Development of Separation Technologies for the Reuse of Produced Water for Oil and Gas Operations

Reuse of produced water for oil and gas extraction, or other beneficial reuse applications can reduce stress on freshwater resources. Produced water is the aqueous phase that is co-extracted with oil and gas from underground formations. It generally contains several constituents that require removal before reuse including particulate, oil and grease, dissolved organics, dissolved salts, and other constituents.

In one reuse application, water treatment processes are used to convert produced water into desalinated water to support steam flooding operations. Steam flooding is an enhance oil recovery (EOR) process in which steam is injected into oil and gas reservoirs to increase production. In some cases, reverse osmosis (RO) processes are used to remove the hardness and total dissolved solids in produced water to meet steam flooding boiler feed requirements. There are several potential challenges in desalinating produced water for steam flood due to the presence of foulants, high hardness, and high temperatures.

This presentation will examine challenges and R&D efforts in produced water treatment for beneficial reuse and disposal. Specifically, the talk will examine developments in removal of organics, high temperature reverse osmosis, and zero liquid discharge technologies.