Well monitoring and pressure controlled landfill pump
AssigneeLandtec North America, Inc.
InventorsMitchal Cassel, Jamie Tooley, Scott Marcell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A submersible landfill pump system may include sensors to detect conditions inside the pump and/or well. In some embodiments, the sensors can be placed along an electrical wire within the well and provide sensor data to a user.
Claims19
A pneumatic, landfill pump system for use in a landfill well that extends below a surface, the landfill pump system comprising:
- a submersible pump disposed in the landfill well, and the pump having a pump casing;
- at least one connection extending from the submersible pump towards the surface of the landfill well, the at least one connection including an outer sheath for:
- enclosing an air flow line for supplying pressurized air to the submersible pump;
- and
- enclosing a fluid discharge line for channeling fluid being pumped by the submersible pump out from the landfill well;
- a sensor array comprising a plurality of sensors disposed adjacent the submersible pump and adjacent the outer sheath, and outside of the pump casing, and spaced apart to be at different depths within the landfill well, wherein the sensors are disposed along a length of the connection extending from the submersible pump towards the surface of the landfill well, and wherein the plurality of sensors is configured to measure conditions related to fluids present in the landfill well, at different depths in the landfill well, for use in helping to control operation of the pump;
- a processor in data communication with the sensors and configured to execute instructions in order to adjust one or more operating conditions of the pump based on sensor data from the plurality of sensors.
A pump system for use in a well that extends below a ground surface, the pump system comprising:
- a submersible pump disposed in the well;
- at least one connection extending from the submersible pump toward the surface;
- the at least one connection including an outer tubing extending from the submersible pump towards the surface and enclosing an air line and a fluid discharge line;
- and
- at least one tubing including a string of spaced apart sensors forming a sensor array enclosed within the outer tubing;
- and
- wherein the string spaced apart sensors is configured to measure conditions related to conditions present in the well, at different depths in the well, for use in helping to control operation of the pump.
The pump system of 10, wherein the string of spaced apart sensors of the sensor array include a geophone.
A method for obtaining information relating to a fluid in a well extending below a ground surface, where the fluid is being pumped out from the well by a pump having a pump casing, the method comprising:
- using a first tubing extending from the ground surface to the pump to connect with the pump and to provide pressurized air to the pump through an air supply line, and also to enable discharge of pumped fluid from the pump through a fluid discharge tube separate from the air supply line;
- using a second tubing to contain a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors being spaced apart along a length of the second tubing and disposed in the well outside of the pump casing of the pump and adjacent the first tubing, with at least one of the sensors being disposed in the fluid in the well, and all of the sensors being in communication with a data collection device external to, or adjacent to, the well;
- the sensors providing data relating to environmental conditions in the well, the sensors
- configured to measure conditions related to conditions present in the well, at different depths in the well, for use in helping to control operation of the pump.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.