Smart water treatment solution expands water reuse in the oil and gas industry
Oil and gas are the lifeblood of modern society. However, their industrial water consumption is a major drain on limited water supplies. In particular, this industry is considered one of the eight most intensive water users – large amounts of water are required for both upstream (oil extraction) and downstream (refining of petroleum crude oil) operations.
Transitioning to a ‘one-water’ paradigm
The variability of wastewater from the oil and gas sector is one of the most critical issues that hinder the production of fit-for-purpose water – treating used water to a quality acceptable for the intended reuse. Examples of reuse include irrigation, firefighting flow testing, gas reinjection, cooling and boilers. “Applying circular economy principles to water is the only way to ensure the sustainability of this resource. INTEGROIL clearly helps industries reuse wastewater for valuable applications, closing the circle and reducing the pressure on natural resources,” says Ana Jiménez-Banzo, Head of Innovation Management at ACCIONA Agua. Fit-for-purpose water is therefore a critical transitional step towards this paradigm. With EU funding of the INTEGROIL project, the Spain-based company together with other partners developed an integrated solution that can treat highly complex and variable industrial waters, producing water of acceptable quality for many uses. “Reuse of treated wastewater typically accounts for 5-15 % in the oil and gas industry. INTEGROIL’s solution will increase this amount by around 40-60 %, dramatically helping reduce the industry’s water dependence on fresh resources,” notes Jiménez-Banzo.
Key technologies of the treatment platform
INTEGROIL technology is a plug-and-play integrated solution that comprises five different technologies operating in a smart way thanks to a decision support system (DSS). “The DSS is a key component that brings intelligence to our solution. It can dynamically adjust the treatment scheme needed to achieve the water quality targets for a particular water reuse application and provides advice on the specific technology that should be activated, depending on the case,” explains Jiménez-Banzo. Each of INTEGROIL's five different technologies is aimed at removing a specific fraction/contaminant of the wastewater. The DSS element is in charge of identifying and activating/deactivating the most suitable combination of individual technologies (16 possible combinations), depending on the wastewater to be treated, the reuse application and operational efficiency criteria. In short, there is a dissolved air flotation module for removing suspended solids and a ceramic membrane filtration module, alone or as part of a membrane bioreactor, for removing suspended or colloidal matter. Furthermore, there are two different advanced oxidation processes (catalytic wet air oxidation and ozone/hydrogen peroxide) for removing different types of organic matter, and a reverse osmosis step for reducing salinity.
Demonstration activities
The five technologies that the DSS effectively manages were successfully tested in a pilot demonstration plant in two representative applications from the oil sector. Results showed that wastewater reuse exceeded 50 %. “An additional advantage that makes the deployment of INTEGROIL technology at large scale easier is that it does not require a high degree of expertise in water treatment – the DSS can activate and deactivate processes on its own,” concludes Jiménez-Banzo.
Keywords
INTEGROIL, reuse, wastewater, water treatment, DSS, oil and gas, fit-for-purpose water, industrial water, decision support system
