Granted Patent B2

US 12,372,482 · App. 18/324,438 · Granted Jul 29, 2025

Inventors: Markus Berheide (Medford, MA); Jeffrey Miles (Arlington, MA); Rod William Shampine (Houston, TX); Dominic Vincent Perroni (Sugar Land, TX)

Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation

G01N23/09

Abstract

Claims (45)

1. A system, comprising:

a neutron source configured to emit neutrons;

a vessel configured to hold a lithium-containing material, which is a mixture of lithium-sorbent material and a lithium-containing brine; and

a neutron detector configured to:

receive a subset of the neutrons emitted from the neutron source that are transmitted through the lithium-containing material; and

determine a concentration of lithium based on the received subset of neutrons, wherein the determining the concentration of lithium comprises comparing a measured concentration of the mixture of the lithium-sorbent material and the lithium-containing brine in the vessel with a separate measurement of the lithium-containing brine to derive a loading capacity of the lithium-sorbent material in the vessel.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein a relative volume fraction of the lithium-containing brine to a total of the lithium-containing material ranges from 0% to 100%.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the neutron source, the neutron detector, or both, are movably coupled within the vessel.

4. The system of claim 1 , comprising a plurality of adsorption beds comprising the lithium-sorbent material.

5. The system of claim 4 , comprising a controller, wherein the controller comprises one or more processors configured to:

generate a lithium extraction output based on the concentration of the lithium; and

adjust an operation associated with the plurality of adsorption beds based on the lithium extraction output.

6. The system of claim 1 , comprising a controller configured to control a position of the neutron source, the neutron detector, or both.

7. The system of claim 1 , comprising a controller configured to control an intensity corresponding to the neutrons emitted by the neutron source.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the neutron source, the neutron detector, or both, are disposed on an outer surface of the vessel.

9. A method, comprising:

providing a lithium-containing brine to a vessel holding a lithium-sorbent material;

emitting neutrons into the vessel using a neutron source;

collecting, using a neutron detector, a subset of the emitted neutrons that traverses a collection volume of the vessel, wherein the collection volume is disposed between the neutron source and the neutron detector; and

determining a loading capacity of a lithium-containing material based on the collected neutrons, wherein the lithium-containing material comprises the lithium-sorbent material and the lithium-containing brine.

10. The method of claim 9 , comprising:

adjusting a position of the neutron source from a first position to a second position different than the first position;

emitting neutrons into the vessel using the neutron source;

creating scattered neutrons and secondary gamma radiation in the lithium-containing material;

collecting a subset of the emitted neutrons and secondary gamma radiation that traverse the collection volume of the vessel using one or more detectors; and

determining the loading capacity of the lithium-sorbent material based on the collected gamma radiation and the collected neutrons.

11. The method of claim 9 , comprising removing the lithium-sorbent material from the vessel based on the load capacity.

12. The method of claim 9 , comprising outputting an alert indicating a remaining lifetime of the lithium-sorbent material based on the loading capacity.

13. A system, comprising:

one or more adsorption beds configured to receive a lithium-containing stream, wherein each adsorption bed comprises a lithium-sorbent material configured to bind lithium-ions in the lithium-containing stream; and

a lithium detection apparatus, wherein the lithium detection apparatus comprises:

an emission source configured to emit radiation and a detector configured to receive a subset of the emitted radiation from the emission source that is transmitted through the lithium-sorbent material, wherein the radiation comprises neutrons;

one or more detectors configured to receive a subset of the neutrons emitted from the emission source that are transmitted through the lithium-sorbent material and determine a concentration of lithium adsorbed by the lithium-sorbent material based on the received subset of neutrons; and

a controller comprising one or more processors configured to:

receive data from the one or more detectors based on the received subset of neutrons;

determine a concentration of lithium based on the data; and

determine an operational adjustment of the one or more adsorption beds, the lithium detection apparatus, or both, based on the determined concentration.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more detectors comprise gamma radiation detectors.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the operational adjustment is configured to remove the lithium-sorbent material from the one or more adsorption beds.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the operational adjustment is configured to modify a cycle time corresponding to exposure of the lithium-sorbent material to one or more fluids.

17. The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to:

adjust a position of the emission source from a first position to a second position, wherein the data corresponds to the first position; and

determine the concentration based on a ratio the data corresponding to the first position and an additional data set corresponding to the second position.

18. The system of claim 13 , wherein the emission source comprise neutron sources, and wherein the one or more detectors comprise neutron detectors.

19. The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more detectors comprise a proportional counter, a scintillator detector, or a combination thereof.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (23)