Abstract
Unconventional oil and gas extraction generates large quantities of produced water (PW). Due to strict environmental regulations, it is important to recover and reuse PW. In this study, commercial polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were surface-modified with zwitterionic polymer 3-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-l-alanine (l-DOPA) solution to alleviate membrane fouling during the ultrafiltration of shale oil PW of the Permian Basin. UF membranes were coated in l-DOPA solution by using a dip coating technique. Membrane characterization tests confirmed successful l-DOPA coating on UF membranes. While performing the experiments, permeate flux behaviors of the uncoated and coated membranes and antifouling resistance of the zwitterionic coating were evaluated. Among the coated UF membranes with varying coating times from one day to three days, the three-day coated UF membrane showed a good flux performance and the highest fouling resistance. The flux reduced by 38.4% for the uncoated membrane, while the reduction was 16% for the three-day coated membrane after the 5 h ultrafiltration of PW. Both improvements of the flux performance and recovery ratio are attributed to a negatively-charged surface developed on the membranes after the zwitterionic coating. The UF pretreatment also improved the flux behavior of the later forward osmosis (FO) process for PW treatment.
Highlights
Produced water (PW) is the remaining waste water after the fluids in the reservoir are returned back from the oil and gas wells and separated
We present a facile and cost-effective method to reduce the membrane fouling during the UF filtration of PW obtained from shale oil hydraulic fracking of the Permian Basin
The findings proved that the had a positive effect on the flux behavior of the the flux behavior of the forward osmosis (FO) membranes
Summary
Produced water (PW) is the remaining waste water after the fluids in the reservoir (oil/gas/water) are returned back from the oil and gas wells and separated. The fresh water required for oil and gas extraction in the Permian Basin is mostly. Membrane technologies are capable of treating complex waste streams at high salinity with reduced waste They have several advantages over the conventional methods, including lower energy consumption, higher product quality, and compact module [13]. We present a facile and cost-effective method to reduce the membrane fouling during the UF filtration of PW obtained from shale oil hydraulic fracking of the Permian Basin. Commercial polyethersulfone (PES) UF membranes were surface-modified in zwitterionic polymer 3-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-l-alanine (l-DOPA) solution by using a dip coating technique Zwitterionic materials have both positively and negatively-charged groups and interact with water electrostatically, and hydrate the surface by forming hydration layers against the foulant particles. The zwitterion-modified membrane was used in the pretreatment of the Permian Basin PW
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