Density manipulation to achieve a gravity stable fluid interface during the recovery of subsurface brines

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to density manipulation to achieve a gravity stable fluid interface during the recovery of subsurface brines and systems and methods thereof. One method for recovery of subsurface brines includes a method for extracting minerals from a reservoir zone including extracting a mineral brine from a subsurface reservoir zone, the mineral brine including minerals, extracting the minerals from the mineral brine and producing diluted effluent, increasing the density of the diluted effluent, and injecting the diluted effluent into the reservoir zone.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for extracting minerals from a subsurface reservoir zone, comprising:
 extracting a mineral brine comprising minerals from a subsurface reservoir zone;   extracting the minerals from the mineral brine and producing diluted effluent;   increasing a density of the diluted effluent, comprising mixing the diluted effluent with an additive; and   injecting the diluted effluent into the subsurface reservoir zone.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the minerals comprise at least one of lithium, magnesium, boron, bromine, manganese, and vanadium. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the additive comprises at least one of sodium chloride and calcium chloride. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein extracting the minerals from the mineral brine comprises using a sorption medium to extract the minerals from the mineral brine. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising pretreating the mineral brine before extracting the minerals from the mineral brine. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein pretreating the mineral brine comprises filtering the mineral brine. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein pretreating the mineral brine comprises removing impurities in the additive. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the density of the diluted effluent is increased to be greater than a density of the mineral brine. 
     
     
         9 . A system for extracting a mineral from a subsurface reservoir zone, comprising:
 a direct mineral extraction (DME) plant configured to extract a mineral from a mineral brine and output a diluted effluent; and   a diluted effluent manipulation plant fluidly coupled to the DME plant, wherein the diluted effluent manipulation plant is configured to output a manipulated diluted effluent by mixing the diluted effluent and an additive.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9  further comprising a pump configured to pump the mineral brine to the DME plant from a subsurface reservoir zone. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the DME plant comprises a sorption medium. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the diluted effluent manipulation plant comprises:
 a first inlet, wherein the diluted effluent enters the diluted effluent manipulation plant;   a second inlet, wherein the additive enters the diluted effluent manipulation plant;   a mixer, wherein the mixer receives and mixes the diluted effluent and the additive, and the mixer is at least one of a blender-type mixer, a shear-type mixer, and a convective-type mixer; and   an outlet, wherein the manipulated diluted effluent leaves the diluted effluent manipulation plant.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising a pretreatment facility fluidly coupled to the DME plant and the pretreatment facility treats the mineral brine before it enters the DME plant, wherein the pretreatment facility mixes the mineral brine with a second additive, filters the mineral brine, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the additive comprises at least one of sodium chloride and calcium chloride. 
     
     
         15 . A method for extracting a mineral from a subsurface reservoir zone, comprising:
 processing a mineral brine, wherein processing comprises extracting a mineral from the mineral brine using sorption and producing a diluted effluent, wherein the diluted effluent comprises the mineral brine with less of the mineral; and   manipulating a physical property of the diluted effluent, wherein manipulating a physical property of the diluted effluent comprises creating a manipulated diluted effluent by mixing an additive with the diluted effluent to increase a density of the diluted effluent.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising pumping, via a pump, the manipulated diluted effluent through an injection well into a subsurface reservoir zone, wherein the manipulated diluted effluent and the mineral brine are prevented from mixing in the subsurface reservoir zone. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the mineral comprises at least one of lithium, magnesium, boron, bromine, manganese, and vanadium. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the additive comprises at least one of sodium chloride and calcium chloride. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising pretreating the mineral brine before the mineral brine is processed by mixing a second additive into the mineral brine, filtering the mineral brine, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the density of the diluted effluent is increased to be greater than a density of the mineral brine.