Oilfield Wastewater Research Articles

Recycling and re-usage of oilfield produced water – A review

The petroleum sector is one of the fastest expanding businesses, and it helps emerging countries like India thrive economically. Due to the growth of energy demand, the production of crude oil/gas is increasing rapidly. Oil field waste water produced in largest stream during exploration of oil and gas. It contains wide range of pollutants such as petroleum hydrocarbons, mercaptans, oil and grease and other organic compounds. These compounds are found in a very complicated form in the water that the petroleum industry sends out into the earth, which is very harm to the environment either directly or indirectly. In this article, we reviewed how different recycling technologies have been used in the historical and contemporary to deal with oil field wastewater. Various recycling operations like physicochemical and biological processes are used to clean up wastewater from the petroleum industry. The results of recycling process, improves the quality of water which can be used for reinjection along with makeup water for recovery of oil from the reservoir. Also, the treated water can be used for agriculture and many other industrial applications.

Optimization of a combined electrocoagulation-electro-oxidation process for the treatment of Al-Basra Majnoon Oil field wastewater: Adopting a new strategy

The performance of a synergistic combination of electrocoagulation (EC) and electro-oxidation (EO) for oilfield wastewater treatment has been studied. The effect of operative variables such as current density, pH, and electrolyte concentration on the reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was studied and optimized based on Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The results showed that the current density had the highest impact on the COD removal with a contribution of 64.07% while pH, NaCl addition and other interactions affects account for only 34.67%. The optimized operating parameters were a current density of 26.77 mA/cm2 and a pH of 7.6 with no addition of NaCl which results in a COD removal efficiency of 93.43% and a specific energy consumption of 128.6 kWh/kg COD. The most new findings of this research was that currents provided for the two anodes (Al and Graphite having the same surface area) were not equal between them and the current ratio (IAl/IGr) depends on the intensity of current, pH, and addition of NaCl. Besides, higher removal of COD occurs at a lower value of (IAl/IGr). The COD removal reaction was found to be pursued a second-order kinetic with a reaction rate constant (k) of 7.5847 × 10−5 (mg/L)−1/min.

Application of in-situ microbubble method on SEP@MnO2/RGO composite membrane for efficient and long-acting treatment of oil field wastewater

The treatment of oilfield wastewater has been a problem for oil workers for a long time. Indeed, it is economical, efficient and environmental friendly to treat oilfield wastewater with membrane. However, the contamination and stability of membrane limit the application of membranes. This study focuses on improving the long-term integrated treatment of oilfield wastewater by commercial PVDF membranes in different environments. Sepiolite(Sep)@MnO 2 composites were synthesized by hydrothermal method. SEP@MnO 2 and graphene oxide(GO) were left on the commercial PVDF membrane after vacuum filtration. Then the membrane was subjected to 120 vacuum thermal reduction. The prepared Sep@MnO 2 /RGO composite membrane showed good separation result and flux for different proportion of oilfield wastewater. Moreover, it can remove some common salt (NaCl,MgSO 4 , CaCl 2 , MgCl 2 ) and heavy metal ions (Ni 2+ , Fe 3+ , Cr 6+ ) in oilfield wastewater. Even more valuable, a few addition of H 2 O 2 to oilfield wastewater caused an oxidation reaction and the produced in situ microbubbles greatly enhance the antifouling property of the membrane. After 15 cleaning tests and 12 h of cycling, the membrane still showed strong separation ability. Compared with other oil-water separation membranes reported, this membrane demonstrated a longer and better separation effectively. All the work promotes the application of membrane separation technology in oilfield wastewater treatment. Hopefully, the application of in-situ microbubble method on membrane will solve the problem of membrane pollution in oilfield wastewater treatment. • The membrane can effectively treat the oil field wastewater with heavy metals and salts. • The application of in-situ bubble method on the membrane enhances the anti-fouling property of the membrane. • The membrane is qualified in a table and long-active treatment of oilfield wastewater.

Vortex coagulation treatment of oilfield wastewater.

