Abstract
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.
Highlights
In oil and gas industry, the volume of produced water (PW) increases with oilfields’age
The growth curves and growth rates for both Galdieria sulphuraria and Chlorella vulgaris are presented in Figure 1 and Table 3, respectively
The biomass density of G. sulphuraria at these experiments surpassed that of the standard media
Summary
In oil and gas industry, the volume of produced water (PW) increases with oilfields’age. In oil and gas industry, the volume of produced water (PW) increases with oilfields’. In the United States alone, onshore oil and gas extraction operations generate an estimated 24 billion barrels of PW annually, making it the largest waste stream associated with the upstream development of petroleum hydrocarbons [1]. Produced water has a complex composition, containing inorganic and organic components and dissolved and dispersed oils and grease components. There are heavy metals, dissolved gases, treating chemicals, radionuclides, scaling products, microorganisms, etc. Most of the PW is reinjected into the disposal wells and it is more expensive to reinject than to treat the PW. The cost of treating one barrel of PW is 0.775 USD, whereas the reinjection cost is 0.75–80 USD per barrel [3]. According to the grand view research report, the global PW treatment market size is 5.8 billion USD in 2015 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 6.0% through 2024 [4]
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