Systems and methods for flow-through treatment of contaminated fluids
View Patent ↗A system for use in the treatment of contaminated fluid is provided. The system includes a source from which contaminated fluid may be introduced into the system, and a reservoir for an adsorbent material designed to remove contaminants from the fluid. The system also includes a reactor within which the adsorbent material and the contaminated fluid may be accommodated for treatment. A separation device may further be included for removing spent adsorbent materials from the system. A method for treating contaminated fluid is also provided.
1. A system for treatment of contaminated fluid, the system comprising:
a reservoir of an adsorbent nanomaterial designed to remove contaminants from contaminated fluid;
a reactor for providing an environment within which a mixture of adsorbent nanomaterial and contaminated fluid can be accommodated for treatment of the contaminated fluid;
a pump designed to introduce, into the system, an amount of adsorbent nanomaterial that can be proportional to a flow rate of the contaminated fluid and an amount of contaminant in the contaminated fluid, so as to substantially reduce a period of time for treatment;
an outlet on the reactor through which treated fluid within the reactor can exit; and
a separation device for removal of spent adsorbent material.
2. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the adsorbent nanomaterial in the reservoir includes a porous particle made from self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports (SAMMS).
3. A system as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the particle is made from silica.
4. A system as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the particle has a pore size ranging from about 2 nanometers (nm) to about 7 nm.
5. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the adsorbent nanomaterial has an apparent density ranging from about 0.2 grams/milliliter to about 0.4 grams/milliliter.
6. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the adsorbent nanomaterial is capable of removing heavy metal contaminants from the fluid.
7. A system as set forth in claim 6 , wherein the heavy metal contaminants include mercury, arsenic, cadmium, lead, silver, uranium, plutonium, neptunium, americium, other heavy metals, or a combination thereof.
8. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the contaminated fluid is viscous in nature.
9. A system as set forth in claim 8 , wherein the viscous fluid includes one of oils, waste oils, other fluid viscous in nature, or a combination thereof.
10. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the contaminated fluid is non-viscous in nature.
11. A system as set forth in claim 10 , wherein the non-viscous fluid includes a liquid or a gas.
12. A system as set forth in claim 10 , wherein the non-viscous fluid includes produced water.
13. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the reactor includes an inlet to permit contaminated fluid and the adsorbent nanomaterial to be introduced into the reactor.
14. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the reactor includes a pump to assist in the removal of treated fluid from the reactor.
15. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the reactor includes a second inlet to introduce a volume of high pressure into the reactor to assist in the removal of treated fluid from the reactor.
16. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the separation device is a centrifugal force type device capable of concentrating spent adsorbent material at a bottom of the device.
17. A system as set forth in claim 16 , wherein the separation device includes a collector at the bottom of the device, so that the spent adsorbent material concentrated at the bottom of the device can be directed thereinto and removed.
18. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the separation device is a filter having pores or mesh openings capable of collecting the adsorbent nanomaterials thereon for removal.
19. A system as set forth in claim 1 , further including a pathway between the reservoir and the reactor to permit the mixture of adsorbent nanomaterial and contaminated fluid to travel to the reactor.
20. A system as set forth in claim 19 , further including a control valve on the pathway to adjust a flow rate of the mixture along the pathway.
21. A system as set forth in claim 1 , further including a mixer associated with the reactor to enhance mixing of the adsorbent nanomaterial and contaminated fluid.
22. A system as set forth in claim 1 , further including a sensor for indicating a level of the mixture of adsorbent nanomaterial and contaminated fluid within the reactor.
23. A system as set forth in claim 1 , further including a discharge valve to remove treated fluid from the system.
24. A system as set forth in claim 23 , further including a flow meter associated with the discharge valve to determine a flow rate of treated fluid being removed from the system.
25. A system as set forth in claim 1 , further having at least one additional reactors to permit a continuous treatment process to be implemented.
26. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the period of time for treatment is less than 15 minutes.
27. A system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the period of time for treatment ranges from less than about 2 minutes to about 10 minutes.
28. A method for treating contaminated fluid, the method comprising:
providing an environment within which contaminated fluid can be treated;
introducing an amount of an adsorbent nanomaterial and a contaminated fluid into the environment, the amount of adsorbent nanomaterial being introduced being proportional to the flow-rate of the contaminated fluid and an amount of contaminant within the contaminated fluid;
allowing the adsorbent nanomaterial to interact with the contaminated fluid over a period of time, so that the adsorbent nanomaterial can attract and remove contaminants from the fluid; and
discharging treated fluid from the environment.
29. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein the step of providing includes providing a source of contaminated fluid to be treated and a reservoir of the adsorbent nanomaterial.
30. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein the step of introducing includes generating a slurry of adsorbent nanomaterial.
31. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein the step of introducing includes mixing the adsorbent nanomaterial and the contaminated fluid prior to directing them into the environment.
32. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein the step of introducing includes directing the adsorbent nanomaterial and the contaminated fluid independently into the environment.
33. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein, in the step of introducing, the adsorbent nanomaterial includes a porous particle made from self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports (SAMMS).
34. A method as set forth in claim 33 , wherein the step of introducing includes providing a slurry of SAMMS having an apparent density ranging from about 0.2 grams/milliliter to about 0.4 grams/milliliter.
35. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein the step of introducing includes controlling a rate at which the contaminated fluid may be introduced, so that an appropriate amount of the adsorbent nanomaterial can be determined for introduction.
36. A method as set forth in claim 35 , wherein, in the step of controlling, the amount of adsorbent nanomaterial can be proportional to the flow rate of the contaminated fluid and the amount of contaminant within the fluid flow.
37. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein, in the step of introducing, the contaminated fluid is viscous in nature.
38. A method as set forth in claim 37 , wherein, in the step of introducing, the viscous fluid includes one of oils, waste oils, other fluid viscous in nature, or a combination thereof.
39. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein, in the step of introducing, the contaminated fluid is non-viscous in nature.
40. A method as set forth in claim 39 , wherein, in the step of introducing, the non-viscous fluid includes a liquid or a gas.
41. A method as set forth in claim 39 , wherein, in the step of introducing, the non-viscous fluid includes produced water.
42. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein, in the step of allowing, the period of time ranges from less than about 2 min. to about 10 min.
43. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein the step of allowing includes permitting the adsorbent nanomaterial to remove heavy metal contaminants from the fluid.
44. A method as set forth in claim 43 , wherein, in the step of permitting, the heavy metal contaminants include mercury, arsenic, cadmium, lead, silver, uranium, plutonium, neptunium, americium, other heavy metals, or a combination thereof.
45. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein the step of allowing includes permitting the adsorbent nanomaterial to bind and trap the contaminants within the nanomaterial.
46. A method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein the step of discharging includes collecting spent adsorbent nanomaterial having contaminants attracted thereto.
47. A method as set forth in claim 28 , further including providing a plurality of similar environments within which contaminated fluid can be treated, so as to implement a substantially continuous treatment process.