Treatment of well stimulation proppants with depression additive based on predicted storage temperature

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11987753-B2
Application number	US-202117318666-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2021
Priority date	May 12, 2021
Publication date	May 21, 2024
Grant date	May 21, 2024

Abstract

Apparatus for treating a wetted proppant including a device to estimate fraction of water in a wetted proppant feed of a frac proppant processing plant; a system for determining an environmental temperature at which the wetted proppant will be exposed to in the frac proppant processing plant or in storage holding an output from the frac proppant processing plant; and an additive system to apply a freezing point suppression additive to the wetted proppant in proportion to the fraction of water such that a mixture of the wetted proppant plus the freezing point suppression additive does not solidify at the environmental temperature. Also, a method for treating a wetted proppant.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for treating a wetted proppant, comprising:
a device to estimate a fraction of water in a wetted proppant feed of a frac proppant processing plant;
a system for determining an environmental temperature at which the wetted proppant will be exposed to in the frac proppant processing plant or in storage holding an output from the frac proppant processing plant; and
an additive system to apply a freezing point suppression additive to the wetted proppant having a water content of at least 0.25 wt %, in proportion to the fraction of water such that a mixture of the wetted proppant plus the freezing point suppression additive does not solidify at the environmental temperature.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the device to estimate the fraction of water samples the wetted proppant feed from an intermediate location in the wetted proppant feed.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the device to estimate the fraction of water samples the wetted proppant feed from an output of the frac proppant processing plant.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the additive system includes:
a reservoir for containing the freezing point depression additive therein; and
a delivery line for delivering the freezing point depression additive to the wetted proppant feed.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the environmental temperature is an ambient temperature measurement of an environment of the plant or the storage.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the environmental temperature is an estimated future ambient temperature measurement of an environment surrounding the plant or the storage.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the environmental temperature is a temperature measurement of the wetted proppant at the plant or the storage.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the device for estimating the fraction of water includes one or more resistivity, near infrared or microwave sensors arranged to measure a water content of the wetted proppant feed.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the device for estimating the fraction of water includes a salinity sensor.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the additive system further includes a controller programmed to:
receive the fraction of water estimated by the device,
receive the environmental temperature from the system, and
compute an amount of the freezing point suppression additive to apply to the wetted proppant to prevent the solidifying of the mixture.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further programmed to determine the amount of the additive to apply to the wetted proppant being output from the frac proppant processing plant.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further programmed to determine the amount of the additive to apply to the wetted proppant at an intermediate stage in the plant based on the fraction of water, the environmental temperature, a rate of the wetted well stimulation proppant feed and a cryoscopic constant of the additive.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the additive includes one or more of: glycols, alcohols, sugars, or salts.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the wetted proppant includes one or more of: silica sand, resin-coated sand, bauxite, ceramics or combinations thereof.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is part of the frac proppant processing plant.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is part of a well fracing system.

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Fisher Chad A
• Warren Wesley John

Classifications

• C09K8/805 Primary

  Coated proppants · CPC title

• B01J2/006

  Coating of the granules without description of the process or the device by which the granules are obtained (to prevent the granules sticking together B01J2/30) · CPC title

• E21B43/2607

  Surface equipment specially adapted for fracturing operations · CPC title

• F26B9/00

  Machines or apparatus for drying solid materials or objects at rest or with only local agitation; Domestic airing cupboards {(domestic laundry drying cabinets or chambers having heating or ventilating means D06F58/10)} · CPC title