Performance Evaluation of Hybrid Adsorption-Ceramic Membrane Microfiltration Approach for Produced Water Treatment

The huge quantities of water produced along with oil makes it one of the main challenges in oil and gas industry. Oily produced water contains a complex mixture of organic and inorganic materials similar to those found in crude oil and natural gas. There is a need for the application of new technologies to come up with better treatment methods for oily produced water to achieve better quality for beneficial uses such as injection to underground aquifers to enhance oil production, irrigation, aquifer recharge, and various industrial purposes. In this research program, the focus will be on the possibility of treating produced water for beneficial uses by using different adsorbents (organoclay, Granular Activated Carbon and Polymer) with different ratios followed by the effluent passing through ceramic membrane. The objective of combining adsorption with ceramic membrane is the enhancement of pollutant removal and reduction of membrane fouling. The study will investigate the effect of type and volume of adsorbent and the contact time on the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiencies. With the ceramic membrane (either ?-Al2O3 or ZrO2), research work will be carried out to investigate the influence of the parameters like Transmembrane Pressure (TMP), Cross-Flow Velocity (CFV), and oil concentration in feed, dissolved solids, salinity level and pH on the separation process. This can be accomplished by measuring the permeate flux, TOC removal efficiency, heavy metals concentration, COD and salinity. OIW (oil in water) and TSS (Total Suspended Solids) will also be measured. The main parameters to be tested are Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene), Turbidity, pH, EC and Rheological properties of produced water.

The huge quantities of water produced along with oil makes it one of the main challenges in oil and gas industry. Oily produced water contains a complex mixture of organic and inorganic materials similar to those found in crude oil and natural gas. There is a need for the application of new technologies to come up with better treatment methods for oily produced water to achieve better quality for beneficial uses such as injection to underground aquifers to enhance oil production, irrigation, aquifer recharge, and various industrial purposes. In this research program, the focus will be on the possibility of treating produced water for beneficial uses by using different adsorbents (organoclay, Granular Activated Carbon and Polymer) with different ratios followed by the effluent passing through ceramic membrane. The objective of combining adsorption with ceramic membrane is the enhancement of pollutant removal and reduction of membrane fouling. The study will investigate the effect of type and volume of adsorbent and the contact time on the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal efficiencies. With the ceramic membrane (either ?-Al2O3 or ZrO2), research work will be carried out to investigate the influence of the parameters like Transmembrane Pressure (TMP), Cross-Flow Velocity (CFV), and oil concentration in feed, dissolved solids, salinity level and pH on the separation process. This can be accomplished by measuring the permeate flux, TOC removal efficiency, heavy metals concentration, COD and salinity. OIW (oil in water) and TSS (Total Suspended Solids) will also be measured. The main parameters to be tested are Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene), Turbidity, pH, EC and Rheological properties of produced water.