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US 8,523,487 B2Granted
Co-disposal and co-storage of desalination concentrated brine waste product and carbon dioxide waste product
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsChristos John Georgiou, Ulisses Thibes Mello
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for disposal of desalination concentrated brine waste product from a desalination process provides that the desalination concentrated brine waste product is injected, along with a carbon dioxide waste product, typically into an imperviously capped porous rock formation, typically including a saline aquifer. The desalination concentrated brine waste product and the carbon dioxide waste product (i.e., which may be injected as a supercritical liquid) may be injected simultaneously or sequentially. The method provides for environmentally acceptable disposal of the desalination concentrated brine waste product and the carbon dioxide waste product.
Claims14
A method for disposal of a desalination concentrated brine waste product comprising:
- at a desalination plant, desalinating saline water from a saline water body using a desalination process selected from the group consisting of distillation desalination and reverse osmosis to form fresh water and a desalination concentrated brine waste product,
- receiving at a pump station present on a surface of an earth body, a quantity of said desalination concentrated brine waste product from said desalination plant;
- receiving at said pump station a quantity of carbon dioxide waste product from a carbon dioxide source;
- injecting from said pump station a quantity of said desalination concentrated brine waste product and a quantity of carbon dioxide waste product through an earthbody surface layer having a depth of at least several hundred feet;
- an intermediate layer comprising rock formations, said intermediate layer being beneath and in contiguous contact with said earthbody surface layer, and penetrating for a depth of several thousand feet into said earthbody;
- an impermeable layer formed of impervious rock materials, said impermeable layer providing an impermeable barrier to up-flow of liquid materials and gaseous materials and being beneath and in contiguous contact with said intermediate layer, and penetrating for a depth of several thousand feet into said earthbody, and ultimately
- into a porous rock formation, said porous rock formation being beneath and in contiguous contact with said impermeable layer including an aquifer being operatively connected to said pump station, wherein separate quantities of said desalination concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product are successively injected to prevent intermixing of said desalination concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product until reaching said porous rock formation including said aquifer, wherein when reaching said porous rock formation including said aquifer, said desalination concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product being mixed to form a mixture having a greater density than a saline material that provides said aquifer, wherein said mixture of said brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product sinks to a bottom of said aquifer.
4 more elements
A method for desalinating water comprising:
- at a desalination facility, desalinating a quantity of saline water to provide a quantity of fresh water and a quantity of desalination concentrated brine waste product;
- conveying said desalination concentrated brine waste product to a pump station present on a surface of an earth body;
- receiving at the pump station a quantity of carbon dioxide waste product conveyed from a carbon dioxide source;
- and
- injecting from said pump station said quantity of desalination concentrated brine waste product and said quantity of carbon dioxide waste product through an earthbody surface layer having a depth of at least several hundred feet, an intermediate layer comprising rock formations, said intermediate layer being beneath and in contiguous contact with said earthbody surface layer, and penetrating for a depth of several thousand feet into said earthbody, an impermeable layer formed of impervious rock materials, said impermeable layer providing an impermeable barrier to up-flow of liquid materials and gaseous materials and being beneath and in contiguous contact with said intermediate layer, and penetrating for a depth of several thousand feet into said earthbody, and ultimately
- into a porous rock formation, being beneath and in contiguous contact with said impermeable layer
- including an aquifer operatively connected to the pump station, wherein separate quantities of said desalination concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product are successively injected to prevent intermixing of said desalination concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product until reaching said porous rock formation including said aquifer, wherein when reaching said porous rock formation including said aquifer, said desalination concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product being mixed to form a mixture having a greater density than a saline material that provides the aquifer, wherein said mixture of said concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product sinks to a bottom of said aquifer.
4 more elements
A method for sequestering carbon dioxide comprising:
- operating a carbon dioxide source plant that produces a carbon dioxide waste product that is conveyed to a pump station that is present on a surface of an earth body;
- at a desalinating facility, desalinating a quantity of saline water to provide a quantity of fresh water and a quantity of desalination concentrated brine waste product;
- receiving at said pump station, a quantity of said desalination concentrated brine waste product from said desalination plant;
- injecting from said pump station said quantity of desalination concentrated brine waste product and said quantity of carbon dioxide waste product through an earthbody surface layer having a depth of at least several hundred feet, an intermediate layer comprising rock formations, said intermediate layer being beneath and in contiguous contact with said earthbody surface layer, and penetrating for a depth of several thousand feet into said earthbody, an impermeable layer formed of impervious rock materials said impermeable layer providing an impermeable barrier to up-flow of liquid materials and gaseous materials and being beneath and in contiguous contact with said intermediate layer, and penetrating for a depth of several thousand feet into said earthbody, and ultimately
- into a porous rock formation being beneath and in contiguous contact with said impermeable layer including an aquifer that is below the surface of said earth body and is operatively connected to pump station, wherein separate quantities of said desalination concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product are successively injected to prevent intermixing of said desalination concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product until reaching said porous rock formation including said aquifer, wherein when reaching said porous rock formation including said aquifer, said desalination concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product being mixed to form a mixture having a greater density than a material that provides said aquifer, wherein the mixture of said concentrated brine waste product and said carbon dioxide waste product sinks to a bottom of said aquifer.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.