Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “brine”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Assessment of Carbonated Brine Injection as Low-risk Strategy for Geologic Carbon Storage

The main objective of this early-phase research was to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility and risk associated with combined brine and CO 2 storage in SWD wells using brine dissolution in the North Dakota portion of the Williston Basin. Three simulation studies were conducted to investigate: (1) CO 2 phases at different conditions, (2) wellbore compatibility, and (3) long-term storage fate in reservoir. (1) A simple reservoir model and injection simulations were created using data to represent the BEST (brine extraction and storage test) site, an operational SWD facility located near Watford City, North Dakota. The pressure evolution caused by CO 2 comingled in produced water injectate in a layer cake reservoir was then modeled while tracking aqueous CO 2 throughout the project. The salinity of the injection water, the salinity of the reservoir brine, and the amount of dissolved CO 2 comingled in the injection water were varied. (2) A wellbore corrosion model was performed using the CO 2 concentrations selected based on the reservoir modeling to examine the carbonated produced water impact on wellbore. (3) Reactive transport modeling was conducted with the optimal CO 2 concentration for this injection site to study the rock-fluid interactions and CO 2 fate in the reservoir. Results suggest that CO 2 dissolved in produced water can be injected without appreciably increasing subsurface pressure or leakage risks. Pressure buildup was found to vary with salinity but not with CO 2 mass fraction. Simulation results show that lower CO 2 percent mass fraction leads to a higher amount of CO 2 that can be dissolved at a higher injection salinity. Furthermore, the long-term goal of dissolution trapping in a traditional carbon storage project is accomplished from the start, mitigating risks associated with potential migration of buoyant CO 2 , so long as the reservoir pressure and temperature are used to determine the maximum mass fraction of the dissolved CO 2 .

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) FY24 Update

This report summarizes fiscal year 2024 (FY24) activities centered around a series of field tests in bedded salt at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) funded by the Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology in the Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition (SFWD) program of the US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE). High-level Purpose of Experiments: The Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) field tests are revealing both brine occurrence (i.e., where, and how much) and brine migration (i.e., how easily it moves) in the excavation damaged zone (EDZ). This understanding is foundational to develop a safety case for a future heat-generating waste repository in salt, and to starting up a generic repository program in salt to buy down risk. BATS seeks to predict how much brine can flow into both ambient and heated excavations (e.g., boreholes or rooms) in salt. This work is educating and empowering new repository scientists on two fronts: “design and execution of field tests” and “prediction and modeling of coupled processes.” DOE-NE capabilities in salt have grown and been tested through international modeling and benchmarking exercises (e.g., DECOVALEX, RANGERS, KOMPASS, and MEASURES; see Mills et al., 2024). The hands-on expertise we are building is a necessary step towards large-scale disposal demonstrations and eventual implementation.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

Advanced Brine Processing to Enable U.S. Lithium Independence (CRADA Report)

Current production of LiOH, which is needed to make Li-ion battery cathode active materials, utilizes a multistep process including solar evaporation, precipitation with Na 2 CO 3 and then conversion to LiOH using Ca(OH) 2 . This process requires a large amount of land area for solar evaporation, the right weather conditions, and chemicals for the conversion process that result in NaCl and CaCO 3 waste products. The production of Ca(OH) 2 is very energy intensive and evolves significant quantities of CO 2 . An alternative process flow utilizing direct lithium extraction techniques, followed by a chemical free conversion process can have benefits in reducing the needed land requirements and chemicals for traditional brine processing. There are many potential direct lithium extraction technologies that are currently being developed. The direct lithium extraction process from typical brine sources will produce a LiCl solution with some impurities including typically high concentrations of Na. This brine then needs to be converted to LiOH for use in battery cathode production. Ideally this conversion could occur without the use of additional chemicals. Electrochemistry can do this conversion either via electrolysis or bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BPED) to produce LiOH and HCl in solution. BPED utilized bipolar membranes to split water, which has a reduced potential as compared to splitting water at electrodes into hydrogen and oxygen gas. This reduced potential required results in a significant energy savings for BPED over electrolysis methods. This CRADA project aimed to develop such an integrated process using direct lithium extraction followed by BPED to produce a LiOH solution. That solution can then be crystallized into battery grade LiOH. In particular, Albemarle utilized a direct lithium extraction process to produce a concentrated LiCl solution that could be used for the BPED process. The BPED process was first tested using various LiCl solutions with impurity ions added at bench scale to understand the effects of impurities and determine processing parameters. Then testing was performed using the direct lithium extracted brine at the bench scale before scaling the process up. After the process was scaled up a long duration test was carried out to estimate the lifetime of the membranes, which is key to the economics of the BPED process.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Pore-Scale Analysis of the Permeability Damage and Recovery during Cyclic Freshwater and Brine Injection in Porous Media Containing Non-Swelling Clays

