Removal of dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons from oil and gas produced water with Macro Porous Polymer Extraction technology to reduce toxicity and allow water reuse

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dick Meijer ◽  
Chris Madin

Legislation worldwide and current technologies used in the treatment of offshore oil and gas/condensate produced water are mainly aimed at the removal of dispersed hydrocarbons (dispersed oil). From the beginning of this century, new insights in the North Sea area revealed that specific contaminants in produced water are toxic and their impact on the environment was assessed. This insight was later supported by work in the Philippines. A comparison of water with the same total organic carbon (TOC) levels showed in one case that the unknown toxic content was higher with an unexpected disastrous effect on the biocultures. Overall parameters like biological, chemical and total oxygen demand (BOD, COD and TOC) are of no value in identifying and managing the toxic content of waste and produced water streams. New extraction based technologies such as the Macro Porous Polymer Extraction (MPPE) technology appear to remove dispersed and dissolved toxic constituents and reduce the environmental impact. Industrial applications show a >99% toxic content reduction in produced water streams. A recent application (at Woodside Petroleum’s Pluto LNG project) is described where the ultimate reuse of produced water was as demineralised water in an LNG plant. Emerging potential is presented for floating LNG plants currently investigated in conceptual studies by the oil and gas industry. Finally, fundamental technological mechanisms are presented that are required to meet zero harmful discharge legislation.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hind S. Dossary ◽  
Fahd I. Alghunaimi ◽  
Young C. Choi

Abstract Produced water is considered one of the largest by volume waste streams and one of the most challenging effluents in the oil and gas industry. This is due to the variety of contaminants that make up produce water. A variety of treatment methods have been studied and implemented. These methods aim to reduce the hydrocarbon content and the number of contaminants in produced water to meet the disposal, reuse, and environmental regulations. These contaminants can include dispersed oil droplets, suspended solids, dissolved solids, heavy metals, and other production chemicals. Some of those contaminates have value and can be a commodity in different applications such as bromine (Br). Bromine ions can be used to form calcium bromide, which is considered one of the most effective drilling agents and is used extensively in drilling and completion operations. This paper aims to highlight the utilization and the new extraction method of bromide ions from produced water to form calcium bromide (CaBr2). The conventional preparation of calcium-bromide drilling and completion fluids involves adding solid calcium-bromide salts to the water, which can be relatively expensive. Another method can involve the handling of strong oxidants and toxic gas to form solid calcium bromide. The novel method outlined in this paper is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way of generating calcium bromide from produced water. The method includes processing the produced water to recover bromide ions. This is done by first passing the produced water through a resin bed, including bromine-specific ion exchange resin, where the bromide ions will adsorb/absorb onto the resin, as shown in Figure-1. The second step involves regenerating the resin with regenerant having calcium cations and water to form calcium bromide. The final stage is generating the calcium bromide in the water from the bed of resin by introducing concentrated CaCl2, forming a concentrated solution of water and calcium bromide. The developed solution will be further processed to give drilling and completion fluids. This novel method constitutes a good example of produced water utilization in different applications to minimize waste and reduce the costs of forming highly consumable materials.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander S. Honeyman ◽  
Emily R. Nicholas ◽  
Tzahi Y. Cath ◽  
John R. Spear

