Water Treatment for Oil & Gas

Water treatment for oil & gas: methods and processes

Of course, methods and processes used in water treatment for oil & gas vary with each individual plant and with the contaminant concentration itself, which is why it is always essential to conduct effluent analysis with pilot units.

Undoubtedly, however, some fairly “typical” water treatment methods can be found.

• De-oiling. This is a process that separates oils and fats from wastewater by taking advantage of the increased gravity of some only components.
• Biological treatment. In this case, aerobic microorganisms (operating in the presence of oxygen) or anaerobic microorganisms (in the absence of that element) work to degrade the organic matter present in wastewater, lowering the BOD and COD component still present in oil & gas industry wastewater.
• Chemical treatment. Chemicals are often required, net of installed technologies, to support contaminants from wastewater.

MITA Water Technologies' solutions for oil & gas wastewater

MITA Water Technologies’ solutions are also designed to meet the needs of petroleum industries, including refineries and fuel depots.

These are some of the technologies successfully used over the years.

• Oilpack lamella-pack oil separators. They are simple and compact systems, ideal for the petrochemical industry especially as a prior to biological treatment: in fact, substances such as oils, phenols and hydrocarbons are likely to inhibit subsequent purification steps if not properly pretreated.
• Biorulli® biodiscs for biological oxidation. They are a reliable, robust and easy-to-use solution that takes advantage of aerobic bacteria (i.e., in the presence of oxygen) to break down organic matter. Specific articles in the literature on the abatement of oils, hydrocarbons and phenols with biological treatment using biodiscs are also well known.This is why the first installations of our system have been carried out in the oil & gas sector and where we have the most references. Both process water (refineries) and storm water, tank drainage and “clearing” water (deposits) are purified in this way. As in most industrial applications, Biorulli® are preceded and followed by other treatment steps.
• Mitadaf dissolved air flotation unit. Compactness, oil or sludge removal efficiency, easy integration into existing systems: Mitadaf is an excellent choice upstream of biological purification systems. In addition, oil depots and refineries are large establishments: the rain and runoff water that falls on their yards is rich in oils and needs treatment by an effective solution like Mitadaf.
• Pile cloth filters. In some cases, when most of the oils and emulsifiers have already been treated, it is useful to leverage the tremendous efficiency of free-fiber cloth filters for the removal of suspended solids-the ideal solution for wastewater finishing, especially for the purpose of reuse within production processes.

Water reuse in the oil & gas industry

As mentioned above, oil depots and refineries are large establishments: the need therefore arises to treat the large amounts of rainwater that fall on the forecourts.

The reuse of process water is a unique opportunity for industries: all sectors are beginning to take advantage of it in terms of optimizing resources and internal processes by managing the water footprint.

Based on its experience, MITA Water Technologies efficiently uses its flotation units and, in some cases, cloth filters to treat and reuse industrial wastewater from the oil & gas sector.