Permeability damage in subsurface porous media caused by clay mobilization is encountered in many engineering applications, such as geothermal energy, water disposal, oil recovery, and underground CO2 storage. During the freshwater injection into rocks containing brine, the sudden decrease in salinity causes native clay fines to detach and clog pore throats, leading to a significant decline in permeability. The clay fines detach due to weakened net-attractive forces binding them to each other and the grain. Past experiments link this permeability damage on the immediate history of the salinity and the direction of flow. To better understand this phenomenon, we conducted pore-scale simulations of cyclic injection of freshwater and brine into sandstone containing Kaolinite clay. Our simulations establish a link between the clay-fine trajectory and the permeability trend observed by Khilar and Fogler (1983). For a uniform clay size of 3 microns, we observe a permeability decline by two orders of magnitude during freshwater injection with respect to brine injection. Increasing salinity and simultaneously reversing flow direction restores the permeability. The permeability restoration upon reversing the brine flow direction is attributed to the unblocking of pore throats in the reverse direction by the movement of the clay particles along the grain surfaces by the hydrodynamic force and the strong net-attractive force under high salinity.

Bhuvankar, Pramod (ORCID:000000027739973X)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thermoelectric power generation and mineral extraction from brines

Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus that uses a brine from a well that is used to both generate electricity and recover valuable minerals present in the brine. The method and apparatus uses a hydrophobic membrane to separate water vapor from the brine to concentrate the brine that is then used to recover the minerals.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Thermoelectric power generation and mineral extraction from brines

Disclosed herein is a method and apparatus that uses a brine from a well that is used to both generate electricity and recover valuable minerals present in the brine. The method and apparatus uses a hydrophobic membrane to separate water vapor from the brine to concentrate the brine that is then used to recover the minerals.

Melsert, Ryan↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Impact of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid (EDTA) on the Sorption of Nd(III), Th{sup (IV)}, and U(VI) onto Dolomite in WIPP-Relevant Brines, GWB and ERDA-6 - 20356

Storage of legacy, transuranic waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) requires accurate risk models for performance assessments. These models must predict the long-term fate and transport of contaminants in the WIPP and surrounding environment. Laboratory support is necessary for the development of an accurate model through better understanding of contaminant behavior in the WIPP. The WIPP is a deep geologic repository that is characterized by high ionic strength due to evaporite deposits in the Salado formation (porewaters up to 7.4 M). High concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl), calcium chloride (CaCl{sub 2}), and magnesium chloride (MgCl{sub 2}) are particularly of concern due to their potential impact on solubility and ultimately transport of contaminants of concern. Additionally, ligands capable of forming strong complexes with metals are found in significant concentrations in the WIPP environment due to their disposal from waste processing and formation during degradation of repository components (e.g. cellulose degradation by calcium hydroxide in cement). Consequently, there is a need to investigate the fate and transport of contaminants in the WIPP environment with a focus on the effects of high ionic strength and strongly coordinating ligands. Contaminants of high concern include the actinides (U(VI), Pu(IV), and Am(III)). Laboratory support of the WIPP modeling efforts was provided by this research. A series of batch experiments were utilized to study the impact of ionic strength, contaminant concentration, and the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) on the sorption of Nd(III), Th(IV), and U(VI) onto dolomite, a carbonate mineral found within the Culebra formation. The Culebra formation is the most transmissive layer above the WIPP, making transport of contaminants the most likely route in previous risk assessments. Two brines specifically designed to imitate conditions within the WIPP environment were used in these experiments. The U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration Well 6 (ERDA-6, 95%) brine simulates a low Mg environment, while the generic weep brine (GWB, 95%) simulates the WIPP environment with a high Mg concentration. Mg is added to the repository in the form of MgO as an engineered barrier and is naturally present in some formations. It is expected to scavenge carbonate from solutions decreasing formation of the highly soluble and competitive uranium-carbonate complexes. EDTA is used during manipulations of nuclear materials due to its ability to form strong, stable complexes with the actinides and may be found in high concentrations (up to 0.08 mM) within the WIPP as waste canisters degrade. Further, it may provide additional avenues for unwanted transport of contaminants. Nd(III) and Th(IV) were used as stable analogues of Am(III) and Pu(IV), respectively, to represent the most common oxidation states of actinides in the WIPP environment in addition to U(VI). The potential for colloid formation was also investigated with low and high concentrations of contaminants (10 and 1000 μg/L) using three size-dependent particle separation steps. The results of this research provide a better understanding of potential behavior of actinides in the presence of EDTA and within WIPP-relevant brines. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Investigation of Scale Deposition and Wellbore Corrosion in Carbonated Brine Injection: A Simulation Study