In this study, the traditional coagulation process was optimized and a method of vortex coagulation for wastewater treatment was proposed for the first time. The process discards the sedimentation method used in traditional coagulation and uses agitation to bring flocs up. These flocs can then be stuck by the filter cotton fixed in wastewater, and the filter cotton and flocs can act as net capturing several times under the action of agitation. It is worth noting that the filter cotton and flocs can synergistically adsorb the suspended and organic pollutants from wastewater. The results showed that the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of vortex coagulation could reach 82%, which was 10% higher than that of the traditional coagulation under the same coagulant dosing. In addition, the flocs in conventional coagulation and vortex coagulation were analyzed by IR spectroscopy and XRD, which showed that the mixing process did not destroy the chemical structure of the flocs. Compared with the conventional method, this process does not require a sedimentation tank, which can avoid the investment of equipment construction in this area. The effects of coagulant dosage, pH, stirring speed, and stirring time on the wastewater treatment effects were explored in the experiment.

Enhanced Crude Oil Sorption by Modified Plant Materials in Oilfield Wastewater Treatment.

The treatment of oilfield wastewater with high crude oil content and complex composition is a problem requiring considerable attention. In order to effectively remove crude oil contained in wastewater, in this work, rice straw, as an oil-absorbing material, was modified and used as a sorbent for crude oil. Rice straw was modified with alkali and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) by simple substitution reaction. The adsorption capacity of modified rice straw for oil was evaluated. The results illustrate that the adsorption rate of rice straw for crude oil was increased from 0.83 to 8.49 g/g, with the optimal conditions of 18% NaOH reacted for 90 min at 50 °C and 2% CTAC reacted for 60 min at 20 °C. The proposed modification method could be used for different materials to enhance the adsorption rate. The results of the contact angle test show that the modified straw changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, which may be the main reason for the improvement in the oil absorption rate. Finally, the surface structure of rice straw was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, which further confirmed the hydrophobicity of the modified rice straw.

Synthesis of TiO2@Fe2O3 Nanocomposites as effective Photocatalyst for degradation of p-nitophenol in oilfield wastewater

Synthesis of TiO2@Fe2O3 Nanocomposites as effective Photocatalyst for degradation of p-nitophenol in oilfield wastewater

Morphological and biochemical responses of maize (Zea mays L.) to oil field wastewater pollution

Morphological and biochemical responses of maize (Zea mays L.) to oil field wastewater pollution

Treatment of oil-field produced wastewater by electron beam technology: Demulsification, disinfection and oil removal

The treatment of polymer-containing produced wastewater with high viscosity and emulsification is a challenging issue in the oilfield. In this paper, electron beam (EB) radiation technology was firstly applied to treat the real oilfield produced wastewater. The results showed that the viscosity of the produced wastewater decreased rapidly from initial 3.7 mPa s to 1.5 mPa s after EB radiation at absorbed dose of 1.0 kGy, then it gradually reached the level of pure water at 5.0 kGy. The produced wastewater was negatively charged and the absolute value of zeta potential diminished stepwise during EB radiation process, indicating that the stability of oil/water emulsion decreased. Radiation pretreatment contributed to the oil removal by coagulation. The efficiency of oil removal increased remarkably from 47% by coagulation alone to 85% with EB pretreatment at 1.0 kGy. Radiation is also effective to disinfect the three typical bacteria in oilfield wastewater, saprophytic bacteria (TGB), sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and iron bacteria (IB). More than 99.8% of TGB, SRB and IB were killed at 1.0 kGy, and a complete inactivation was obtained at 2.5 kGy. Oxidation by ·OH radicals formed in water radiolysis is the major pathway to decrease the viscosity and kill the bacteria, while the direct action of EB radiation also plays a role. The members belonging to genera Thauera, Defluviimonas and Comamonadaceae were predominant in the produced wastewater, with a relative abundance of 40%, 19% and 16%. Based on PICRUSt analysis, the function genes related to metabolism exhibit the highest abundance (25%), which increased at 1.0 kGy, and then decreased at 10 kGy, suggesting that EB radiation at low dose might stimulate the bacterial activity.

