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AssigneeSolvay SA
InventorsRyan SCHMIDT, Matteo PAPERINI, Ronald O. HUGHES, Herve CUCHE
Estimating the term…
A method for in situ solution mining of trona in which an aqueous solvent dissolves trona and forms a brine, which comprises: applying a hydraulic pressure greater than the overburden pressure at an interface between trona roof and overburden to lithologically displace the overburden from the trona roof and form a gap; flowing a liquid settable and/or sealing composition into such interface gap and allowing such composition to solidify inside such gap to form a water-impermeable and optionally gas-impermeable barrier inside. This technique should limit contamination from the overburden; should seal or plug fractures transversing the trona roof; should prevent water infiltration from overburden; and/or should minimize gas migration into the overburden from the cavity. The lithological displacement whereby the interface gap is formed may be carried out at the same time as the composition is flowed inside the gap being formed.
In an underground formation containing a trona stratum comprising sodium sesquicarbonate lying above one or more substantially-insoluble strata containing water-soluble contaminants selected from the group consisting of chloride, sulfate, and water-soluble organics, said trona stratum comprising an ore roof with a parting upper interface above which is defined an overburden up to the ground and below which an aqueous solvent is to injected in a cavity to dissolve trona and to form a brine which is recovered at least in part at the ground surface,
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the steps (a) and (b) are performed at the same time by injecting said composition to apply said hydraulic pressure at the upper interface and for its flowing into said upper interface gap.
In an underground formation containing a trona stratum comprising sodium sesquicarbonate lying above one or more substantially-insoluble strata containing water-soluble contaminants selected from the group consisting of chloride, sulfate, and water-soluble organics, said trona stratum comprising an ore roof with a parting upper interface above which is defined an overburden up to the ground and below which an aqueous solvent is to be injected in a cavity to dissolve trona and to form a brine which is recovered at least in part at the ground surface,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.