Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F9/00—Multistage treatment of water, waste water or sewage
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C09—DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; NATURAL RESINS; ADHESIVES; COMPOSITIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • C09K—MATERIALS FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
  • C09K8/00—Compositions for drilling of boreholes or wells; Compositions for treating boreholes or wells, e.g. for completion or for remedial operations
  • C09K8/58—Compositions for enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons, i.e. for improving the mobility of the oil, e.g. displacing fluids
• • 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
  • E21B43/24—Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons using heat, e.g. steam injection
  • E21B43/2406—Steam assisted gravity drainage [SAGD]
• • 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
  • E21B43/34—Arrangements for separating materials produced by the well
  • E21B43/35—Arrangements for separating materials produced by the well specially adapted for separating solids
• • 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
  • E21B43/34—Arrangements for separating materials produced by the well
  • E21B43/40—Separation associated with re-injection of separated materials
• • 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
  • C02F1/001—Processes for the treatment of water whereby the filtration technique is of importance
  • C02F1/004—Processes for the treatment of water whereby the filtration technique is of importance using large scale industrial sized filters
• • 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
  • C02F1/02—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating
  • C02F1/04—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by heating by distillation or evaporation
  • C02F1/048—Purification of waste water by evaporation
• • 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
  • C02F1/38—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by centrifugal separation
• • 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
  • C02F1/38—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by centrifugal separation
  • C02F1/385—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by centrifugal separation by centrifuging suspensions
• • 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
  • C02F1/44—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by dialysis, osmosis or reverse osmosis
  • C02F1/441—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by dialysis, osmosis or reverse osmosis by reverse osmosis
• • 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
  • C02F1/46—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by electrochemical methods
  • C02F1/4604—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by electrochemical methods for desalination of seawater or brackish water
• • 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
  • C02F1/66—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by neutralisation; pH adjustment
• • 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
  • C02F1/68—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by addition of specified substances, e.g. trace elements, for ameliorating potable water
  • C02F1/682—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by addition of specified substances, e.g. trace elements, for ameliorating potable water by addition of chemical compounds for dispersing an oily layer on water
• • 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
  • C02F1/42—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by ion-exchange
  • C02F2001/425—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by ion-exchange using cation exchangers
• • 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
  • C02F1/52—Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage by flocculation or precipitation of suspended impurities
  • C02F2001/5218—Crystallization
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F2101/00—Nature of the contaminant
  • C02F2101/30—Organic compounds
  • C02F2101/32—Hydrocarbons, e.g. oil
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C02—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F—TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE
  • C02F2101/00—Nature of the contaminant
  • C02F2101/30—Organic compounds
  • C02F2101/32—Hydrocarbons, e.g. oil
  • C02F2101/325—Emulsions
• • 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
  • C02F2103/10—Nature of the water, waste water, sewage or sludge to be treated from quarries or from mining activities
• • 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
  • C02F2103/34—Nature of the water, waste water, sewage or sludge to be treated from industrial activities not provided for in groups C02F2103/12 - C02F2103/32
  • C02F2103/36—Nature of the water, waste water, sewage or sludge to be treated from industrial activities not provided for in groups C02F2103/12 - C02F2103/32 from the manufacture of organic compounds
  • C02F2103/365—Nature of the water, waste water, sewage or sludge to be treated from industrial activities not provided for in groups C02F2103/12 - C02F2103/32 from the manufacture of organic compounds from petrochemical industry (e.g. refineries)

Definitions

• the field of the invention is methods and use of treated produced water, especially as it relates to treatment and use for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD).
• EOR enhanced oil recovery
• SAGD steam assisted gravity drainage
• Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) of heavy thick oil or Bitumen is often done by injecting steam into a formation, resulting in a combination of condensed steam and oil and/or melted bitumen that is later separated into the hydrocarbon product and “produced water”.
• steam-based tar sands EOR also known as steam assisted gravity drain (SAGD)
• SAGD steam assisted gravity drain
• emulsions can be acidified to a pH of less than 3 as low pH solutions can break the emulsion.
• low pH will require neutralization or alkalinization prior to further treatment, and require large amounts of acid and caustic materials and special metallurgy.