Treatment of polyacrylamide-containing wastewater by ionizing radiation: Efficient reduction of viscosity and degradation of polyacrylamide

Polyacrylamide is one of the most widely used polymer to enhance oil recovery in oilfield, leading to generation of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM)-containing wastewater, with large amount, high viscosity and emulsification, making the oil droplets and particles in the wastewater stable and difficult to remove. In present work, ionizing radiation was applied to decompose HPAM, thus to reduce the viscosity of HPAM-containing wastewater. During radiation, the viscosity of HPAM solution declined rapidly and the reduction extend was affected slightly by the initial HPAM concentration and pH. The viscosity decreased from 5.2 to 12 mPa s to 1.1–1.6 mPa s at the absorbed dose of 1.0 kGy, while the absolute value of zeta potential also declined rapidly from 116 mV to 79 mV. The removal efficiency of HPAM was 62–78% at 10 kGy at the initial concentrations of 250–1000 mg/L. The molecular weight of HPAM declined from 12,000 kDa–320 kDa at 5 kGy. Gamma radiation might destroy hydrogen bonds of intermolecular and intramolecular HPAM molecules preferentially, leading to the destruction of the curling network structure, thus the reduction of viscosity. The attacks on C–N bond, C–C skeleton, amide and carboxyl groups were also occurred, resulting in the formation of intermediate products, such as aliphatic hydrocarbon, ammonium, ketone, etc. In summary, ionizing radiation is a promising alternative to treat HPAM-containing oilfield wastewater.

СКРИНИНГ УГЛЕВОДОРОДОКИСЛЯЮЩИХ МИКРООРГАНИЗМОВ, ОБЛАДАЮЩИХ УСТОЙЧИВОСТЬЮ К ТЯЖЕЛЫМ МЕТАЛЛАМ И ХЛОРИДУ НАТРИЯ

In the process of extraction of hydrocarbon raw materials, in addition to mechanical disturbance of the soil cover, it is chemically contaminated with hydrocarbons and heavy metals contained in oil and oilfield wastewater, mainly of sodium chloride composition. Combined pollution has a more pronounced adverse effect on plants and soil biocenosis than each pollutant alone and leads to a very rapid loss of soil fertility. The aim of this work was to screen for new strains of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms resistant to elevated concentrations of sodium chloride and heavy metals. Isolation of strains of microorganisms from samples of technogenically contaminated soils from the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan was carried out by the method of enrichment cultures on a liquid mineral medium of Raymond with oil. The hydrocarbon-oxidizing activity of the isolates was determined by the degree of destruction of the aliphatic oil fraction by the gas chromatographic method after extraction with hexane. The resistance of strains to the presence of sodium chloride and heavy metals (Zn, Co, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni) was established by their growth on meat-peptone agar with various concentrations of NaCl or salts of these metals. Of the 14 isolated strains, 6 were selected, most actively growing on a solid medium with oil. The highest abundance and the most significant hydrocarbon-oxidizing activity during cultivation in a liquid medium with oil was found in strain 22 (the degree of oil biodegradation was 93.0%). All microorganisms were halotolerant and grew at 5 and 7% sodium chloride in the medium, but cultures 11 and 41, which withstood a NaCl concentration of 10%, turned out to be the most resistant to salinity. Strains 33.1 and 33.2 had the highest resistance to the action of metals. Lead and zinc were the least toxic to microorganisms. The results obtained should be considered preliminary, and the isolates themselves need further research with a view to their possible application in ecobiotechnology.

Effect of Season on the Microbial Quality of Oilfield Wastewater and Receiving Pond

Effect of Season on the Microbial Quality of Oilfield Wastewater and Receiving Pond

Study on Catalytic Degradation of Oilfield Wastewater Containing Polymer by Non-equilibrium Plasma and AC/Mn + TiO2

Study on Catalytic Degradation of Oilfield Wastewater Containing Polymer by Non-equilibrium Plasma and AC/Mn + TiO2

An experimental study on effects of oily content on flow pattern transition over horizontal tubes in a sewage source heat pump system

