Recovery of natural gas during solution mining of an underground salt deposit

摘要

Brine coming to the earth's surface can contain substances other than salt in water; occasionally of particular interest is gas contained in the brine, especially natural gas or methane or ethane. As the brine reaches the surface of the earth, the presence of this gas is visibly apparent and gives the brine a cloudy appearance. This gas is typically well dispersed through the brine initially as very minute incipient gas bubbles that will accumulate and separate from the brine, given sufficient time. A method is herein provided for quickly and efficiently clarifying the brine by passing the cloudy brine through a filter zone providing a pressure drop across the zone of greater than about 20 p.s.i. g.