• handling of large amounts of acid and base will increase safety hazards.
• the inventive subject matter provides devices, systems and methods in which produced water is processed by (preferably chemically) breaking emulsions such that the produced water can be de-oiled and filtered in simple processes, and by elevation of the pH to a degree that substantially increases silica solubility.
• a steam generator most preferably a once through steam generator (OTSG)
• OTSG once through steam generator
• the intermediate quality steam is then either directly used for injection for SAGD, or separated in a condensate separator to thereby produce high quality steam and a condensate that can then be processed to produce a purified water product suitable for additional steam generation.
• the inventor contemplates a method of processing produced water that includes a step of providing a quantity of produced water, and a further step of de-oiling and removing solids from the produced water to thereby form treated water.
• divalent cations are removed from the treated water using an ion exchange resin (e.g., a weak acid cation ion exchange resin) to thereby produce softened water, and in a still further step, alkalinity of the softened water is increased to form alkalinized water.
• an intermediate quality steam product is formed from the alkalinized water, and at least a portion of the intermediate quality steam product is used for injection into a formation.
• the step of using a portion of the intermediate quality steam product comprises separation of the intermediate quality steam product into a condensate and a high quality steam product, and a further step of injection of the high quality product into the formation.
• the condensate may be further processed to so obtain additional water, which may be uses in forming the intermediate quality steam product.
• the condensate may then be processed in a brine concentrator.
• the step of using at least a portion of the intermediate quality steam product comprises use of substantially all of the intermediate quality steam product for injection into the formation.
• the intermediate quality steam (which typically comprises between 10 and 30% condensate)
• the intermediate quality steam is formed in a once-through steam generator, and that the alkalinized water has a pH of at least pH 10. It is further especially preferred that all process steps are performed without an active step of removing silicate from the produced water, the treated water, the alkalinized water, and/or the softened water (e.g., silicate removal via lime softening). Indeed, it is noted that the methods presented herein are even suitable for adding previously isolated silica to the produced water, the treated water, the softened water, and/or the alkalinized water.
• the inventor also contemplates a method of processing produced water that includes a step of providing produced water comprising silica, and de-oiling and removing solids from the produced water.
• divalent cations are removed from the produced water using an ion exchange resin, and in yet another step, a base is added to the produced water to thereby form alkalinized water, wherein the base is added in an amount that increases solubility of the silica in the alkalinized water at least 25% as compared to the produced water.
• the base is an alkaline metal hydroxide or an alkaline earth metal hydroxide, and is added in an amount to achieve a pH of at least 10 in the alkalinized water.
• the step of de-oiling comprises a step of chemically breaking an emulsion in the produced water.
• an additional step may include forming an intermediate quality steam product from the alkalinized water, and yet another step of using at least a portion of the intermediate quality steam product for injection into a formation.
• the inventor also contemplates a method of processing produced water that includes a step of providing produced water comprising silica.
• a step of providing produced water comprising silica In another step, an emulsion is chemically broken in the produced water, and divalent cations are removed from the produced water using an ion exchange resin.
• a base is added to the produced water to thereby form alkalinized water, and an intermediate quality steam product is formed from the alkalinized water without a step of removing silica from the produced water.
• the base is added in an amount to achieve a pH of at least 10 in the alkalinized water, and where desired, previously isolated silica may be added to the produced water, the alkalinized water, and/or the softened treated water.
• Contemplated methods may also include a further step of using at least a portion of the intermediate quality steam product for injection into a formation.
• produced water can be treated for subsequent use in a conceptually simple and effective manner avoiding various expensive processing steps.
• produced water is treated with one or more chemicals to a degree that is effective to break emulsions that are present in the produced water. So treated water is then de-oiled using conventional separation, and most preferably by one or more separation processes that do not require centrifugation or other mechanically complex devices. Therefore, downstream processes (e.g., filtration, ion exchange processes) that would otherwise be adversely affected by emulsions are now easily implemented.
• the water is alkalinized to a degree that is effective to reduce, or even entirely eliminate the need for silica removal, which in turn allows use of the alkalinized, de-oiled, and filtered water in downstream processes without further processing.