The spray sewage heat exchanger is better used for sewage source heat pump systems due to its simple structure and good anti-blocking characteristics. To maintain high heat transfer efficiency of using oilfield wastewater, an experimental sewage source heat pump system is built and experimental studies are carried out to investigate the falling film flow patterns of oily wastewater over the horizontal tubes of spray sewage heat exchanger and effects of oily content. The critical spray density for flow pattern transition is clarified based on visualization by high-speed camera, and the influence of spray temperature and oily content are further analyzed. It is found the flow pattern transition is delayed with the critical spray density increased by 3%–12% when the oily content is raised from 0% to 20%, due to the higher temperature reduces the viscosity of the fluid. The critical spray density of flow pattern transition is also influenced by the spray temperature, which reduce the critical spray density from column flow to column-sheet flow from 0.0828 kg m−1 s−1 at 46 °C to 0.0782 kg m−1 s−1 at 65 °C for wastewater of 15% oily content. The tube surface temperature is further analyzed, and different high heat transfer performance regions are specified with a higher range of spray density for oily wastewater.

A novel recyclable nano-adsorbent for enhanced oil recovery with efficient removal of Ca2+ and Cr6+ from oilfield wastewater

A novel recyclable nano-adsorbent for enhanced oil recovery with efficient removal of Ca2+ and Cr6+ from oilfield wastewater

Tracing sources of oilfield wastewater based on excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with chemical pattern recognition techniques

In order to prevent the illegal discharge of oilfield wastewater, this work proposed excitation-emission matrix fluorescence (EEMF) spectroscopy coupled with two kinds of chemical pattern recognition methods for tracing the sources of oilfield wastewater. The first pattern recognition method was built from the relative concentrations extracted by alternating trilinear decomposition (ATLD) based on partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) algorithm, and the other one was modeled based on strictly multi-way partial least squares-discriminant analysis (N-PLS-DA). Both methods showed good discrimination abilities for oilfield wastewater samples from three different sources. The total recognition rates of the training and prediction sets are 100%, the values of sensitivity and selectivity are 1. This study showed that EEMF spectroscopy combined with chemical pattern recognition techniques could be used as a potential tool for tracing the sources of oilfield wastewater.

Electrodeposition of Ni-W/TiO2 Composite Coatings on Q345 Pipeline Steel and their Corrosion Resistance and Anti-fouling Performance in Simulated Oilfield Wastewater

Electrodeposition of Ni-W/TiO2 Composite Coatings on Q345 Pipeline Steel and their Corrosion Resistance and Anti-fouling Performance in Simulated Oilfield Wastewater

Impact of Oil field Wastewater from Santa Barbara Oil Rig Location on the Microbial Population of Santa Barbara River in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Impact of Oil field Wastewater from Santa Barbara Oil Rig Location on the Microbial Population of Santa Barbara River in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Impact of Oilfield Wastewater on Microbial Population of Cawthorne Channel in Rivers State, Nigeria

Impact of Oilfield Wastewater on Microbial Population of Cawthorne Channel in Rivers State, Nigeria

Oilfield wastewater contaminants removal efficiencies of three indigenous plants species in a free water surface flow constructed wetland

Oilfield wastewater contaminants removal efficiencies of three indigenous plants species in a free water surface flow constructed wetland

Performance evaluation of an industrial ceramic nanofiltration unit for wastewater treatment in oil production

An industrial ceramic nanofiltration membrane (pore size 0.9 nm) was tested in a Canadian oil field for more than 12,500 h to treat wastewater directly from daily operations, without any type of pre-treatment. This wastewater contained a high content of total suspended solids (13 to 510 mg/kg), and total organic carbon (31 to 134 mg/kg). The membrane unit was operated at different transmembrane pressure (TMP) set points (4–16 bar) and recovery set points (40–80%). The data show that ion and compound rejection depend strongly on a combination of both TMP and recovery, with the largest rejection occurring at low recovery values and high TMP values. Two mechanisms were responsible for rejection: sieving, which mostly impacted compound rejection, and electrostatic phenomena that impacted ion rejection. It is shown that ion rejection depends linearly on charge density of the ion. Ion rejection was measured as high as 85% and compounds (such as TSS) were rejected as high as 100%. The specific flux varied between 1–10 L/(m2.h.bar). Results from this field testing indicate the possibility of using these types of ceramic membranes for oil field wastewater treatment.