Integrated method and apparatus for treatment of produced water

An integrated process to treat produced water generated during oil and gas production, comprising the steps of:

• (a) obtaining produced water from an oil and/or gas producing well, water transfer pipeline or salt-water disposal well, wherein the produced water includes:
• heavy metals, oil and grease, water soluble organics, colloidal and suspended solids, and 5,000 to 300,000 ppm of total dissolved solids;
• (b) treating the produced water of step “a” by
• (i) adding an oxidizer selected from the group consisting of:
• oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, bromine, bleach, ClO2, peracetic acid, and combinations thereof;
• and/or
• (ii) subjecting the produced water of step “a” to a treatment selected from the group consisting of:
• ozone, UV, hydroxyl free radicals, and combinations thereof;
• (c) using a microfiltration system to treat the produced water of step “b” until the produced water satisfies each of the following plurality of specified treatment levels:
• heavy metals less than 10 ppm,
• oil and grease less than 100 ppm,
• water-soluble organics less than 100 ppm,
• suspended solids less than 50 ppm, and
• total dissolved solids less than 80% of the total dissolved solids in step “a”;
• wherein the microfiltration system includes a membrane coating having a regenerable surface layer selected from the group consisting of:
• metal oxide powder, aluminosilicates, aluminum oxides, iron oxides, powdered activated carbon, clays, polymeric sorbents, catalysts, and combinations thereof;
• (d) creating a pretreated water stream from the produced water of step “c” by passing it through a packed bed or fluidized bed vessel containing media selected from the group consisting of:
• granulated activated carbon, metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, clays, polymeric sorbents, and combinations thereof thereby decreasing water-soluble organics;
• (e) creating a first volume of pretreated water by sending the pre-treated water stream of step “d” to a pre-treatment water storage tank wherein the storage tank is fluidly connected to the packed bed or fluidized bed vessel;
• and
• (f) using osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (“OARO”) and/or vacuum membrane distillation (“VMD”) to treat a second volume of water from the pre-treatment water storage tank thereby further decreasing levels of total dissolved solids to less than 1000 ppm, and creating at least two output streams selected from the group consisting of:
• a first concentrated water stream,
• a second concentrated water stream,
• a first desalinated water stream,
• a second desalinated water stream,
• a first precipitated solids stream,
• a second precipitated solids stream, and
• combinations thereof,
• wherein creating the generated second stream of desalinated water from the treatment selected from the VMD in step “f” further comprises removing water vapor having ammonia and volatile organics, wherein said water vapor is passed through a sorbent bed having a plurality of sorbents arranged in series to remove said ammonia and volatile organics.

An integrated process to treat produced water generated during oil and gas production, comprising the steps of:

• (a) obtaining produced water from an oil and/or gas producing well, water transfer pipeline or salt-water disposal well, wherein the produced water includes:
• heavy metals, oil and grease, water soluble organics, colloidal and suspended solids, and 5,000 to 300,000 ppm of total dissolved solids;
• (b) treating the produced water of step “a” by
• (i) adding an oxidizer selected from the group consisting of:
• oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, bromine, bleach, peracetic acid, ClO2, and combinations thereof;
• and/or
• (ii) subjecting the produced water of step “a” to a treatment selected from the group consisting of:
• ozone, UV, hydroxyl free radicals, and combinations thereof;
• (c) using a microfiltration system to treat the produced water of step “b” until the produced water satisfies each of the following plurality of specified treatment levels:
• heavy metals less than 10 ppm,
• oil and grease less than 100 ppm,
• water-soluble organics less than 100 ppm,
• suspended solids less than 50 ppm, and
• total dissolved solids less than 80% of the total dissolved solids in step “a”;
• wherein the microfiltration system includes a membrane coating having a regenerable surface layer selected from the group consisting of:
• metal oxide powder, aluminosilicates, aluminum oxides, iron oxides, powdered activated carbon, clays, polymeric sorbents, catalysts, and combinations thereof;
• (d) creating a pretreated water stream from the produced water of step “c” by passing it through a packed bed or fluidized bed vessel containing media selected from the group consisting of:
• granulated activated carbon, metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, clays, polymeric sorbents, and combinations thereof thereby decreasing water-soluble organics;
• (e) creating a first volume of pretreated water by sending the pre-treated water stream of step “d” to a pre-treatment water storage tank wherein the storage tank is fluidly connected to the packed bed or fluidized bed vessel;
• and
• (f) using osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (“OARO”) and/or vacuum membrane distillation (“VMD”) to treat a second volume of water from the pre-treatment water storage tank thereby further decreasing levels of total dissolved solids to less than 1000 ppm, and creating at least two output streams selected from the group consisting of:
• a first concentrated water stream,
• a second concentrated water stream,
• a first desalinated water stream,
• a second desalinated water stream,
• a first precipitated solids stream,
• a second precipitated solids stream, and
• combinations thereof, wherein the generated second stream of desalinated water from the treatment selected from the VMD in step “f” is combined with the generated first stream of desalinated water from the treatment selected from the OARO in step “f” to generate a third stream of desalinated water with reduced level of volatile organics and ammonia.