• the de-oiled, and filtered water can now be softened using an ion exchange resin (most preferably a weak acid ion exchange resin), which advantageously avoids use of hot/warm lime softening, and the alkalinized, de-oiled, and filtered water can be directly used in a steam generation process (and most preferably in a once-through steam generator, with or without ion exchange without softening).
• an ion exchange resin most preferably a weak acid ion exchange resin
• steam generation of the alkalinized, de-oiled, and filtered water will provide an intermediate quality steam product (typically about 70% steam) that can be directly used for injection into a formation, or that can be processed in a condensate separator to generate high-quality steam and a condensate suitable for further processing (preferably using an evaporator) to thereby produce additional water for the steam generator or other purpose.
• an intermediate quality steam product typically about 70% steam
• a condensate separator to generate high-quality steam and a condensate suitable for further processing (preferably using an evaporator) to thereby produce additional water for the steam generator or other purpose.
• inventive subject matter is considered to include all possible combinations of the disclosed elements.
• inventive subject matter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of A, B, C, or D, even if not explicitly disclosed.
• a method of processing produced water includes a step of providing a quantity of produced water, and another step of de-oiling and removing solids from the produced water to thereby form treated water. After removal of divalent ions (preferably using a weak acid ion exchange resin) alkalinity of the treated softened water is increased to so form alkalinized water. It should be noted that the step of de-oiling most preferably uses one or more chemical agents that break emulsions, and all known chemical emulsion breakers are deemed suitable for use herein.
• suitable produced water may be derived from steam-assisted hydrocarbon recovery, from on-shore and off-shore oil and gas production, and various other sources in hydrocarbon processing. Consequently, produced water is typically separated from a mixture of the produced water and a hydrocarbon product, and in most cases such separation is via gravity/phase separation is separators well known in the art.
• previously stored or otherwise sequestered produced water may also be employed in conjunction with the teachings presented herein.
• the produced water is alkalinized such that the pH of the alkalinized water is at least 8.5, more typically between 8.5 and 9.5, even more typically between 9.5 and 10.5, and most typically between 10 and 11 (and in some cases even higher).
• the pH of the alkalinized water is higher than the pH of the produced water prior to alkalinization, and typically at least 0.5 pH units, more typically at least 1.0 pH units, and most typically more than 1.5 pH units.
• the pH is raised in the produced water to a level such that solubility of silica in the alkalinized water is increased over the solubility of silica in the produced water, in most cases at least 50% (at standard temperature 20° C. and atmospheric pressure), more preferably at least 100%, and most preferably at least 200%.
• the pH can be raised to a level that allows adding previously isolated silica to the produced water (the alkalinized water, and/or the softened treated water) before the water is fed to the steam generator.
• alkalinization is performed by adding a strong base to the produced water in an amount sufficient to raise the pH to the desired level.
• suitable bases include hydroxides of alkaline metals or earth alkaline metals, which may be provided in solid or liquid form.
• de-oiling will also typically include a step of breaking an emulsion and removal of the oil from the broken emulsion.
• emulsion breaking There are numerous manners of emulsion breaking known in the art, and all of those are contemplated suitable for use herein. However, in especially preferred aspects, one or more chemical agents are used to break emulsions. Once more, there are numerous chemical agents for breaking emulsions known in the art, and all of those are appropriate for use.
• the water may be subject to a resting period after breaking of the emulsion (e.g., in a surge tank or other holding vessel) to promote or allow for phase separation, or may be directly processed in a de-oiling process.
• a resting period after breaking of the emulsion e.g., in a surge tank or other holding vessel
• the step of de-oiling is typically performed in conventional manner.
• de-oiling may be done in an API-type separator, in a demulsifier, in a skim tank, a centrifugal or hydrocyclone separator, or using a plate- or enhanced-coalescers.
• de-oiling may also be performed using various absorption media well known in the art.
• removal of solid phase may be performed as part of de-oiling operation and so form sludge, and/or may be separately performed by gravity separation or filtration using settling or filtration devices well known in the art.
