Sand Separation Research Articles

Development of a Technological Complex for Washing Sand

A technological complex was developed in order to remove clay minerals, iron oxide, and fractions heavier than 2.9 tons/m3 from glass quartz sands. The basis of the scheme of the apparatus chain of the complex consists of a trammel screen with a new design, jigs, and concentration tables with electromagnetic inductors. It was shown under laboratory conditions that sand in the highest demand — VS-030-V grade — was obtained from sands containing (by weight): 97.32% SiO2, 0.92% Al2O3, 0.43% Fe2O3, 0.11% TiO2, and 0.04% Cr2O3. A distinguishing feature of the technological scheme of gravity separation of sands is the counterflow motion of the initial feed and the heavy fraction.

Thermal kinetics analysis in microwave‐assisted oil sands separation

AbstractThis computational study addresses oil sands separation under microwave irradiation. Electric field distribution and microwave energy dissipation were analyzed at the level of sand particles and bitumen. The simplified model does not include water or gas present in the oil sands. The microwave power dissipated in bitumen was found to be about 32 times that of the sand particles. In order to investigate the feasibility of heating the bitumen phase preferentially and sustaining a thermal gradient between the bitumen phase and the solid phase, thereby reducing the thermal losses to the solid phase, time scales were estimated using several different scenarios. The small size of the particles in the solid phase caused the time needed to reach thermal equilibrium between phases to be extremely short, in the order of 10 to 100 ms. To achieve separation times shorter than these, pressures up to 100 GPa would have to be sustained across the oil sands layer. Alternatively, buoyancy‐driven separation by settling would require accelerations in the order of 100 000 m/s2 (105 g). Therefore, the heating and separation of bitumen within the thermal conduction time scales seem to be theoretically possible but associated with high technological challenges in their implementation.

Removing Grit During Wastewater Treatment: CFD Analysis of HDVS Performance.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to simulate the grit and sand separation effectiveness of a typical hydrodynamic vortex separator (HDVS) system. The analysis examined the influences on the separator efficiency of: flow rate, fluid viscosities, total suspended solids (TSS), and particle size and distribution. It was found that separator efficiency for a wide range of these independent variables could be consolidated into a few curves based on the particle fall velocity to separator inflow velocity ratio, Ws/Vin. Based on CFD analysis it was also determined that systems of different sizes with length scale ratios ranging from 1 to 10 performed similarly when Ws/Vin and TSS were held constant. The CFD results have also been compared to a limited range of experimental data.

Interface level regulation in an oil sands separation cell using model-based predictive control

Large-scale separation cells, used in primary extraction in the oil sands industry, are integral parts of the overall process of bitumen extraction. Good regulation of the interface level between the bitumen froth and the middlings in these cells can result in a significant improvement in bitumen recovery and throughput and heavily influence process economics. This paper details a case study application of identification and design of a model based predictive controller for the separation cell process. Internal model control (IMC) and model predictive control (MPC) schemes using linear models are designed and implemented in real time on the industrial separation cell. The industrial implementation result shows that both IMC and MPC schemes provide significant benefits over the current operations which use a PID controller. The benefits include significant reduction in the variance of the interface level and underflow pump movement, resulting in higher bitumen recovery, smoother operations downstream and pump energy savings.

Using lame’s petrophysical parameters for fluid detection and lithology determination in parts of Niger delta

This study analyzed seismic and well log data in an attempt to interpret relationship between rock properties and acoustic impedance and to construct amplitude versus offset (AVO) models. The objective was to study sand properties and predict potential AVO classification. Logs of Briga 84 well provided compressional and shear velocities. AVO synthetic gather models were created using various gas/brine/oil substitutions. The Fluid Replacement Modeling predicted Class 3 AVO responses from gas sands. Log calibrated Lambda Mu Rho (LMR) inversion provided a quantitative extraction of rock properties to clearly determine lithology and fluids. Beyond the standard LMR cross-plotting that isolated gas sand clusters in the log, an improved separation of high porosity sands from shale was also achieved using λρ - µρ vs. AI. When applied to the calibrated AVO/LMR attributes inverted from 3D seismic, the λρ analysis permitted a better isolation of prospective hydrocarbon zones than standard AI inversion Thus, as an exploration tool for hydrocarbon accumulation, the Lambda Mu Rho (λµρ) technique is a good indicator of the presence of low impedance sands encased in shales which are good gas reservoirs. KEYWORDS : Impedance, synthetic gather, cross-plotting, porosity, inversion

