# US 10,501,344 B2 · Apparatus for partially desalinating produced water to form extraction fluid used for fossil fuel extraction

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- Number: US 10,501,344 B2
- Document ID: US10501344B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/372,683
- Filed: 2019-04-02
- Published: 2019-07-25
- Granted: 2019-12-10
- Earliest claimed: 2014-04-23
- Assignees: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
- Applicants: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
- Inventors: John H. Lienhard; Ronan Killian McGovern; Lige Sun; Adam Michael Weiner; Syed M. Zubair
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10501344B2

## CPC

- C02F 1/4693: {electrodialysis}
- C02F 9/00: Multistage treatment of water, waste water or sewage
- C02F 2103/10: from quarries or from mining activities
- C02F 2201/46135: Voltage
- C02F 2201/4614: Current
- C02F 2209/05: Conductivity or salinity
- C02F 2209/09: Viscosity
- C02F 2301/08: Multistage treatments, e.g. repetition of the same process step under different conditions
- Y02A 20/124: Water desalination
- C02F: TREATMENT OF WATER, WASTE WATER, SEWAGE, OR SLUDGE (separation in general B01D; special arrangements on waterborne vessels of installations for treating water, waste water or sewage, e.g. for producing fresh water, B63J; adding materials to water to prevent corrosion C23F; treating radioactively-contaminated liquids G21F9/04; regeneration of reactants for recirculation into processes, see the relevant places for the processes)
- Y02A: TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

## Abstract

A method reuses produced water resulting from a fossil fuel extraction operation. The method includes providing the produced water as an input to an electrodialysis system. The method also includes running the electrodialysis system to produce a diluate and a concentrate. The diluate is contaminated so as to have a conductivity of no less than 0.1 Siemens/meter. The method also includes reformulating the diluate to produce fossil fuel extraction fluid. The method also includes using the produced fossil fuel extraction fluid in the fossil fuel extraction operation. An electrodialysis system includes first and second stacks. The electrodialysis system also includes first and second voltage sources, coupled to the first and second stacks, so as to apply a first voltage to the first stack lower by at least about 10% than a second voltage to the second stack.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An electrodialysis system comprising:
a first stack and a second stack, each stack having at least one pair of electrodes, between which is disposed at least one cell pair having an anion exchange membrane and a cation exchange membrane;
each of the first and second stacks having a diluate input, a diluate output and a concentrate output, wherein the diluate output of the first stack is fluidly coupled to the diluate input of the second stack; and
first and second voltage sources coupled to the at least one pair of electrodes of the first and second stacks, respectively, so as to apply a first voltage of less than about 0.2V per cell pair to the first stack and a second voltage to the second stack, wherein the first voltage is lower than the second voltage, by at least about 10%.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

An electrodialysis system of claim 1, wherein the first stack has a first electrical resistance and the second stack has a second electrical resistance, and a ratio of the first voltage to the second voltage is approximately equal to a square root of a ratio of the first electrical resistance to the second electrical resistance.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

An electrodialysis system of claim 1, wherein the first voltage is lower than the second voltage by at least about 20%.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

An electrodialysis system of claim 1, wherein the first voltage is lower than the second voltage by at least about 50%.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

An electrodialysis system of claim 1, wherein the first voltage is about 0.15 V per cell pair.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

An electrodialysis system of claim 1, wherein the first voltage is about 0.10 V per cell pair.