• downstream processes e.g., filtration
• the downstream processes are also enhanced as the liquid is less prone to foul filters and/or filtration materials.
• hot/warm lime softening can be reduced, and even more typically entirely eliminated.
• water softening of the (de-oiled and/or alkalinized) water can be performed using ion exchange chromatography to so remove divalent cations that contribute to water hardness and scaling in equipment.
• ion exchange resins There are numerous suitable ion exchange resins known in the art to remove such ions, and all of those are deemed suitable for use herein.
• Especially preferred resins include weak acid cation exchange resins.
• contemplated processes and methods will significantly reduce scaling of steam generators, require less equipment and chemicals to process, and produce less solid waste. Moreover, it should be noted that plants using contemplated methods and processes will require a smaller real-estate footprint, require less water to produce an equivalent amount of product, and will simplify operation or maintenance.
• a base (and most preferably a alkaline or earth alkaline hydroxide) is added to the produced water to form alkalinized water, typically after a step of de-oiling and solids removal, wherein the base is added in an amount that increases solubility of the silica in the alkalinized water at least 25%, more typically at least 50%, even more typically at least 100%, and most typically at least 250% as compared to the produced water.
• divalent cations are then removed from the treated water using an ion exchange resin to thereby soften the treated water.
• produced water comprising silica can be processed chemically breaking an emulsion in the produced water, removing oil and precipitate from the produced water, removing divalent cations from the produced water using an ion exchange resin, adding a base to the produced water to thereby form alkalinized water, and forming an intermediate quality steam product from the alkalinized water without a step of removing silica from the produced water. It is especially preferred that all process steps are performed without an active step of removing silicate from the produced water, the alkalinized water, and/or the softened treated water (e.g., via lime softening, precipitation, or other known manner). Such active steps are typically performed on the produced water to remove at least 10%, more typically 20%, even more typically at least 50%, and most typically at least 90% of the silica present in the produced water.
• water entering the OTSG can contain significant quantities of silica, and indeed can even have higher quantities of silica per volume as the untreated produced water where silica is added. It is therefore contemplated that the water entering the steam generator will have at least 70% silica content, more typically at least 80% silica content, and most typically at least 90% silica content as compared to the silica content of the untreated produced water.
• the alkalinized water can be used in a variety of ways after de-oiling, solids removal, and softening, and especially for steam generation.
• the alkalinized water is directly used in a steam generator, despite the relatively high silica content as substantially all (i.e., typically at least 95%, more typically at least 98%, even more typically at least 99%, and most typically at least 99.9%) of the silica is dissolved in the softened treated water.
• the softened treated water may have a dissolved silica content of at least 100 mg/l, more typically at least 200 mg/l, even more typically at least 400 mg/l, and most typically at least 600 mg/l at STP (standard temperature (20° C.) and pressure (1 atm)).
• STP standard temperature (20° C.) and pressure (1 atm)
• solubility is even further increased at elevated temperatures (up to 500° F.) and pressures (up to 2,000 psig) commonly encountered in steam generators, and particularly OTSGs.
• the alkalinized water in steam generation may be performed in various manners, and all known manners are deemed suitable herein. However, it is especially preferred that the alkalinized water is fed to a OTSG to so produce an intermediate quality steam product. Most commonly, the steam quality will be in the range of 60-90%, and in the majority of cases between 70-80%. Where desired, the so produced intermediate quality steam product can be directly used for injection in EOR or SAGD operations, or may be processed by separation in a condensate separator. In such case, the isolated stream is a high quality steam product (i.e., at least 90%, more typically at least 95% steam) that is then used for its intended purpose (e.g., injection in EOR or SAGD operations).
• a high quality steam product i.e., at least 90%, more typically at least 95% steam
• the remaining condensate may be further processed to obtain additional water, for example, by use of an evaporator, brine concentrator, crystallizer, reverse osmosis or other filtration, electrolytic desalination, etc.
• additional water may be used for further steam generation, disposition in a sewer system, or other use in a plant.
• the quality of intermediate quality steam product may vary, and will typically be at least 60% quality, more typically at least 70% quality, and most typically 75-80% quality.