Process Modeling and Particle Flow Simulation of Sand Separation in Cyclone Separator

The Box–Behnken design of mathematical model for cyclone separator was developed for the interactions of particle size, feed load, and pressure drop in the cyclone separator to determine the collection efficiency of sand particles. The collection efficiency of 90% and above was obtained by operating the cyclone separator in pressure drop range of 197–490 Pa for diameter of sand particles in the range of 200–800 µm. The axial and tangential velocities were evaluated using Barth model for the cyclone separator studies. The studies were used to determine the contour regions of pressure fields and various velocity fields using computational fluid dynamics software Fluent for the purpose of flow analysis in the cyclone separator. The static pressure reduces from the wall to the center and negative pressure zone exists at central region due to presence of vortex zone.

Case Study: Sand Separation in Surface Facilities for Heavy and Extra Heavy Oil

Upstream separation processes remain a hot topic for facilities engineers. Striving to design separators with the optimal sizing for a variety of reservoir conditions, increasing water cuts, and dynamic gas/oil/water production characteristics is critical, but challenging.

PERFORMANCE OF FILTERS USED IN MODERN IRRIGATION NETWORK

Dual Irrigation Filter, as new integral filter, was developed, it has the ability to filter water regardless the particles specific gravity and without fear of screen clogging. The new filter is locally manufactured with combination between the sand separator and screen filter. The dual irrigation filter was developed to have dual of application; as irrigation filters with a closed sedimentation tank, and as an alternative for the sedimentation pool with opened underflow to the atmosphere. With opened and closed underflow apex, the dual irrigation filter was tested to estimate and evaluate the filtration efficiency and outflow rate under different operation parameters. Three levels of feed suspension concentration (600, 1500 and 2400 ppm) prepared by using a coarse sandy loam soil sample, two levels of different operating pressure (2.5 and 4.0 psi) and three levels of the screen filtration degree (100, 150 and 200 mesh), were selected for the test. With opened underflow apex, the highest mean of the filtration efficiency for the feed suspension of 600, 1500, 2400 ppm were 0.46205, 0.42126 and 0.38719, respectively, for the different operating pressure of 4.0 and 2.5 psi were 0.46205 and 0.44135, respectively, and for the screen filtration degree of 100, 150 and 200 mesh were 0.42855, 0.45515 and 0.46205, respectively, whereas, with closed underflow apex, the highest value of the filtration efficiency for the feed suspension of 600, 1500, 2400 ppm were 0.4479, 0.3985 and 0.3601, respectively, for the different operating pressure of 4.0 and 2.5 psi were 0.4479 and 0.4258, respectively, and for the screen filtration degree of 100, 150 and 200 mesh were 0.4100, 0.4367 and 0.4479 respectively. The outflow rate was just statistically correlated to the different operating pressure; and in the case of opened apex, the highest mean of the outflow rate for the different operating pressure of 4.0 and 2.5 psi were 8.678 and 4.977 m3/h, respectively, whereas, in the case of closed apex, they were 9.345and 5.613m3/h, respectively.

Application of microbial enhanced oil recovery technology in water‐based bitumen extraction from weathered oil sands

When using the water‐based extraction processes (WBEPs) to recover bitumen from the weathered oil sands, very low bitumen recovery arisen from the poor liberation of bitumen from sand grains is always obtained. Application of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) technology in WBEPs to solve the poor processability of the weathered ore was proposed. It was found that processability of the microbial‐treated weathered ore was greatly improved. The improved processability was attributed to the biosurfactants production in the culture solution, alteration of the solids wettability, degradation of the asphaltene component, and the decrease of the bitumen viscosity, which collectively contributed to the bitumen liberation from the surface of sand grains. Although it still has many issues to be solved for an industrial application of the MEOR technology in oil sands separation, it is believed that the findings in this work promote the solution to the poor processability of the weathered ore. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 2985–2993, 2014

Gravity Separation of Silica Sands for Value Addition

A representative white sand sample was investigated for glass industry. Complete characterization of the sample was conducted. Chemical analysis of the sample showed that iron and alumina oxides reached 0.046% and 0.044%, respectively. Dry sieving was carried out to reject +0.6 mm and −0.10 mm fractions from the sample. The classified −0.6 + 0.1 mm product was directed to attrition scrubbing. The effect of pulp density, attrition impeller speed, attrition time and mode were studied. The attrition sand product was further subjected to gravity separation using “Wilfley” shaking table. Different working conditions of table separation i.e., sand feeding rate, stroke length, deck inclination, and dressing water flow rate were optimized. Results showed that the classified −0.6 + 0.106 mm sand product contained 0.039% Fe2O3 and 0.041% Al2O3 matched the specifications for the fourth-quality sand for sheet and plate glass industry. However, iron and alumina oxides contents were further decreased to 0.025% and 0.0164% after the attrition process. The attrition product accepted as second quality for flint containers and table ware applications. The final sand product after shaking table contained 0.0180% Fe2O3 and 0.090% Al2O3, was applicable for the first quality for optical applications.

