The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 13, 2026
Filed:
Dec. 02, 2022
West Virginia University Board of Governors on Behalf of West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV (US);
Terence Musho, Bruceton Mills, WV (US);
Nigel Clark, Morgantown, WV (US);
Daniel Hand, Orlando, FL (US);
Leland Mink, Worley, ID (US);
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY BOARD OF GOVERNORS ON BEHALF OF WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY, Morgantown, WV (US);
Abstract
Various examples are provided related to airlift pumping of downhole geothermal fluids. In one example, an airlift system includes a compressor; a gas sparger head in a wellbore of a geothermal well, and a pressure head recycle assembly. The sparger head produces artificial lift of the geothermal fluids by injecting a gas resulting in a difference in density downhole. The entrained gas can be extracted by the pressure head recycle assembly, compressed, and reinjected downhole. The geothermal fluid at the well head can be used in direct use applications or in a thermodynamic cycle to make shaft power. The gas sparger head can include a venturi shaped passage extending through the gas sparger head and a bubble orifice including gas orifices radially spaced about a narrow portion of the venturi shaped passage. The gas orifices can have a corresponding resonant chamber through which the gas (e.g., air) is provided.