A syringe assembly for a hydraulic fracturing system includes a syringe having a material chamber, a base fluid chamber, and a piston. The material chamber is configured to be fluidly connected to a fluid conduit. The piston retracts to draw material into the material chamber. The piston extends to push the material into the fluid conduit. The syringe assembly includes a diverter fluidly connected to the base fluid chamber and moveable between first and second positions. The first position of the diverter fluidly connects the base fluid chamber to a base fluid reservoir of the hydraulic fracturing system and fluidly disconnects the base fluid chamber from an outlet of a frac pump of the hydraulic fracturing system. The second position of the diverter fluidly connects the base fluid chamber to the outlet of the frac pump and fluidly disconnects the base fluid chamber from the base fluid reservoir.

A well material distribution method includes obtaining at least one material-containing sack containing at least one well material, placing the at least one material-containing sack in an automatic sack cutting machine, opening the at least one material-containing sack and dispensing the at least one well material by operation of the automatic sack cutting machine and distributing the at least one well material from the automatic sack cutting machine directly into a mixing vessel configured to simultaneously handle a plurality of well materials. Well material distribution systems are also disclosed.

A well material distribution method includes obtaining at least one material-containing sack containing at least one well material, placing the at least one material-containing sack in an automatic sack cutting machine, opening the at least one material-containing sack and dispensing the at least one well material by operation of the automatic sack cutting machine and distributing the at least one well material from the automatic sack cutting machine directly into a mixing vessel configured to simultaneously handle a plurality of well materials. Well material distribution systems are also disclosed.

A device for dispersing a water-soluble polymer includes a primary water inlet circuit that feeds an overflow, at the bottom end of the cone, an assembly including a chamber for grinding and draining the dispersed polymer, having a rotor driven by a motor provided with knives, a stator, over all or part of the periphery of the chamber, a ring fed by a secondary water circuit, the ring communicating with the chamber by way of slots for spraying pressurized water onto the stator The slots of the stator and/or the knives of the rotor are tilted at an angle of between 20 and 80 relative to the horizontal plane of the stator and the lateral face of the blade next to the stator is curved in such a way as to make the distance separating the two components substantially constant.

A system for separating solids from a first slurry mixture recovered from a hydrocarbon well. The system includes a V-shaped tank and one or more second mixing tanks for accumulating a slurry of fine particles from an overflow from the V-shaped tank. A shaftless auger moves solids to a conduit fluidly connected to hydrocyclones. The overflow of the hydrocyclones is mixed with the first flurry coming from a rig flow line and is discharged over a target plate and bar screen. Air is released from the mixture through one or more perforated baffles. Solids fall from the bar screen onto a shaker, which dewaters these solids as well as solids from an underflow from the hydrocyclones.

A method of preparing a concrete composition for downhole injection includes utilizing a controller to control a process including circulating process water in a process water supply loop for a predetermined period while monitoring and controlling the temperature and flow rate of the process water, circulating aqueous-based air entrainment solution in an aqueous-based air entrainment solution supply loop for the predetermined period and controlling the flow rate of the aqueous-based air entrainment solution and after the predetermined period of time in which the flow of process water and aqueous-based air entrainment solution have stabilized, simultaneously actuating valves to divert and mix the process water, the aqueous-based air entrainment solution and compressed air to produce an air-entrained foam and mixing the foam with a concrete composition to be deployed downhole.

An additive injection apparatus has a flow manifold with an injection tube configured to communication an additive into the flow manifold. A hopper is connected to the injection tube and will deliver the additive to the injection tube. First and second valves movable between open and closed positions control the flow of additive from the hopper into the injection tube and from the injection tube into the flow manifold.

A slurry injection system includes low and high pressure clear fluid manifolds. Low pressure clear fluid is pressurized and communicated to high pressure manifold. A blender unit communicates slurry through a sensor system that generates a flow rate signal and a density signal of the low pressure slurry. The slurry pressurizer is in fluid communication with the high pressure clear fluid manifold through a bypass pump, a mixer, the blender unit and the low pressure clear fluid manifold. The slurry pressurizer forms high pressure slurry that is communicated to the mixer and communicates fluid to the low pressure clear fluid manifold. The mixer mixes the high pressure slurry and high pressure clear fluid from the high pressure clear fluid manifold to form a mixture that is communicated to a slurry injection site. A controller controls the bypass pump using the flow rate and density to control a density of slurry.

Methods for handling bulk material in a manner that reduces dust, noise, and emissions are provided. The presently disclosed techniques use portable containers to transfer bulk material from a transportation unit to a blender inlet. The containers may be carried to the location on the transportation unit, where a hoisting mechanism is used to remove the container from the transportation unit and place it in a desired location. When bulk material is needed at the blender inlet, the hoisting mechanism may position the container of bulk material onto an elevated support structure. Once on the support structure, the container may be opened to release bulk material to a gravity feed outlet, which routes the bulk material from the container directly into the blender inlet. The disclosed containerized bulk material transfer system and method allows for reduced dust, noise, and emissions on location.

According to embodiments described in the specification, an exemplary method is disclosed for hydraulically hoisting potash (or other evaporite ore) fines material from an underground mine. The method includes mining an ore deposit using a boring machine to generate Run-of-Mine (ROM) material at a mine face, conveying the generated ROM material to an underground ore screening plant, screening the ROM material relative to a threshold size wherein the threshold size is a feed size of one or more flotation cells at a surface processing plant, mixing fines material, comprising ROM material that is below the threshold size, with a saturated brine to create a slurry mixture wherein the saturated brine prevents the fines material from dissolving into the slurry mixture, and pumping the slurry mixture to a surface location via one of a shaft and a borehole to the surface product separation plant.