Apparatus and method for potable water extraction from saline aquifers
OwnerHenry D. Tiffany, III, Steven Bryant +3inventors
InventorsHenry D. Tiffany, III, Steven Bryant, Gregory A Clark, Brian H. de Clare, Gary A. Pope
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for desalinating water combined with power generation, wherein a desalination system is used for desalinating aquifer brine water and is operationally related to a power generation system, wherein such dual-purpose co-generation facility captures the natural gas entrained within the aquifer brine water.
Claims12
A method for extracting potable water from pressurized methane saturated brine, the method comprising:
- flowing to a ground surface the pressurized methane saturated brine;
- depressurizing at the ground surface the pressurized methane saturated brine to a first pressurized methane brine;
- collecting a first portion of methane gas outgassed from the first pressurized methane brine;
- extracting thermal energy from the first pressurized methane brine;
- depressurizing the first pressurized methane brine to a second pressurized methane brine;
- and
- collecting a second portion of methane gas outgassed from the second pressurized methane brine.
A closed loop method for extracting potable water and methane gas from geopressured methane saturated brine in a geopressured aquifer, the method comprising:
- flowing to a ground surface the pressurized methane saturated brine;
- depressurizing at the ground surface the pressurized methane saturated brine to a first pressurized methane brine;
- collecting a first portion of methane gas outgassed from the first pressurized methane brine;
- extracting thermal energy from the first pressurized methane brine;
- depressurizing the first pressurized methane brine to a second pressurized methane brine;
- collecting a second portion of methane gas outgassed from the second pressurized methane brine;
- desalinizing the second pressurized methane brine, wherein desalinizing the second pressurized methane brine comprises powering the distillation process with energy derived from at least one of the first and second portions of methane gas and the extracted thermal energy, wherein desalinizing the second pressurized methane brine comprises:
- generating potable water;
- and
- generating a reject stream.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.