Facilities Sand-Management Techniques Fall Into Two Types: Inclusionary and Exclusionary

This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper SPE 164645, ’Sand-Management Methodologies for Sustained Facilities Operations,’ by C. Hank Rawlins, SPE, eProcess Technologies, prepared for the 2013 SPE North Africa Technical Conference and Exhibition, Cairo, 15-17 April. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Traditionally, sand-control equipment is used to prevent sand from entering the wellbore. This technique can be termed “exclusionary.” An alternative is to produce solids with the well fluids and separate them at the surface. This technique is termed “inclusionary” because the solids freely flow with the fluids to the surface. Exclusionary techniques protect production tubulars, wellhead chokes, flowlines, and facilities equipment. However, the buildup of solids near the wellbore increases skin damage, which reduces inflow. Allowing the sand to flow freely with the well fluids reduces skin damage, thus sustaining or increasing inflow. Introduction Several production companies have started to integrate facilities sand management into their sand-control portfolio. Equal merit is given to sand separation at the surface facilities and to completion technologies, to determine which approach provides sustained hydrocarbon production. Gravel-pack and screen completions have a well-established installation and operating base and form the majority of conventional sand control. While controlling sand production in numerous wells, these techniques may still pass sand with diameter of <50–125 µm under normal operating conditions, and this sand interferes with facilities operations. In the case of a completion failure, the sand amount and particle size may increase rapidly, leading to production restrictions or damaged equipment. The necessity for a technology that could protect surface-facilities equipment (e.g., chokes, flowlines, pumps, separators, and valves) in cases of completion failure, openhole completion, or rapid unplanned sand production led to the development of the multiphase desander for solids removal at the wellhead. Sources, Characteristics, and Problems of Produced Solids In comparing exclusion approaches (i.e., completions or production limits) vs. surface separation methodologies for produced solids, it is necessary to clarify the exact nature of the solids being treated. Produced solids are inorganic, insoluble, nondeformable particulate materials accompanying hydrocarbon-fluids production. These solids are produced from oil, natural-gas, water, or multiphase wells. Inorganic particulates that are produced at sufficient size and concentration to require exclusion or separation treatment are generally termed “produced solids.” This material can be broadly classified into two categories: indigenous (natural) material and foreign (artificial) material. Natural Solids. Natural solids arise from the indigenous reservoir minerals. Broadly, these are sands, which are detrital grains of mineral oxides (e.g., SiO2), and clays, which are hydrous aluminum silicates that may be detrital or authigenic. Sand particles are the load-bearing solids of the formation, while fines (clay) are not part of the mechanical structure.

Modification and separation of oil sand with ultrasonic wave and analysis of its products

Under the condition of ultrasonic wave heating, the ground oil sand from Daqing oilfield was preprocessed with compound modification reagent. In order to separate oil and sand, flotation machine is used and orthogonal test is carried out to optimize the process conditions. The test results show that under the conditions of modification reagent concentration of 10.0g/L, ultrasonic wave intensity of 53kHz, power of 75kW, temperature of 50°C and duration of 10min, the Daqing ground oil sand with the initial oil content of 30.80% can be transformed into dry sludge with a sharply reduced residual oil content of 0.66% after being preprocessed with ultrasonic wave and separated by flotation machine. The solid particle size compositions and major components were analyzed with a laser particle size analyzer and X-ray analyzer (LS-100Q), and GC-MS as well as FITR were adopted to analyze the oil phase. The mechanism of action of intensifying separation of oil sand with the effect of ultrasonic wave was analyzed.