AbstractProduced Water (PW) from oil and gas (O&G) producing wells is a unique source of water in water-stressed regions. Microbiota within O&G formations have been well-studied on site/in-situ, but few applied works have considered their role in the treatment of PW in engineered water treatment systems. Herein, we operated a simple aeration/mixing bench-scale bioreactor fed with produced water under three conditions: 1) PW alone (control; hereafter referred to as ‘baseline’), 2) phosphorous dosed daily as KH2PO4, and 3) activated sludge (AS) dosed daily from a sequence batch membrane bioreactor (SB-MBR). Aerated and mixed PW alone (baseline) was able to attenuate PW chemistry with removal of soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) and ammonia by 27.6% and 17.8%, respectively. Further KH2PO4 and AS additions improved water treatment efficiency markedly; in the KH2PO4 addition reactor, sCOD and ammonia were reduced by 50.0% and 61.5%, respectively, and in the AS addition reactor by 52.5% and 59.2%, respectively. Microbial consortia determined via 16S rRNA gene amplicons differ in composition between raw PW and all reactors; order Kiloniellales was most common in raw PW while orders Rhodobacterales, Pseudomonadales, and Caulobacterales were most abundant amongst AS, KH2PO4, and baseline conditions, respectively. Several different microbial consortia are capable of treating raw PW which suggests that functional redundancy amongst microbiota in engineered treatment systems may be underappreciated. With simple addition of phosphorous and/or activated sludge to PW as part of a treatment strategy, a higher quality water can then be subjected to conventional treatment and/or local reuse.ImportanceMultiple microbiological communities are capable of treating O&G PW in a simple, applied, engineered setting. The broad possibility of PW treatment by multiple different microbial consortia elucidates the potential for easy, effective, water reuse processes in the hydraulically-stressed arid west as well as any region generating PW from O&G operations.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1183
Author(s):  
Ashiqur Rahman ◽  
Shanglei Pan ◽  
Cymone Houston ◽  
Thinesh Selvaratnam

Produced water (PW) is the largest waste stream generated by the oil and gas industry. Traditional treatment of PW burdens the industry with significant expenses and environmental issues. Alternatively, microalgal-based bioremediation of PW is often viewed as an ecologically safe and sustainable platform for treating PW. Moreover, the nutrients in PW could support algal growth. However, significant dilution of PW is often required in algal-based systems due to the presence of complex chemical contaminants. In light of these facts, the current work has investigated the potential of cultivating Galdieria sulphuraria and Chlorella vulgaris in PW using multiple dilutions; 0% PW, 5% PW, 10% PW, 20% PW, 50% PW and 100% PW. While both algal strains can grow in PW, the current results indicated that G. sulphuraria has a higher potential of growth in up to 50% PW (total dissolved solids of up to 55 g L−1) with a growth rate of 0.72 ± 0.05 g L−1 d−1 and can achieve a final biomass density of 4.28 ± 0.16 g L−1 in seven days without the need for additional micronutrients. Additionally, the algae showed the potential of removing 99.6 ± 0.2% nitrogen and 74.2 ± 8.5% phosphorus from the PW.


Modelling ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-239
Author(s):  
Saeed P. Langarudi ◽  
Robert P. Sabie ◽  
Babak Bahaddin ◽  
Alexander G. Fernald

This paper explores the possibility and plausibility of developing a hybrid simulation method combining agent-based (AB) and system dynamics (SD) modeling to address the case study of produced water management (PWM). In southeastern New Mexico, the oil and gas industry generates large volumes of produced water, while at the same time, freshwater resources are scarce. Single-method models are unable to capture the dynamic impacts of PWM on the water budget at both the local and regional levels, hence the need for a more complex hybrid approach. We used the literature, information characterizing produced water in New Mexico, and our preliminary interviews with subject matter experts to develop this framework. We then conducted a systematic literature review to summarize state-of-the-art of hybrid modeling methodologies and techniques. Our research revealed that there is a small but growing volume of hybrid modeling research that could provide some foundational support for modelers interested in hybrid modeling approaches for complex natural resource management issues. We categorized these efforts into four classes based on their approaches to hybrid modeling. It appears that, among these classes, PWM requires the most sophisticated approach, indicating that PWM modelers will need to face serious challenges and break new ground in this realm.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1950
Author(s):  
Monika Gajec ◽  
Ewa Kukulska-Zając ◽  
Anna Król

Significant amounts of produced water, spent drilling fluid, and drill cuttings, which differ in composition and characteristics in each drilling operation, are generated in the oil and gas industry. Moreover, the oil and gas industry faces many technological development challenges to guarantee a safe and clean environment and to meet strict environmental standards in the field of processing and disposal of drilling waste. Due to increasing application of nanomaterials in the oil and gas industry, drilling wastes may also contain nanometer-scale materials. It is therefore necessary to characterize drilling waste in terms of nanomaterial content and to optimize effective methods for their determination, including a key separation step. The purpose of this study is to select the appropriate method of separation and pre-concentration of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from drilling wastewater samples and to determine their size distribution along with the state of aggregation using single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (spICP-MS). Two AgNP separation methods were compared: centrifugation and cloud point extraction. The first known use of spICP-MS for drilling waste matrices following mentioned separation methods is presented.