Carbonated brine injection (CBI), which involves dissolving CO2 in produced water to be injected into deep geologic reservoirs, is a method to manage produced brine, carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration, and reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. This low-risk CO2 storage strategy can leverage the existing saltwater disposal infrastructure and well resources. However, the potential for corrosion and scale deposition are a major challenge for carbonated brine which may result in subsidence, wellbore failure, casing failure, and cement failure. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the wellbore materials compatibility with carbonated brine water during the injection process, for repurposing Class II saltwater disposal wells for CBI.

Belarbi, Zineb↗
DOE OSTI2024

Harnessing dimethyl ether with ultra-low-grade heat for scaling-resistant brine concentration and fractional crystallization

Solvent-driven separations may enable scalable concentration of hypersaline brines, supporting a circular resource economy from the extraction of lithium and rare earth elements from spent battery and magnet leachates. This work analyses a novel solvent-driven water extraction (SDWE) system employing dimethyl ether (DME) and ultra-low-grade heat for brine concentration and fractional crystallization. SDWE exploits DME’s unique properties: (1) a low dielectric constant that promotes water solubility over charged solutes by a factor of 10 3 , and (2) a high volatility that facilitate efficient DME reconcentration with ultra-low-grade heat. The techno-economic viability of SDWE is assessed with a computational framework that encompasses a liquid–liquid separator and a solvent concentrator. We integrate the extended universal quasichemical model with the virial equation of state to predict the compositions of the complex three-phase DME-water mixture at vapor–liquid and liquid–liquid equilibrium. Subsequently, we optimize the thermodynamic and economic performance of SDWE, by controlling the interstage flash pressure, heat source temperature, and the number of concentrating stages. DME-based SDWE concentrates an input saline feed to 5.5 M and regenerates over 99 % of the DME using ultra-low-grade heat below 50 °C, with a DME/water selectivity ratio of 125. Here our calculations reveal that optimal performance is achieved at interstage flash pressures of 0.4 – 0.5 bar for heat source temperatures between 323–373 K, with improved exergetic efficiencies at lower temperatures. At a heat source temperature of 323 K and an interstage pressure of 0.489 bar, DME-driven SDWE achieves an optimal thermodynamic efficiency of 20.5 % and a projected specific cost of US$ 1.93 m -3 . These specific costs suggest that SDWE is competitive with commercialized thermal distillation technologies, while mitigating the traditional risks associated with scaling in heat and mass exchangers with hypersaline brines.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Quantifying the effects of pressure management for the Williston basin Brine Extraction and Storage Test (BEST) site using machine learning

Active reservoir management (ARM) through brine extraction can reduce pressure buildup during large-scale implementation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. This study used machine learning (ML)-assisted approaches to analyze bottomhole pressure (BHP) responses to various brine injection and extraction scenarios. Field monitoring data were collected over a 2-year operation period at two injection wells and one extraction well (about 400 meters away) as part of a Brine Extraction and Storage Test (BEST) in the North Dakota portion of the Williston Basin. Injection activities increased the BHPs at the injection wells by around 0.70 MPa (~100 psi) during the operation period. Extraction activities demonstrated the capability to decrease the BHPs at the injection wells by approximately 0.21–0.34 MPa (30–50 psi) depending on the ratio of the extraction and injection well flow rates (the “extraction ratio” – a normalization procedure used in the analysis). The pressure reduction provided by the extraction well equated to 30%–50% of the pressure buildup at the injection well. Furthermore, this work shows how ML analytics can play a key role in estimating reservoir pressure responses for complex injection and extraction activities during pressure management practices of CCS projects.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Energy, greenhouse gas, and water life cycle analysis of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide monohydrate from brine and ore resources and their use in lithium ion battery cathodes and lithium ion batteries