• the intermediate quality steam product may be at various pressures, and especially suitable pressures will typically be at least 500 psig, more typically at least 700 psig, even more typically at least 1000 psig, most typically at least 1500 psig. Consequently, the steam temperature is temperature at least 470° F., more typically at least 505° F., even more typically at least 546° F., most typically at least 597° F.
• suitable pressures and temperatures which will be at least in part be dictated by the type of hydrocarbon and the depth of formation.
• the intermediate quality steam product and in other instances substantially all (i.e., at least 90%) of the intermediate quality steam product can be used for injection into the formation.
• the systems and methods presented herein may have applicability beyond EOR or SAGD processes.
• contemplated systems and methods can be applied toward other waste water treatment processes, and especially desalter mudwash wastewater operations to reduce COD/BOD load on treatment plants.
• silica removal operations currently necessitate extensive capital equipment, maintenance and disposal costs, which can be avoided through the use of high silica wet steam mixture as a lower quality stream, delivering the same BTU content as is currently employed.
• high silica steam-water injection results in the return of silica to the in-situ environment it originated from. Indeed, it should be appreciated that silica that is currently being removed and treated as a waste stream can now be re-injected into its source formation without adverse effects on the oil extraction operations. This re-injection of silica provides significant environmental and economic advantages through elimination of one of the major waste streams associated with SAGD operations.
• the inventor has discovered that the steam separator stage, silica removal equipment, and large amount of chemicals currently required in utilizing high silica make-up water can be eliminated by use of lower quality steam from pre-treated water streams directly in SAGD reservoir operations while eliminating concerns related to silica build up in the interstitial region between injection and extraction wells.
• flow rates are proportional to ⁇ h where h reaches a maximum at the thickness of the reservoir (net pay thickness).
• This flow rate model is applicable until the steam chamber reaches the overlying cap rock at which point it spreads horizontally and oil flows become slope flows only and heat loss to the cap rock occurs.
• the shape of the steam chamber can be approximated by a triangular cross section.
• Total oil produced over the life of the facility is directly proportional to the area of the triangle which can be calculated as R ⁇ h, where R is the radial spread along the cap rock and h is the reservoir thickness.
• R is related to ⁇ , where ⁇ is the angle between the horizontal and the SAGD reservoir steam chamber.
• ⁇ is the angle between the horizontal and the SAGD reservoir steam chamber.
• the area represented by the SAGD steam chamber can be written as h 2 /tan ⁇ .
• the lower point in this inverted triangle can be treated as the producer well with the injector well located some distance S above the producer well.
• the region between the two wells is treated as being filled with a bitumen/water mixture and the volume occupied is similarly described by the area of the triangle bounded by the SAGD reservoir and bitumen/water level. This area can be written as S 2 /tan ⁇ . The ratio of this bitumen/water volume to total produced oil volume is S 2 /h 2 and is constant throughout the entire reservoir development period. During initial reservoir development (until cap rock is reached), reservoir volumes developed will be less than what would be expected based in the height of the steam chamber.
• silica production is directly related to the cross sectional area of the steam chamber along the axis of the injection well.
• in situ silica soluble fraction only
• the degree of concentration is represented by the ratio of these two areas or S 2 /h 2 and actual silica levels in the bitumen/oil mixture will be a function of in situ levels (soluble fraction).
• the constant nature of this relative concentration is the reason that one does not see an increase in silica levels in produced water over time.
• silica deposition in the formation and dissolution from the formation are equilibrium processes that ultimately do not materially affect the silica content in produced water. Likewise, over-deposition of silica will not occur due to re-dissolution of the silica material from the formation.
• Coupled to is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are used synonymously. Where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.

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• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
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• Hydrology & Water Resources (AREA)
• Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
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• Removal Of Specific Substances (AREA)
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• 2012
  • 2012-09-27 WO PCT/US2012/057605 patent/WO2013049378A2/fr active Application Filing
  • 2012-09-27 CA CA2849984A patent/CA2849984A1/fr not_active Abandoned
  • 2012-09-27 US US13/629,258 patent/US20130075098A1/en not_active Abandoned

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