2021 ◽  
Vol 877 (1) ◽  
pp. 012012
Author(s):  
Zahraa N. Mahbouba ◽  
Abdulkhalik K. Mahmood ◽  
Musa H. Alshammari

Abstract Oil and gas sectors generate large amounts of oily wastewater, which is called produced water. In which, it contains high concentrations of hazardous organic and inorganic pollutants. This paper attempts to evaluate the performance and quality of using a polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane (UFM) to treat the produced water of Al-Ahdab oil field (Wassit, Iraq). 8 rectangular flat sheets of polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membrane were used. The area of each is 60 cm2 and pore size about 15 nm used in the experimental work. Prepared UFM is characterized by determining the surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The result showed that the UFM indicated high removal efficiency in all parameters and especially oil and grease and total suspended solid but in general it still less than the requirement of water reuse. The results showed that, a combination of a conventional treatment method and UFM technology have higher efficiency than using UFM only.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afrah AlEdan ◽  
Tohid Erfani

<p>Currently, oil and gas industry dispose the produced water under the ground without treatment and with minimal consideration on the beneficial reuse applications. Yet, in recent years and in response to the worldwide water shortage concerns, produced water management and treatment has gained more attention and interest. Managing produced water is subject to different limitations specially if it is done for offsite applications. This includes the consideration of transportation cost and removal of dispersed and dissolved oil, metals, ammonia, salinity, alkalinity and ion toxicity for human and agricultural use which can result in a greater economic cost in terms of chemical usage and desalination operations. The importance of properly managing produced water is mainly rely on the clear vision of the treating method used which must be defined based on regulatory parameters and reuse standards. This study investigates mathematical modelling and optimisation to include the reuse specification into the produced water quality management and discusses its implication.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abiola Oyatobo ◽  
Amalachukwu Muoghalu ◽  
Chinaza Ikeokwu ◽  
Wilson Ekpotu

Abstract Ineffective methods of increasing oil recovery have been one of the challenges, whose solutions are constantly sought after in the oil and gas industry as the number of under-produced reservoirs increases daily. Water injection is the most extended technology to increase oil recovery, although excessive water production can pose huge damage ranging from the loss of the well to an increase in cost and capital investment requirement of surface facilities to handle the produced water. To mitigate these challenges and encourage the utilization of local contents, locally produced polymers were used in polymer flooding as an Enhanced Oil Recovery approach to increase the viscosity of the injected fluids for better profile control and reduce cost when compared with foreign polymers as floppan. Hence this experimental research was geared towards increasing the efficiency of oil displacement in sandstone reservoirs using locally sourced polymers in Nigeria and also compared the various polymers for optimum efficiency. Starch, Ewedu, and Gum Arabic were used in flooding an already obtained core samples and comparative analysis of this shows that starch yielded the highest recovery due to higher viscosity value as compared to Ewedu with the lowest mobility ratio to Gum Arabic. Finally, the concentration of Starch or Gum Arabic should be increased for optimum recovery.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dejan Brkić ◽  
Pavel Praks

Ships for drilling need to operate in the territorial waters of many different countries which can have different technical standards and procedures. For example, the European Union and European Economic Area EU/EEA product safety directives exclude from their scope drilling ships and related equipment onboard. On the other hand, the EU/EEA offshore safety directive requires the application of all the best technical standards that are used worldwide in the oil and gas industry. Consequently, it is not easy to select the most appropriate technical standards that increase the overall level of safety and environmental protection whilst avoiding the costs of additional certifications. We will show how some technical standards and procedures, which are recognized worldwide by the petroleum industry, can be accepted by various standardization bodies, and how they can fulfil the essential health and safety requirements of certain directives. Emphasis will be placed on the prevention of fire and explosion, on the safe use of equipment under pressure, and on the protection of personnel who work with machinery. Additionally considered is how the proper use of adequate procedures available at the time would have prevented three large scale offshore petroleum accidents: the Macondo Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010; the Montara in the Timor Sea in 2009; the Piper Alpha in the North Sea in 1988.


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