sweep gas pressure at the lumen side of the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes is in the range of from 6.67 to 11.33 kPa.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sweep gas is chosen from one of the following gases; nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, gaseous hydrocarbons, and CO 2, or being a mixture of two or more of these.
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the seawater is subject to an upstream filtration step.
4. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the volume flow rate of the sweep gas is in one of the following ranges; from 0.8 to 1.1 Nm<3>/hour, from 0.8 to 1.0 Nm<3>/hour, or from 0.85 to 0.95 Nm<3>/hour, combined with any of the following ranges of the vacuum at the lumen side of the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes of; from 6.67 to 11.33 kPa, from 7.99 to 10.93 kPa, or from 9.33 to 10.67 kPa.
5. A method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the volume flow rate of the sweep gas is 0.8 Nm<3>/hour and the vacuum at the lumen side of the hydrophobic microporous hollow-fibre membranes is 10.67 kPa.
6. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the seawater entering the seawater inlet of the membrane contactor(s) is pristine seawater tåken as is from the sea, or being subject to one or more of; sulphate reduction, salt reduction, and filtration before entering the seawater inlet of the membrane contactor(s).
Priority Applications (5)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| NO20160329A NO340028B1 (en) | 2016-02-26 | 2016-02-26 | A method for production of injection water from seawater |
| PCT/EP2016/081756 WO2017144141A1 (en) | 2016-02-26 | 2016-12-19 | Apparatus and method for production of injection water |
| BR112018075951-1A BR112018075951A2 (en) | 2016-02-26 | 2016-12-19 | apparatus and method for producing injection water |
| PCT/NO2017/050034 WO2017146586A1 (en) | 2016-02-26 | 2017-02-10 | Method for production of injection water and/or process water from seawater |
| PCT/NO2017/050033 WO2017146585A1 (en) | 2016-02-26 | 2017-02-10 | Method for production of injection water and/or process water from seawater |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| NO20160329A NO340028B1 (en) | 2016-02-26 | 2016-02-26 | A method for production of injection water from seawater |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| NO20160329A1 NO20160329A1 (en) | 2017-02-27 |
| NO340028B1 true NO340028B1 (en) | 2017-02-27 |
Family
ID=57609889
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| NO20160329A NO340028B1 (en) | 2016-02-26 | 2016-02-26 | A method for production of injection water from seawater |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| BR (1) | BR112018075951A2 (en) |
| NO (1) | NO340028B1 (en) |
| WO (3) | WO2017144141A1 (en) |
Citations (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP1160002A2 (en) * | 2000-06-02 | 2001-12-05 | Celgard, Inc. | Degassing a liquid with a membrane contactor |
| US20100230366A1 (en) * | 2008-09-25 | 2010-09-16 | Otv Sa | Seawater treatment method for the production of injection water for undersea oil drilling and corresponding installation |
| US20110036240A1 (en) * | 2009-08-17 | 2011-02-17 | Taylor Gareth P | High pressure liquid degassing membrane contactors and methods of manufacturing and use |
| US20130319241A1 (en) * | 2012-06-01 | 2013-12-05 | Charles Solomon | System for degassing a liquid |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0391839B1 (en) * | 1989-04-05 | 1992-06-03 | GebràDer Sulzer Aktiengesellschaft | Start-up method for a process for deoxidizing water, particularly sea water |
| GB0011277D0 (en) | 2000-05-11 | 2000-06-28 | Univ Robert Gordon | Apparatus and method for de-oxygenating a fluid |
| CN103153427B (en) * | 2010-09-28 | 2015-09-30 | 赛尔格有限责任公司 | Liquid degassing membrane contactor, element, system and correlation technique |
-
2016
- 2016-02-26 NO NO20160329A patent/NO340028B1/en active IP Right Review Request
- 2016-12-19 BR BR112018075951-1A patent/BR112018075951A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2016-12-19 WO PCT/EP2016/081756 patent/WO2017144141A1/en active Application Filing
-
2017
- 2017-02-10 WO PCT/NO2017/050033 patent/WO2017146585A1/en active Application Filing
