Exploration & Production Technology
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Afternoon Wrap-Up: An Overview of Produced Water Treatment Technologies
James C. Robinson, P.E., Sr. Water Technology Engineer, EPTG Nov. 8, 2007
Recent Water Technology in the News
From industry byproduct to usable resource: Company unveils water purification system for natural gas wells www.daily-times.com/ci_6588245 Texas A&M to host demonstration of produced water purification unit www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18641031 Technology may hold refinery solution www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070809/LOCAL/708090528 Water, nanotechnology's promises, and economic reality www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=2372.php Innovative technologies are applied to phase out shallow-water disposal in Oman www.eandpnet.com/area/prod/530.htm TX commission approves projects to recycle water at Barnett shale gas drilling sites www.rrc.state.tx.us/news-releases/2006/103106.html
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The Plan
Basis of Design Treatment Technologies Resources for Additional Information
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Operations and Technologies Offshore
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Produced Water Treatment Objectives
De-oiling primarily for discharge to the environment De-sanding primarily for Re-Injection (PWRI) Pollutant reduction/removal soluble pollutants, metals, etc.
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Produced Water Treatment Basis of Design
Influent water quality characterization Produced Water characteristics: WSOs, Solids, Temperature Produced Oil properties (API gravity, Oil-in-water droplet size distribution) Temporal Variability / Dynamic (hourly & over life of facility) Produced water flowrate Oil-in-water concentration Solids concentration and particle size in produced water Effluent water quality treatment specifications Overboard discharge Environmental Protection Discharge Limitations (Oil-in-Water, Toxicity, etc.) Produced Water Re-Injection (PWRI) Equipment Operability (pumps, flowlines, screens) Sustainable Injectivity (formation plugging)
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Technology Selection Additional Considerations
Water Injection Necessity / Benefits (Enabled / Improved Production) Produced Water Re-Injection (PWRI) Seawater Injection Production chemicals, Well Treatment, Flow Assurance (Impacts) Weight / Footprint Motion (Floating Facilities) Reliability / Redundancy Operability / Simplicity / Maintenance Intensity Scale & Corrosion Management (inhibition) Amenable to future modification / modular design
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Production Chemical Impacts
Production chemicals are required to protect the production system and achieve target oil and water specifications Hydrate Inhibitor Corrosion Inhibitor Demulsifier Water clarifiers Most production chemicals are surface active agents Overdosing or incompatible chemicals can create problems Corrosion Inhibitors might impact separation and water quality Excess demulsifier can create emulsions
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Technology Identification
Treatment Technologies: Reliability / Redundancy Size / Weight
Starting Point: Water Quality Flow / Variability Field Life Chemicals EPT
Hydrocyclones IGF/MBF/DGF/CFU Coalescers Absorption Media Filtration Membrane Filtration Extraction Oxidation Evaporation Re-Injection Chemicals
End Point: Treatment Specifications (Re-Use / Disposal) Environmental Protection
The Plan
Basis of Design Treatment Technologies Resources for Additional Information
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Established / Recent / Emerging Technologies
De-Sanding / Solids Filtration Gravity separation De-Sanding (Solid/Liquid) Hydrocyclones Media filtration (sand filter / dual media filter / deep bed filter) Physical barrier (cartridge / sock) Membrane Separation (MF) De-Oiling Gravity separation Coalescence enhanced gravity separation De-Oiling (Liquid/Liquid) Hydrocyclones Gas Flotation Absorption (organoclay, etc.) Walnut Shell Media Filtration Membrane Separation (ceramic, vibrating)
Established Recent Emerging
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Established / Recent / Emerging Technologies
Polishing - soluble pollutant removal Absorption (Activated Carbon, Organoclay, etc.) Aeration & sedimentation (for iron removal) Partitioning Manipulation (enticing soluble pollutants into oil phase prior to De-Oiling) Solvent Extraction Biological treatment (membrane bio-reactor, fixed film, etc.) Oxidation Membrane Separation (UF & NF)
Polishing - salinity reduction Membrane Separation (RO) Ion Exchange Electrodialysis (ED) Evaporation (Freeze/Thaw, ponds, etc.) Thermal distillation
Polishing - salinity reduction & soluble pollutant removal Membrane Separation (RO) Constructed Wetlands
Established Recent Emerging
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Typical 3-Phase Separation
Ga s Foam
Free Settling Hindered Settling Dense Packed
Water Sand EPT Section Through Separator
Primary Oil / Water Separation Technologies
SEPARATOR TYPE API Separator CPI / TP Separator DGF / IGF Gas Flotation De-Oiling Hydrocyclones Coalescing Media Filtration Absorption Media Filtration Membrane Filtration TECHNOLOGY Gravity Gravity w/Coalescer Gas Flotation Centrifugal Force Adsorption Absorption Barrier OIL DROPLET SIZE REMOVAL >150 m >50 m >20 m >10 m >2 m <2 m <1 m
