Online particles count monitoring system and seawater injection system comprising the same

1. A seawater injection system comprising a primary seawater supply line, a diverted seawater sampling line, and an online particles count monitoring system, wherein:

the online particles count monitoring system is fluidly coupled to the primary seawater supply line through the diverted seawater sampling line to divert a portion of a primary flow of seawater moving in a downstream direction through the primary seawater supply line to the online particles count monitoring system through the diverted seawater sampling line;

the online particles count monitoring system comprises a diverted seawater inlet, a core plug assembly downstream of the diverted seawater inlet, a diverted seawater outlet downstream of the core plug assembly, and an inlet pressure monitoring station upstream of the core plug assembly and downstream of the diverted seawater inlet;

the core plug assembly comprises a core plug and a removable particle filter arranged upstream of the core plug;

the diverted seawater inlet is fluidly coupled to the diverted seawater outlet through the core plug assembly to divert seawater moving in a downstream direction through the diverted seawater inlet to the diverted seawater outlet through the removable particle filter and the core plug of the core plug assembly;

the core plug comprises a core plug inlet face and the removable particle filter is supported by the core plug inlet face, extends across a majority of the core plug inlet face, and is characterized by a pore size rating of at least about 0.45 microns;

the core plug inlet face and the removable particle filter are oriented to directly obstruct the flow of diverted seawater such that particles collected by the removable particle filter will increase fluid pressure in diverted seawater moving through the diverted seawater sampling line at a constant flow rate; and

the inlet pressure monitoring station generates a particles count signal based on fluid pressure in diverted seawater moving through the diverted seawater sampling line in a downstream direction of the core plug inlet face and the removable particle filter.

2. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein the inlet pressure monitoring station comprises a pressure gauge coupled to the diverted seawater sampling line measuring the fluid pressure in diverted seawater upstream of the core plug assembly.

3. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein the inlet pressure monitoring station generates graphical data based on the generated particles count signal.

4. The seawater injection system of claim 3 , wherein the inlet pressure monitoring station comprises a display displaying the graphical data.

5. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein the inlet pressure monitoring station generates an alarm based on the generated particles count signal.

6. The seawater injection system of claim 5 , wherein the alarm is generated when the fluid pressure in the diverted seawater sampling line is greater than 20 psi.

7. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein:

the online particles count monitoring system comprises a seawater supply line controller controlling the primary flow of seawater moving through the primary seawater supply line; and

the inlet pressure monitoring station provides the generated particles count signal to an input of the seawater supply line controller.

8. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein the online particles count monitoring system comprises a relief valve coupled to the diverted seawater sampling line.

9. The seawater injection system of claim 8 , wherein:

the online particles count monitoring system comprises a relief valve controller controlling the relief valve; and

the inlet pressure monitoring station provides the particles count signal to an input of the relief valve controller.

10. The seawater injection system of claim 8 , wherein the relief valve is set to open when fluid pressure in the diverted seawater sampling line exceeds approximately 20 psi.

11. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein the diverted seawater sampling line is configured such that no more than approximately 5% of the primary flow of seawater is diverted from the primary seawater supply line.

12. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein the removable particle filter extends across less than an entirety of the core plug inlet face.

13. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein the removable particle filter extends across a substantial entirety of the core plug inlet face.

14. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein the removable particle filter is a removable filter cartridge configured to be removed from the core plug assembly.

15. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein:

the core plug assembly further comprises a core plug holder, an inlet end cap coupled to the diverted seawater inlet, and an outlet end cap coupled to the diverted seawater outlet; and

the core plug holder and the inlet end cap are collectively configured to hold the removable particle filter between the inlet end cap and the core plug.

16. The seawater injection system of claim 15 , wherein the core plug is disposed between the inlet end cap and the outlet end cap, and the inlet end cap is disposed over the removable particle filter.

17. The seawater injection system of claim 1 , wherein the seawater injection system further comprises a diverted seawater sampling line controller that controls the diverted seawater sampling line to maintain the constant flow rate in the diverted seawater sampling line.

18. The seawater injection system of claim 17 , wherein the diverted seawater sampling line controller further controls the diverted seawater sampling line to open and close.

19. An online particles count monitoring system comprising:

a diverted seawater inlet;

a core plug assembly downstream of the diverted seawater inlet, the core plug assembly comprising a core plug and a removable particle filter arranged upstream of the core plug;

a diverted seawater outlet downstream of the core plug assembly; and

an inlet pressure monitoring station upstream of the core plug assembly and downstream of the diverted seawater inlet, wherein:

the diverted seawater inlet is fluidly coupled to the diverted seawater outlet through the core plug assembly to divert seawater moving in a downstream direction through the diverted seawater inlet to the diverted seawater outlet through the removable particle filter and the core plug of the core plug assembly;

the core plug comprises a core plug inlet face and the removable particle filter is supported by the core plug inlet face, extends across a majority of the core plug inlet face, and is characterized by a pore size rating of at least about 0.45 microns;

the core plug inlet face of the core plug and the removable particle filter are oriented to directly obstruct the flow of diverted seawater such that particles collected by the removable particle filter will increase fluid pressure in diverted seawater moving through a diverted seawater sampling line that is fluidly coupled to the online particles count monitoring system, at a constant flow rate; and

the inlet pressure monitoring station generates a particles count signal based on fluid pressure in diverted seawater moving through the diverted seawater sampling line that is fluidly coupled to the online particles count monitoring system, in a downstream direction of the core plug inlet face and the removable particle filter.

20. An online method of monitoring particle count in a seawater injection system comprising a primary seawater supply line, a diverted seawater sampling line, and an online particles count monitoring system, wherein:

the online particles count monitoring system is fluidly coupled to the primary seawater supply line through the diverted seawater sampling line;

the online particles count monitoring system comprises a diverted seawater inlet, a core plug assembly downstream of the diverted seawater inlet, a diverted seawater outlet downstream of the core plug assembly, and an inlet pressure monitoring station upstream of the core plug assembly and downstream of the diverted seawater inlet;

the core plug assembly comprises a core plug and a removable particle filter arranged upstream of the core plug;

the diverted seawater inlet is fluidly coupled to the diverted seawater outlet through the core plug assembly to divert seawater moving in a downstream direction through the diverted seawater inlet to the diverted seawater outlet through the removable particle filter and the core plug of the core plug assembly;

the core plug comprises a core plug inlet face and the removable particle filter is supported by the core plug inlet face, extends across a majority of the core plug inlet face, and is characterized by a pore size rating of at least about 0.45 microns;

the core plug inlet face of the core plug and the removable particle filter are oriented to directly obstruct the flow of diverted seawater; and

the online method comprises:

diverting a portion of a primary flow of seawater moving in a downstream direction through the primary seawater supply line to the online particles count monitoring system through the diverted seawater sampling line;

maintaining a constant flow rate in the diverted seawater sampling line such that particles collected by the removable particle filter will increase fluid pressure in diverted seawater moving through the diverted seawater sampling line; and

generating, by the inlet pressure monitoring station, a particles count signal based on fluid pressure in diverted seawater moving downstream through the diverted seawater sampling line in a downstream direction of the core plug inlet face and the removable particle filter.