- 2017-02-10 WO PCT/NO2017/050034 patent/WO2017146586A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP1160002A2 (en) * | 2000-06-02 | 2001-12-05 | Celgard, Inc. | Degassing a liquid with a membrane contactor |
| US20100230366A1 (en) * | 2008-09-25 | 2010-09-16 | Otv Sa | Seawater treatment method for the production of injection water for undersea oil drilling and corresponding installation |
| US20110036240A1 (en) * | 2009-08-17 | 2011-02-17 | Taylor Gareth P | High pressure liquid degassing membrane contactors and methods of manufacturing and use |
| US20130319241A1 (en) * | 2012-06-01 | 2013-12-05 | Charles Solomon | System for degassing a liquid |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| WO2017146586A1 (en) | 2017-08-31 |
| NO20160329A1 (en) | 2017-02-27 |
| BR112018075951A2 (en) | 2019-11-12 |
| WO2017146585A1 (en) | 2017-08-31 |
| WO2017144141A1 (en) | 2017-08-31 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| DK2349522T3 (en) | Process for treating seawater for producing injection water for oil wells underwater and similar device | |
| JP6465272B2 (en) | Oil-water separator, oil-water separation method, and filtration membrane unit | |
| CN103209929B (en) | Process and apparatus for removal of oxygen from seawater | |
| US10428287B2 (en) | Subsea fluid processing system | |
| US10874979B2 (en) | Method and system for purification of natural gas using membranes | |
| CA2872873C (en) | Plant and process for treating methane-containing gas from natural sources | |
| EP2747874A1 (en) | System and method for removing contaminants from a contaminated gas stream | |
| WO2016088538A1 (en) | Device and system for refining natural gas | |
| Agrahari et al. | Application of hollow fiber membrane contactor for the removal of carbon dioxide from water under liquid–liquid extraction mode | |
| WO2017096146A1 (en) | Method and system for purification of natural gas using membranes | |
| NO340028B1 (en) | A method for production of injection water from seawater | |
| CN212246824U (en) | Ethylene glycol concentration recovery device in deepwater oil and gas field development | |
| CN111819156B (en) | Method and system for producing fresh water using reverse osmosis membrane system | |
| RU2814347C1 (en) | Method for irreversible extraction of carbon dioxide dissolved in sea water, and complex for its implementation | |
| AU2018256480B2 (en) | Process and system for treating natural gas feedstock | |
| WO2024210769A1 (en) | Method for the irreversible extraction of carbon dioxide from sea water | |
| Kanga | THE USE OF MEMBRANE IN THE TREATMENT OF NATURAL GAS (HGL) | |
| WO2024094969A1 (en) | Oil extraction | |
| RUGGERI et al. | The use of Membrane in the Treatment of Natural Gas (HGL*)* Hydrocarbon Gas Liquid |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHAD | Change of the owner's name or address (par. 44 patent law, par. patentforskriften) |
Owner name: RO SOLUTIONS AS, NO |
|
| Filing an opposition |
Opponent name: VEOLIA WATER SOLUTIONS & TECHNOLOGIES SUPPORT, IMM Effective date: 20171116 |
||
| Filing an opposition |
Opponent name: WATER STANDARD MANAGEMENT (US), INC., 4265 SAN FEL Effective date: 20171127 Opponent name: 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY, 3M CENTER, US- Effective date: 20171127 |
||
| CHAD | Change of the owner's name or address (par. 44 patent law, par. patentforskriften) |
Owner name: RO SOLUTIONS AS, NO |
|
| CREP | Change of representative |
Representative=s name: HAMSOE PATENTBYRA AS, POSTBOKS 171, 4301 SANDNES |
|
| CHAD | Change of the owner's name or address (par. 44 patent law, par. patentforskriften) |
Owner name: RO SOLUTIONS AS, NO |
|
| BDEC | Board of appeal decision |
Free format text: 1 KLAGEN TAS IKKE TIL FOELGE. 2 PATENT NUMMER 340028 OPPHEVES. KLAGENEMNDAS AVGJOERELSE ETTER KLAGE PA INNSIGELSESAVGJOERELSE Filing date: 20190719 Opponent name: 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY, US Effective date: 20200602 Free format text: 1 KLAGEN TAS IKKE TIL FOELGE. 2 PATENT NUMMER 340028 OPPHEVES Filing date: 20190719 Opponent name: WATER STANDARD MANAGEMENT (US), INC., US Effective date: 20200602 Free format text: 1 KLAGEN TAS IKKE TIL FOELGE. 2 PATENT NUMMER 340028 OPPHEVES. KLAGENEMNDAS AVGJOERELSE ETTER KLAGE PA INNSIGELSESAVGJOERELSE Filing date: 20190719 Opponent name: VEOLIA WATER SOLUTIONS & TECHNOLOGIES SUPPORT, FR Effective date: 20200602 |