Produced water treatment design methods in the gas plant: Optimization and controlling

Abstract

Oil and gas industry produces a huge volume of produced water that contains hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and other pollutants. In the oil and gas industry, produced water, treatment, and management represent a growing challenge. Increasing the oil and gas industry activities, the production of produced water is increased all productions areas all over the world. Its treatment for reuse, management, and disposal represents a significant challenge from an environmental perspective. It is estimated that for every 1 barrel of oil produced, there are 8 to 10 barrels of produced water recovered. In this paper, a comparison of the different techniques for the primary and secondary produced water treatment that are widely applied in industry was investigated to choose the best applicable technology to achieve the required treated produced water specification in the gas project. A technical and economic comparison were conducted. It has been found that de-oiling hydrocyclone followed by induced gas flotation unit is the best choice.