Process for regenerating media filters used to filter geothermal brine

Patent · Tue Oct 28 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:7157716

Gritters, G A; Perez, J M

A process is described for regenerating media filters used for filtering geothermal brine, the filter regenerating process comprising: (a) flowing steam through the filter in a backflush direction, so as to cause agitation of the filter media; and (b) flushing out the filter by flowing geothermal brine through the filter in the backflush direction. A geothermal brine handling facility is described for obtaining steam from a flow of naturally pressurized, silica-rich geothermal brine. The facility has a flashing stage in which the brine is flashed to a lower pressure to convert some of the brine to steam, the brine becoming thereby supersaturated with silica. The facility further has a crystallization stage in which the flashed brine is contacted with seed material so as to cause silica precipitating from the brine to crystallize onto the seed material. The crystallization has a clarification stage wherein the crystallized silica is separated from the brine to produce a clarified brine and having one or more media filters through which the clarified brine is flowed in a filtering direction so as to remove fine silica particles from the clarified brine, a process for regenerating the media filters.

• Assignee: Union Oil Co. of California, Los Angeles, CA
• Patent Number(s): US 4619769
• OSTI ID: 7157716
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150700* -- Geothermal Energy-- Products & By-Products
AGGLOMERATION
BRINES
CHALCOGENIDES
CRYSTALLIZATION
DRAINAGE
EVAPORATION
FILTERS
FILTRATION
FLASHING
FLOW RATE
FLUIDS
GEOTHERMAL FLUIDS
LAYERS
MINERALS
OXIDE MINERALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
QUENCHING
REGENERATION
SATURATION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SILICA
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON OXIDES
STEAM
STRATIFICATION
SUPERSATURATION
TIME DEPENDENCE