Texas Brine Corporation

Lawrence F Becnel, Jr

Thomas M Ellis

Raymond W Ver Hoeve

William H Barlow

John E Currey

Frank V Whelply

This invention relates to methods, systems and apparatus for producing primary treated brine, i.e. &lt;20 ppm calcium, magnesium, strontium and barium ions at the wellhead of underground salt caverns formed by depletion of their salt content by previous solution mining operations. The purified brine produced is maintained in an anerobic state and transported to chlor-alkali plant installations for use in electrolysis cells for the production of chlorine, sodium hydroxide and hydrogen. Raw brine produced at an operating brine wellhead is injected into a depleted salt cavern along with the treatment chemicals required to purify the raw brine. A novel installation including a producing well or wells, a depleted well cavern or caverns, and support facilities for producing primary treated brine is provided. Also, special wellhead injection tubing, a mixer and radial distributor for injecting the fluids into the cavern are employed which allows for the chemical reaction, precipitation, settling and clarification operations to take place in a pre-selected reaction zone in the cavern. The cavern acts as the reactor for precipitation, settler and clarifier and deposition site for storage of the precipitates which are innocuous solid by-products of the purification process. The methods, systems, installations and apparatus of this invention provide environmental, investment cost and operating advantages, as compared to surface brine treating facilities and operations at the chlor alkali plant installation, or, as compared to other subterranean attempts to purify brine.

Wellhead brine treatment

A new method for making large underground storage caverns in bedded or domal salt deposits for the storage of fluid materials in areas where solution mining water temperatures are low by a process which significantly reduces the amount of time required to make equivalent sized underground storage caverns and which is economically feasible and friendly to the environment. The process includes the warm water solution mining of the underground salt deposits in a manner which conserves the heat contained in the supernatant brine from the underground cavity and employs this heat as a significant source for warming the water employed in the solution mining operation.

Process for making underground storage caverns

This invention relates to an evaporative salt plant installation including methods of operation and apparatus which produce high purity salt economically and in high yield comprising the combination of a gas turbine which drives a vapor compressor, whose exhaust gases are used to produce steam to drive a topping steam turbine generator, which in turn generates the electrical energy requirements of the plant, and wherein the discharge vapors from the steam turbine are combined with the discharge vapors from the vapor compressor, which is in turn in combination with a vapor compression evaporator and a purge evaporator, whereby both evaporators produce salt, and where the overhead vapors of the purge evaporator are used in a brine cooled condenser to preheat input cold brine, thereby producing water condensate which is recovered, along with evaporator steam chest condensate streams, and used in solution mining underground salt, thereby allowing for both the productive use and recovery of substantially all the raw material and energy inputs to the plant, and the friendly environmental operation of the plant.

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Sugarland, TX, United States of America

Lawrence F Becnel, Jr