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De-Oiling Technology Cost & Capability
Membrane Filtration
Generally
Absorbent Media Filtration
Cost
Gas Flotation
De-Oiling Hydrocyclones
0 10 20 30 40 50
Typical Minimum Effluent Oil-in-Water Concentration Achieved (ppm)
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Gas Flotation
Injected gas bubbles attach to oil droplets, reducing their density Most effective when gas bubbles size < oil droplet size Oil is then skimmed off as a froth (a.k.a. float) Gas is introduced IGF mechanically via paddles or via eductor DGF - dissolving under pressure and then releasing Typically delivers 25 ppm oil-in-water concentration from inlet containing oil droplets larger than 20 m More effective with chemical addition (coagulants + flocculants) Can remove up to 70% suspended solids Disadvantages Sensitive to platform motion (due to surface skimming) Poor response to change in feed concentrations or flow rates
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Units are typically large / bulky and heavy
Gas Flotation - Rise Velocity Comparison
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Gas Flotation Float
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Gas Flotation Equipment Mechanical IGF
Belt drive Shaft
Motor Gas drawn in Skimmer paddles Weir Disperser breaks gas into minute bubbles
Disperser hood
Disperser
Launder
T71
T71 Rotor
Oil reject
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Vertical IGF
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Horizontal, Multi-Chamber, Gas Flotation
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Dissolved Gas Flotation (DGF)
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Compact Flotation Unit (CFU)
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De-Oiling Hydrocyclones
Advantages Small footprint, compact Efficient - typical performance 20 mg/l Motion independent Inlet feed quality - Typically >10 micron No chemical generally required Low maintenance Disadvantages Min. operating pressure drop (4-5bar) Flow operating range too much or too little flow causes drop in efficiency Solids erosion / carryover
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De-Oiling Hydrocyclones
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De-Oiling Hydrocyclones
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Coalescers
Oil Droplets Captured On Fibres or resin Fibre or resin bed
Coalescence is the formation / combination of smaller droplets into larger droplets Coalescence takes place on the fibres of a cartridge, within a resin bed or a structured packing Disadvantages: blockage by solids / requires pre-filtration surface deactivation by surface active chemicals Droplet size dependent
Adjacent Droplets Coalesce
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Typical Onshore Treatment for Re-Injection
Characteristics Relatively long retention times for gravity separation are feasible due to practicality of installing larger tanks Relatively high treatment specification for oil-in-water concentration due to PWRI Standard Technologies Employed Gravity Separation (Gun-Barrel Separator)
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Typical Offshore Treatment for Discharge
Characteristics Relatively short retention times for gravity separation due to necessity for minimal vessel weight and footprint Relatively low treatment specification for oil-in-water concentration due to environmental discharge limits Standard Technologies Employed - Pre~1990s: Skimmer vessel, followed by Mechanical Induced Gas Flotation Standard Technologies Employed - Post~1990s: De-oiling Hydrocyclones, followed by Degasser vessel or Gas Flotation Supplemental (Tertiary) Technology (if/when necessary) Absorption filtration
(carbon, organoclay, proprietary clay-products)
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Generalities
A single Water Treatment Technology is usually not a complete solution Often, treatment in stages is necessary Often, pre-treatment is necessary to protect and enable downstream processes Real systems have variations in flowrate, water quality Real systems are subject to abuse, neglect and operating errors Often, treatment processes will concentrate pollutants into a smaller volume of water (often 5% - 35%), which will have highly concentrated pollutants, and will still require disposal or management. For Example:
1000 bbls volume
800 bbls volume
water treatment technology process
&
100 ppm pollutants 1 ppm pollutants treated water
200 bbls volume 496 ppm pollutants concentrate
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wastewater
Key Points Technology Selection
Design the produced water oil-in-water removal system based on: Water quality in (from wells, separators) Water quality out (specifications for discharge/PWRI) Oil droplet size distribution Variability in flowrate / oil concentration / solids / etc. Production chemicals / WSOs / solids / scale Future expandability / modifications Demands: operability / weight / footprint Take Produced Water Treatment Seriously Critical to Oil Production
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The Plan
Basis of Design Treatment Technologies Resources for Additional Information
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