Sand Prediction: A Practical Finite-Element 3D Approach for Real Field Applications

Summary Sand production is a critical issue in the oil and gas industry. During the production of a well, sand production may have negative consequences, such as risk of well failure, erosion of pipelines and surface facilities, and the need for sand separation and disposal. Knowing the conditions for the onset of sand production allows optimizing sand free production and, eventually, avoiding or delaying the use of sand-control methods. The aim of this work is to establish a reliable workflow for the estimation of the conditions for sand production in real field cases by means of finite-element modeling. The fundamental requirement is to set up a 3D coupled model that can be easily adjusted to the most complex conditions (e.g., stress anisotropy, deviated wells, and complex perforation patterns). The most suitable geometries and associated meshing strategies to describe the wellbore, the perforation tunnels, and the surrounding formation are analyzed. Further improvements with respect to previous approaches include the fact that the drilling and completion phases were also simulated to compute the correct stress distribution before the production, and that fluid flow and rock deformation are simulated in a fully coupled way to investigate accurately the effect of drawdown. Shear failure of reservoir rock, considered as an elastoplastic medium, is the main sand-production mechanisms analyzed, and the damage of the rock around the perforations is evaluated by analyzing the distribution of the equivalent plastic strain. Two real field cases are simulated, and the results of the finite-element models are consistent with the ones obtained by means of an analytical models and with field observations. Moreover, this numerical approach allows quantifying the spatial distribution and the severity of the damage of the rock around the perforations, facts that are either oversimplified or not considered at all in analytical models. For future applications, this model can be straightforwardly extended to more complex conditions and can also be improved to provide volumetric sand prediction.

The Research Progress of Oil Sand Separation Technology in China

From 2007 to 2008, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Langfang Branch launched oil sand resource exploration and the study of hot water separation technology in Fengcheng area, Northwest of Junggar Basin, and the recoverable oil-sand oil resource is 54.98 million tons with the oil content in 7.1-10%, which is distributed in Cretaceous and Jurassic with the thickness of 80-140 meters, the cover depth of oil sand is 50-90 meters. Combining with the characteristics of the oil sand in this area and based on the research of hot water separation mechanism in oil sand, the hot water separation reagent for the oil sand in this area has been successfully developed, and its separation rate reaches 90%, provided that the concentrations of the agent is 4% and the separation temperature is 85 °C. Based on series of study, the construction of testing site, which is capable of processing 10,000 tons oil sand in this area, is completed, and the on-site separation tests of oil sand are launched with the recovery rate of 90% in normal operation, and the hot water separation technology and equipment research & development are successful. Key words : Oil sand; Hot water separation technology; Separation reagent; Tests

An Oil Sand Separation Agent Applied on an Extraction of Xinjiang Oil Sand

Extraction of Xinjiang oil sand by the series of YSFL oil sand separation agents was studied. In the extraction experiment, the effect of the agent concentration, reaction temperature, and heating time have been studied. The optimal condition was confirmed. When the agent concentration was 7%, the heating time was 30 minutes, and when the temperature was 85°C, the bitumen production rate could reach more than 95%. The agent after separation can be cycle-utilized for the environment-friendly property.

Improvement of separation efficiency and production capacity of a hydrocyclone

The improvement of separation efficiency (SE) and production capacity of a hydrocyclone by introducing a newly-designed structure is a significant challenge when applying Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbulence modeling techniques. This study aims to solve the problem that the high content of fine sands in summer in the Chongqing section of the Yangtze River means that it can not be directly taken as the water source for a heat pump system, and also to reduce the energy consumption of the hydrocyclone through the improvement of its structure design. In this research, the RANS approach was applied to simulate the three-dimensional flow field of the hydrocyclone, a Reynolds stress model (RSM) was introduced and used to make the RANS equation close. In the modeling study of the separation mechanism of the hydrocyclone, the impacts of operating parameters and structure parameters on the hydrocyclone SE were studied using RANS methods based on the commercial software FLUENT. Consequently, a new-style hydrocyclone with inclined inlet and ramp board and central solid rod was designed to enhance the SE according to previous numerical modeling results. Under the conditions of the optimal inlet velocity of 15 m s−1 for the new structure and with a sand volume fraction of 10%, the SE of the new structure can be increased near to 60% for 0.004 mm sand particles, and the overflow production capacity can be enhanced to 20 m3 h−1. These data are required both for evaluating the potential use of the hydrocyclone for the separation of sands from water and for studying the new structure which may be important in practical applications to reduce energy consumption, and these comparisons will assist hydrocyclone designers in choosing appropriate turbulence models and structures, and benefit future modeling research.