An integrated process to treat produced water generated during oil and gas

• production, comprising the steps of:
• (a) obtaining produced water from an oil and/or gas producing well, water transfer pipeline or salt-water disposal well, wherein the produced water includes:
• heavy metals, oil and grease, water soluble organics, colloidal and suspended solids, and 5,000 to 300,000 ppm of total dissolved solids;
• (b) treating the produced water of step “a” by
• (i) adding an oxidizer selected from the group consisting of:
• oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, bromine, bleach, peracetic acid, ClO2, and combinations thereof;
• and/or
• (ii) subjecting the produced water of step “a” to a treatment selected from the group consisting of:
• ozone, UV, hydroxyl free radicals, and combinations thereof;
• (c) using a microfiltration system to treat the produced water of step “b” until the produced water satisfies each of the following plurality of specified treatment levels:
• heavy metals less than 10 ppm,
• oil and grease less than 100 ppm,
• water-soluble organics less than 100 ppm,
• suspended solids less than 50 ppm, and
• total dissolved solids less than 80% of the total dissolved solids in step “a”;
• wherein the microfiltration system includes a membrane coating having a regenerable surface layer selected from the group consisting of:
• metal oxide powder, aluminosilicates, aluminum oxides, iron oxides, powdered activated carbon, clays, polymeric sorbents, catalysts, and combinations thereof;
• (d) creating a pretreated water stream from the produced water of step “c” by passing it through a packed bed or fluidized bed vessel containing media selected from the group consisting of:
• granulated activated carbon, metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, clays, polymeric sorbents, and combinations thereof thereby decreasing water-soluble organics;
• (e) creating a first volume of pretreated water by sending the pre-treated water stream of step “d” to a pre-treatment water storage tank wherein the storage tank is fluidly connected to the packed bed or fluidized bed vessel;
• and
• (f) using osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (“OARO”) and/or vacuum membrane distillation to treat a second volume of water from the pre-treatment water storage tank thereby further decreasing levels of total dissolved solids to less than 1000 ppm, and creating at least two output streams selected from the group consisting of:
• a first concentrated water stream,
• a second concentrated water stream,
• a first desalinated water stream,
• a second desalinated water stream,
• a first precipitated solids stream,
• a second precipitated solids stream, and
• combinations thereof, wherein the generated stream of desalinated water from the treatment selected from the VMD in step “f” is cooled to less than 40 C using a heat exchanger, further comprising adjusting said cooled desalinated water to a pH in the range of 6.0 to 8.0 by feeding an acid or base through a feeding pump connected to the heat exchanger, and processing said desalinated water with the adjusted pH through a treatment selected from the group consisting of OARO, RO, and combinations thereof to generate a fourth stream of desalinated water with a reduced level of volatile organics and ammonia.

An integrated process to treat produced water generated during oil and gas production, comprising the steps of:

