Apparatus and method for treatment of hydraulic fracturing fluid during hydraulic fracturing
AssigneesCh International Equipment Ltd., Haven Technology Solutions LLC
InventorsDavid James Elms, Gregory Allen Hudspeth, Donald Patrick Clark, James Michael Skow
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Abstract
A hydraulic fracturing system utilizes a multi-phase separation apparatus to separate gas entrained in hydraulic fracturing fluids during the blending process prior to introduction of hydraulic fracturing fluid into high pressure fracturing pumps by directing hydraulic fracturing fluids from a blender through a plurality of loops and thereafter, directing a portion of the separated fluid into a vortex cluster system.
Claims30
A hydraulic fracturing system comprising:
- a liquid source, an additive source, a blender, a pump in fluid communication with the blender, and a gas-liquid two-phase flow separator system having a liquid outlet and a gas outlet, the gas-liquid two-phase flow separator system disposed inline between the blender and the pump.
A hydraulic fracturing system comprising:
- a hydraulic fracturing blender having an outlet, a hydraulic fracturing pump having an inlet in fluid communication with the blender outlet, and a gas-liquid two-phase flow separator system having a liquid outlet and a gas outlet, the gas-liquid two-phase flow separator system disposed inline between the hydraulic fracturing blender outlet and the hydraulic fracturing pump inlet.
A hydraulic fracturing system comprising:
- a liquid source, an additive source, a blender, a pump in fluid communication with the blender, and a two-phase flow separator system disposed inline between the blender and the high-pressure pump, the two-phase flow separator system comprising a fluid vessel having a height H along a substantially vertical axis, an upper vessel portion and a lower vessel portion with a port in the upper portion and a port in the lower portion, the fluid vessel formed of a vessel wall so as to have an outer vessel diameter and an inner vessel diameter and define a vessel interior;
- a first pipe having a first end and a second end, the first pipe disposed about the vessel so as to form a plurality of descending curvilinear pipe loops arranged adjacent one another along the vertical axis, said pipe loops adjacent one another in a vertically stacked arrangement;
- and a riser having a first lower end in fluid communication with the first pipe adjacent the second end of the first pipe and the riser having a second upper end in fluid communication with the fluid vessel.
A method of hydraulic fracturing of a wellbore comprising:
- introducing a fluid into a blender;
- introducing an additive into a blender;
- utilizing the blender to mix the fluid with the additive to produce a hydraulic fracturing fluid;
- directing the hydraulic fracturing fluid downward through a plurality of descending curvilinear loops to stratify the hydraulic fracturing fluid into a first fluid component comprising primarily a gas phase and a second fluid component comprising primarily a liquid phase;
- separating the first fluid component from the stratified hydraulic fracturing fluid;
- and
- directing the second fluid component into a hydraulic fracturing pump.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.