Life cycle analyses (LCAs) were conducted for battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li 2 CO 3 ) and lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LiOH·H 2 O) produced from Chilean brines (Salar de Atacama) and Australian spodumene ores. The LCA was also extended beyond the production of Li 2 CO 3 and LiOH·H 2 O to include battery cathode materials as well as full automotive traction batteries to observe the effect that the lithium production pathways had on these end products. The LCA here covers material, water, and energy flows associated with lithium acquisition; lithium concentration; production of lithium chemicals, battery cathode powders, and batteries; and associated transportation activities along the supply chain. Based on battery cathode material, the difference in lithium source represents a difference of up to 20% for NMC811 cathode greenhouse gases (GHGs) and up to 45% for NMC622 cathode GHGs. For full batteries, this represents a difference of up to 9% for NMC811 batteries and 20% for NMC622 batteries. Production of Li 2 CO 3 from brine-based resources had less life cycle GHG emissions and freshwater consumption per tonne of Li 2 CO 3 than Li 2 CO 3 from ore-based resources. And LiOH·H 2 O produced from brine-based lithium also had less life cycle GHG emissions and freshwater consumption per tonne of LiOH·H 2 O than LiOH·H 2 O from ore-based resources.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Solvent-driven aqueous separations for hypersaline brine concentration and resource recovery

Solvent-driven separation processes can extract water and high-value minerals from high salinity or contaminated brines, simultaneously reducing the environmental impact of brine disposal and enabling resource recovery. The efficient dewatering of hypersaline brines is essential for the sustainable minimal and zero liquid discharge processing of industrial wastewaters. Fractional crystallization can selectively extract ions from contaminated waste streams, allowing critical materials to be recycled, including transition and lanthanide metals required for renewable energy generation and storage. Mass transfer in solvent-driven water extraction occurs across a liquid–liquid interface, eliminating the scaling and fouling of membrane and heat exchanger surfaces and limiting the need for extensive pretreatment. Solvent-driven fractional crystallization can leverage sequential treatment and control of process conditions to rapidly recover salts without requiring evaporation of water. Despite promising applications, the principles and potential of solvent-driven aqueous separations remain poorly understood. This critical review explores the opportunities presented by solvent-based aqueous separations from the molecular to process scale, evaluating the chemistry of solvation and system design in the broader context of desalination, resource recovery, water softening, and mineral production.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Temperature response and brine availability to heated boreholes in bedded salt

Abstract There is a growing need for disposal of high‐level nuclear waste. To reduce uncertainty associated with brine availability to repository excavations in salt formations, a collaboration between Sandia, Los Alamos, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories is performing a series of borehole‐scale coupled process tests. Here, we report on the first round of the Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) project, a “shakedown” experiment called Phase 1s. Experimental testing included placing a resistive heater, a 260‐W radiative heater, and a 750‐W radiative heater within previously drilled horizontal boreholes at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) while monitoring temperature and water inflow. The experiments successfully achieved the targeted temperature of 120 °C when using the 750‐W radiative heater. Simulations using FEHM (Finite Element Heat and Mass transfer code) and TOUGH‐FLAC (Transport Of Unsaturated Groundwater and Heat–Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua) were able to accurately predict the coupled thermo–hydro–mechanical–chemical response of salt, matching the observed temperature and brine production. Due to the extremely low permeability of salt, these systems take many years to reach steady state when perturbed by mining activities. Long‐term numerical simulations are used to develop the initial pressure and saturation conditions. The inclusion of a damaged rock zone with higher permeability around the borehole also affects the saturation and pressure distributions and plays an important role in dissipating the potential for thermal pressurization. Knowledge gained from this round of experimentation and simulation will be used to conduct the next BATS project experiment in new boreholes at WIPP.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Impact of reservoir parameters and wellbore permeability uncertainties on CO 2 and brine leakage potential at the Shenhua CO 2 Storage Site, China

Here, this paper describes a system-level risk assessment for the Shenhua CO 2 storage site, China, using the National Risk Assessment Partnership Integrated Assessment Model for Carbon Storage (NRAP-IAM-CS). Here, we begin by determining the optimal number of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations to achieve CO 2 and brine leakage result convergence. Then, we calculate mass CO 2 and brine leakage to the atmosphere and a hypothetical shallow aquifer. Finally, we assess the geochemical impacts in the event of leakage as if there were a shallow freshwater aquifer at the Shenhua site. Simulation results show that leakage results tend to stabilize after 300 Monte Carlo simulations. When the three wells on site are assigned a permeability of 10 -11 m 2 (representing significantly leaking wells), moderate CO 2 and brine leakages occur, and the percentage of CO 2 leakage exceeds the threshold value we set based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This is, however, unlikely to be the case for the Shenhua site. For all the other scenarios, the CO 2 leakage is trivial although there is still the possibility of CO 2 leakage into the groundwater aquifer exceeding the 1% threshold over 1000 years, assuming constant legacy wellbore permeability. For the significantly leaking scenario, there is a 10% probability to have a moderate (2.7 × 10 7 m 3 ) leakage-affected volume in the shallow aquifer with the pH below 6.5, and a large (1.4 × 10 8 m 3 ) volume with the total dissolved solids (TDS) above 500 ppm, hence pH and TDS may be considered for site monitoring plans. Based on the simulation results, there is a very low probability of significant CO 2 /brine leakage through the existing wells at the Shenhua CO 2 storage site.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Impact of cement composition, brine concentration, diffusion rate, reaction rate and boundary condition on self-sealing predictions for cement-CO 2 systems