• (a) obtaining produced water from an oil and/or gas producing well, water transfer pipeline or salt-water disposal well, wherein the produced water includes:
• heavy metals, oil and grease, water soluble organics, colloidal and suspended solids, and 5,000 to 300,000 ppm of total dissolved solids;
• (b) treating the produced water of step “a” by
• (i) adding an oxidizer selected from the group consisting of:
• oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, bromine, bleach, ClO2, peracetic acid, and combinations thereof;
• and/or
• (ii) subjecting the produced water of step “a” to a treatment selected from the group consisting of:
• ozone, UV, hydroxyl free radicals, and combinations thereof;
• (c) using a microfiltration system to treat the produced water of step “b” until the produced water satisfies each of the following plurality of specified treatment levels:
• heavy metals less than 10 ppm,
• oil and grease less than 100 ppm,
• water-soluble organics less than 100 ppm,
• suspended solids less than 50 ppm, and
• total dissolved solids less than 80% of the total dissolved solids in step “a”;
• wherein the microfiltration system includes a membrane coating having a regenerable surface layer selected from the group consisting of:
• metal oxide powder, aluminosilicates, aluminum oxides, iron oxides, powdered activated carbon, clays, polymeric sorbents, catalysts, and combinations thereof;
• (d) creating a pretreated water stream from the produced water of step “c” by passing it through a packed bed or fluidized bed vessel containing media selected from the group consisting of:
• granulated activated carbon, metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, clays, polymeric sorbents, and combinations thereof thereby decreasing water-soluble organics;
• (e) creating a first volume of pretreated water by sending the pre-treated water stream of step “d” to a pre-treatment water storage tank wherein the storage tank is fluidly connected to the packed bed or fluidized bed vessel;
• and
• (f) using osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (“OARO”) and/or vacuum membrane distillation (“VMD”) to treat a second volume of water from the pre-treatment water storage tank thereby further decreasing levels of total dissolved solids to less than 1000 ppm, and creating at least two output streams selected from the group consisting of:
• a first concentrated water stream,
• a second concentrated water stream,
• a first desalinated water stream,
• a second desalinated water stream,
• a first precipitated solids stream,
• a second precipitated solids stream, and
• combinations thereof, wherein the OARO treatment further comprises:
• (i) treating the second volume of water in first and second RO units, wherein the first RO unit has a first RO input and creates a first RO concentrate stream and a first RO permeate stream, and the second RO unit has a second RO input and creates a second RO concentrate stream and second RO permeate stream,
• (ii) wherein the second RO permeate stream is selectively fluidly connected to the first RO input and wherein the second RO concentrate stream is selectively fluidly connected to the second RO permeate stream.

An integrated process to treat produced water generated during oil and gas production, comprising the steps of:

• (a) obtaining produced water from an oil and/or gas producing well, water transfer pipeline or salt-water disposal well, wherein the produced water includes:
• heavy metals, oil and grease, water soluble organics, colloidal and suspended solids, and 5,000 to 300,000 ppm of total dissolved solids;
• (b) treating the produced water of step “a” by
• (i) adding an oxidizer selected from the group consisting of:
• oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, bromine, bleach, ClO2, peracetic acid, and combinations thereof;
• and/or
• (ii) subjecting the produced water of step “a” to a treatment selected from the group consisting of:
• ozone, UV, hydroxyl free radicals, and combinations thereof;
• (c) using a microfiltration system to treat the produced water of step “b” until the produced water satisfies each of the following plurality of specified treatment levels:
• heavy metals less than 10 ppm,
• oil and grease less than 100 ppm,
• water-soluble organics less than 100 ppm,
• suspended solids less than 50 ppm, and
• total dissolved solids less than 80% of the total dissolved solids in step “a”;
• wherein the microfiltration system includes a membrane coating having a regenerable surface layer selected from the group consisting of:
• metal oxide powder, aluminosilicates, aluminum oxides, iron oxides, powdered activated carbon, clays, polymeric sorbents, catalysts, and combinations thereof;
• (d) creating a pretreated water stream from the produced water of step “c” by passing it through a packed bed or fluidized bed vessel containing media selected from the group consisting of:
• granulated activated carbon, metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, clays, polymeric sorbents, and combinations thereof thereby decreasing water-soluble organics;
• (e) creating a first volume of pretreated water by sending the pre-treated water stream of step “d” to a pre-treatment water storage tank wherein the storage tank is fluidly connected to the packed bed or fluidized bed vessel;
• and
• (f) using osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (“OARO”) and/or vacuum membrane distillation (“VMD”) to treat a second volume of water from the pre-treatment water storage tank thereby further decreasing levels of total dissolved solids to less than 1000 ppm, and creating at least two output streams selected from the group consisting of:
• a first concentrated water stream,
• a second concentrated water stream,
• a first desalinated water stream,
• a second desalinated water stream,
• a first precipitated solids stream,
• a second precipitated solids stream, and combinations thereof,
• wherein the OARO and VMD treatment further comprises:
• (i) treating the second volume of water in first and second RO units, wherein the first RO unit has a first RO input and creates a first RO concentrate stream and a first RO permeate stream, and the second RO unit has a second RO input and creates a second RO concentrate stream and second RO permeate stream,
• (ii) wherein the second RO permeate stream is selectively fluidly connected to the first RO input and wherein the second RO concentrate stream is selectively fluidly connected to the second RO permeate stream,
• (iii) a VMD unit having a VMD input and creating a VMD concentrate stream and a VMD permeate stream, wherein
• (iv) the VMD permeate stream is selectively fluidly connected to both the VMD input and the first RO input.