A natural gas pretreatment system includes a heat exchanger having a first inlet, a second inlet, a first outlet, and a second outlet. The first inlet receives a first pressurized gas stream having a first input temperature, and the second inlet receives a second pressurized gas stream having a second temperature. The second temperature is higher than the first temperature. The first outlet outputs the first gas stream; upon exiting the heat exchanger, the first gas stream has a first output temperature higher than the first input temperature. The second outlet outputs the second gas stream; upon exiting the heat exchanger, the second gas stream has a second output temperature lower than the second input temperature. The system further includes a pipeline network operable to receive the first pressurized gas stream.

A frac sand separator system includes a sand separator having an inlet fluidly connected to a well for receiving a fracking return mixture from the well. The sand separator is configured to separate water of the fracking return mixture from particulate matter of the fracking return mixture. The sand separator includes an outlet. The frac sand separator system includes a collection container fluidly connected to the outlet of the sand separator for receiving the particulate matter from the sand separator. At least one outlet valve is fluidly connected between the outlet of the sand separator and the collection container. The frac sand separator system includes a computing device operatively connected to the at least one outlet valve. The computing device includes a processor configured to automatically open the at least one outlet valve such that the particulate matter is released from the sand separator into the collection container.

A downhole solids separator having: a plurality of solids separation modules, a production tube disposed therein, one or more limited entry ports in the production tube, placed in each of the modules, an intake port in the lower half of each module opening into a wellbore annulus, the intake port below the limited entry port of the module, a closed chamber for collecting solids, isolated from the well bore, the closed chamber below modules, a solids conveying conduit from at least one module, opening into the closed chamber, an opening restricted to less than the size of the production tube in the conduit near the bottom of the module, an opening in the production tube in the closed chamber, where the production tube opening and conduit opening are configured to effect a drop fluid velocity into production tube to a level insufficient to carry solids into the production tube.

A sand separating apparatus for use with a production tubing string includes (i) a housing assembly forming an outer tubular and (ii) an inner tubular within the housing assembly to define an annular passage between the inner tubular and the housing assembly. A helical member occupies part of the annular passage below production openings in the housing assembly whereby a flow of production fluids entering from the wellbore is directed downwardly along a helical path within the annular passage as dictated by the helical member and subsequently upwardly through the inner tubular. The helical member extends radially outwardly from the inner tubular beyond a boundary surface at an outer perimeter of the annular passage to prevent formation of a gap at the tip of the helical member as it wears. A fluid passage in alignment with the helical member extends radially from inside the inner tubular to the annular passage.

An automated computer-vision system is used for timing the sand drainage in a sand management arrangement that handles flowback of sand and other solid materials in a slurry of flow from well(s) at wellsite(s). The automated system uses infrared imaging of flowback equipment to determine a level of solids (sand) in the equipment. Image processing of the temperature differences of the content in the equipment gives a demarcation of the sand and liquid separation in the equipment, which is used to determine how much sand is present. If the equipment is found to be full or above a predefined benchmark, the automated system operates a discharge skid to discharge the contents to a waste tank.

A method and apparatus for gas and solids separation from down-hole fluids is disclosed, including particular structural means for forcing the de-gassing of the gaseous liquid, including means for changing the velocity of the gaseous liquid (speed changes on each exit from the tubes owing to the volume difference between the tubes and the chamber), means for changing the direction of the gaseous liquid (owing to the flow changing direction from exiting one set of tubes to travel to the opening to enter the next set of tubes), and means for changing the pressure of the gaseous liquid (owing perhaps in part to evolution of gas upon entering increased volume).

A method for selective solution mining mineral recovery may include heating a wellfield injection brine to a temperature from about 100° C. to about 250° C.; injecting the heated wellfield injection brine into an underground wellfield to dissolve soluble minerals therein, creating a hot brine solution; removing the hot brine solution from the underground wellfield; and recovering the soluble minerals from the hot brine solution by cooling the hot brine solution to a temperature of from about −10° C. to about 5° C. and causing the soluble minerals to precipitate recovered minerals in a solid form.

A system for improving a steam oil ratio (SOR) includes a direct steam generator (DSG) boiler fluidly coupled with a downhole portion of a steam system via at least a DSG outlet, wherein the DSG boiler is configured to schedule super-heat delivered to the downhole portion to optimize the SOR associated with the system.

The disclosure discloses a solid fluidization tubular separator for marine natural gas hydrate, which includes a first separator and a second separator, wherein the first separator includes the first separation sleeve, the power liquid pipe, the swirl baffle, the recovery mechanism and the sand discharge mechanism. After the hydrate is sucked into the first separation sleeve to generate a circumferential velocity, so that the mud and sand with high density are separated to the pipe wall of the first separation sleeve, and the mud and sand separated to the pipe wall are settled down from the gap between the swirl baffle and the pipe wall along the pipe wall. The hydrate swirl flows into the recovery mechanism, and then leaves the first separation sleeve and enters the second separator, so as to realize the separation of mud and sand and natural gas hydrate.

A system for applying low pressure gas lift artificial lift enables improved efficiency in gas and oil well production. The system comprises: a central tubing in a well hole of the well, the tubing having a well head end and a well sump end; an annulus that extends around the central tubing between from the well head end to the sump end; a compressed gas source; a gas lift gas line connecting the compressed gas source to the well hole; a gas compressor having an input and an output, wherein the output is connected to the annulus; a flowline connected to the well head end of the central tubing; and an automatically controlled flowline choke in the flowline.