Influence Green Sand System by Core Sand Additions

Today, about two thirds of iron alloys casting (especially for graphitizing alloys of iron) are produced into green sand systems with usually organically bonded cores. Separation of core sands from the green sand mixture is very difficult, after pouring. The core sand concentration increase due to circulation of green sand mixture in a closed circulation system. Furthermore in some foundries, core sands have been adding to green sand systems as a replacement for new sands. The goal of this contribution is: “How the green sand systems are influenced by core sands?” This effect is considered by determination of selected technological properties and degree of green sand system re-bonding. From the studies, which have been published yet, there is not consistent opinion on influence of core sand dilution on green sand system properties. In order to simulation of the effect of core sands on the technological properties of green sands, there were applied the most common used technologies of cores production, which are based on bonding with phenolic resin. Core sand concentration added to green sand system, was up to 50 %. Influence of core sand dilution on basic properties of green sand systems was determined by evaluation of basic industrial properties: moisture, green compression strength and splitting strength, wet tensile strength, mixture stability against staling and physical-chemistry properties (pH, conductivity, and loss of ignition). Ratio of active betonite by Methylene blue test was also determined.

The Separating of Inner Mongolian Oil Sand with Ultrasound

We applied the oil sand cleansing agent sodium silicate (YSFL) in oil sand separation. This article mainly discusses the ultrasonic wave assistance function in the oil sand separation application. We analyzed the ultrasonic wave assistance function oil sand separation condition through experiments. Preliminary results indicated that under the supersonic function, cleansing agent and oil sand ratio 0.8:1, 60°C ultrasonic vibration for 13 min, and its oil extraction rate may achieve 94%. Compared with agitation, the results of the research proved that the supersonic wave action not only greatly enhanced the extraction of the oil sand rate but also reduced the cost.

Parameters of Solvent Extraction for Bitumen Recovery from Oil Sands

Solvent extraction was applied in the separation of oil sands and considered as a promising technology. Results in this study indicated that the factors such as the volume of solvent to mass of oil sand (v/m), solvent aromatic content (the amount of aromatic hydrocarbons in the solvent), and the polarity of the solvent significantly influenced the oil sands bitumen recovery. A value of v/m greater than 5 was proposed in the extraction. The bitumen recovery increased with the increase of the solvent aromatic content. In addition, an appropriate polarity of the solvent with the range from 1.5 to 3.0 was suggested in the solvent selection. Hence, results demonstrated that the solubility of the composite solvent of n-heptane and toluene was less than the sum of the single ones. This study provided useful guidance for the solvent selection in the subsequent works.

Use of modern domestically produced equipment in glassmaking practice

Positive experience in using modern Russian equipment — series LMO magnetic separators for quartz sand and a specialized magnetic holder for glass-molds for the production of glass containers — at the “Smerdomskii steklozavod,” is described. It is shown that the use of magnetic enrichment of quartz sand from a local deposit has a positive effect on the technological processes of glassmaking, and the use of specialized magnetic holder for glass-molds increases the repair quality and decreases repair time for glass-molds. At Russian enterprises any improvements achieved by altering the production process are usually made by purchasing and mastering high-capacity imported equipment. However, modern domestically produced equipment also makes it possible not only to save money but also to obtain results equivalent in terms of effectiveness and in some cases not attainable with the use of imported equipment. We shall examine two examples from practice at the “Smerdomskii steklozavod” JSC. Example 1. Stabilization of the iron oxide content in glass batch at the “Smerdomskii steklozavod” JSC by means of magnetic enrichment of quartz sand. The negative effect of an elevated content of iron oxide and the fluctuations of the iron oxide content in glass batch on the overall yield and quality of the yearly production is well known. It is evident that sand from local deposits makes it possible to lower the final production costs of colored container glass. As a rule, to obtain high-quality products it is necessary to lower and stabilize the content of iron oxide in the main component of the glass batch — quartz sand from a local deposit. An accessible method of lowering and stabilizing iron oxide in glass sand is magnetic enrichment. Quart sand from the Sazonovskii deposit (Chagodoshchenskii rayon of Vologodskaya Oblast’) is used at the “Smerdomskii steklozavod” JSC for glass production. To improve the quality of the articles produced at the “Smerdomskii steklozavod” JSC it was necessary to lower and stabilize the content of iron oxide in the quartz sand used at the level 0.4 – 0.55% (with initial fluctuation 0.8 – 1.2%) by means of magnetic separation of hot sand (t 100 – 150°C) after it is dried. The operation of the magnetic separator must be stable in the presence of high dust contamination of the section where glass batch is prepared and the separator must provide stable results for magnetic enrichment with the expected high yield of tailings from magnetic separation (to 15%).