Abstract
A large volume of produced water (PW) has been produced as a result of extensive industrialization and rising energy demands. PW comprises organic and inorganic pollutants, such as oil, heavy metals, aliphatic hydrocarbons, and radioactive materials. The increase in PW volume globally may result in irreversible environmental damage due to the pollutants’ complex nature. Several conventional treatment methods, including physical, chemical, and biological methods, are available for produced water treatment that can reduce the environmental damages. Studies have shown that adsorption is a useful technique for PW treatment and may be more effective than conventional techniques. However, the application of adsorption when treating PW is not well recorded. In the current review, the removal efficiencies of adsorbents in PW treatment are critically analyzed. An overview is provided on the merits and demerits of the adsorption techniques, focusing on overall water composition, regulatory discharge limits, and the hazardous effects of the pollutants. Moreover, this review highlights a potential alternative to conventional technologies, namely, porous adsorbent materials known as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), demonstrating their significance and efficiency in removing contaminants. This study suggests ways to overcome the existing limitations of conventional adsorbents, which include low surface area and issues with reuse and regeneration. Moreover, it is concluded that there is a need to develop highly porous, efficient, eco-friendly, cost-effective, mechanically stable, and sustainable MOF hybrids for produced water treatment.
Highlights
Oil and gas reserves play an essential role in the global economy, and resource use has been intensified over the years to meet rising energy demands [1]
Elsayed and Osman [104] and Mahmudi and Arsad [114] speculate that the availability of exchange sites on the surface area influences the effect of adsorbent dosage on adsorption capacity
Johnson et al [117] and the United States Environmental Protection Agency reported that oil and grease concentrations in produced water (PW) range between 2.3 and 60 mg/L and 2.3 and 38.8 mg/L, respectively
Summary
Oil and gas reserves play an essential role in the global economy, and resource use has been intensified over the years to meet rising energy demands [1]. Several methods of treating PW have been investigated in the literature, some of which involve using physicochemical, biological, and membrane technologies [2,9,10,11,12] Conventional treatment technologies, such as physical methods, require a long retention time, a vast land area, high initial costs, and secondary pollutant production. It has several disadvantages, such as high energy pressure requirements, membrane fouling, and high maintenance costs The drawbacks limit these methods’ applicability at the commercial level because industries require efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly treatment processes. Adsorption is one of the most attractive environmental remediation techniques due to its design simplicity, its low operational cost, and its minimization of chemical or biological sludges It can be applied without high temperature or pressure requirements and may remove harmful chemicals and pollutants from the environment [14]. Future perspectives on PW treatment using eco-friendly, cost-effective, and reusable adsorbents are pointed out, which some believe can decrease our dependence on limited freshwater resources
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