Geological CO 2 storage (GCS) plays an important role in curbing CO 2 emissions by reducing the carbon footprint of difficult to decarbonize operations and achieve negative CO 2 emissions through activities like Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS). Leakage of CO 2 through wells is an important concern when it comes to deployment of large-scale GCS. Existing wells in sites that are otherwise suitable for GCS can act as conduits for stored CO 2 to escape the reservoir. There is broad consensus that the main risk of leakage through wellbores is via fractures/damaged pathways. The results from several studies evaluating the permeability evolution of cement fractures in wells upon leakage of CO 2 agree that smaller fracture apertures, slower brine velocities and higher brine residence times promote self-sealing of fractures by mineral precipitation. Quantitatively, however, the differences in sealing conditions are significant and are typically attributed to differences in experimental conditions or model assumptions. Here we examine the sensitivity of our model, describing CO 2 leakage through wellbores, to cement composition, brine concentration, diffusion rates, and reaction rates. We also evaluate the impact of the boundary condition to allow comparisons between observations from experiments performed at constant flow rate and model predictions made at constant pressure conditions. Our results show that diffusion and reactions rates have the most impact on the self-sealing criteria for cement-CO 2 systems. In addition, conditions associated with self-sealing of fractures at constant flow rate require longer fractures, smaller fracture apertures, and slower velocities than under constant pressure.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Radiolytically reworked Archean organic matter in a habitable deep ancient high-temperature brine

Abstract Investigations of abiotic and biotic contributions to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) are required to constrain microbial habitability in continental subsurface fluids. Here we investigate a large (101–283 mg C/L) DOC pool in an ancient (>1Ga), high temperature (45–55 °C), low biomass (10 2 −10 4 cells/mL), and deep (3.2 km) brine from an uranium-enriched South African gold mine. Excitation-emission matrices (EEMs), negative electrospray ionization (–ESI) 21 tesla Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS), and amino acid analyses suggest the brine DOC is primarily radiolytically oxidized kerogen-rich shales or reefs, methane and ethane, with trace amounts of C 3 –C 6 hydrocarbons and organic sulfides. δ 2 H and δ 13 C of C 1 –C 3 hydrocarbons are consistent with abiotic origins. These findings suggest water-rock processes control redox and C cycling, helping support a meagre, slow biosphere over geologic time. A radiolytic-driven, habitable brine may signal similar settings are good targets in the search for life beyond Earth.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Meteor over New York City: Brines in a primitive CM asteroid

The CI (Ivuna-type) carbonaceous material returned from asteroids Ryugu and Bennu contain mobilized sodium from the evaporation or freezing of liquid water into brines, shedding light on the internal structure of ice-rich CI-type worlds and the formation of prebiotic organic compounds. The formation of brines has not been demonstrated in CM (Mighei-type) carbonaceous chondrites, which also supplied organic matter to the early Earth. Here, we announce the fall of a primitive meteorite from a daytime fireball over the New York metropolitan area in July 2024. It is a CM2 breccia that contains unique CM1 clasts rich in water and sodium. The meteorite contains abundant amino acids and other products of organic chemistry in brines that reveal subsurface processes on CM-type asteroid parent bodies.

Geosciences↗
DOE OSTI2024

The brine of the times

New processes directly extract lithium from dilute sources. The accelerating global push to reduce carbon emissions is driving substantial demand for clean energy technologies and the materials on which they depend. Nations are vying for critical minerals, such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements), to produce electric vehicles, energy storage devices, and other low-carbon technologies. Tremendous attention focuses on lithium, which is primarily sourced from either hard rock called spodumene or natural brines—solutions containing lithium and other salts found in continental deposits, for example. However, mining lithium often involves energy-intensive, laborious processes. On pages 1438 and 1444 of this issue, Li et al. and Song et al., respectively, report efficient ways to extract lithium from dilute brine. In conclusion, these advances open up opportunities for sustainable extraction from unexploited dilute brines.

Darling, Seth B.↗