Removal of dissolved organics from produced water by forward osmosis

Unconventional oil and gas extraction generates large quantities of produced water (PW). Due to strict environmental regulations, it is important to recover and reuse PW. In this study, commercial polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were surface-modified with zwitterionic polymer 3-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-l-alanine (l-DOPA) solution to alleviate membrane fouling during the ultrafiltration of shale oil PW of the Permian Basin. UF membranes were coated in l-DOPA solution by using a dip coating technique. Membrane characterization tests confirmed successful l-DOPA coating on UF membranes. While performing the experiments, permeate flux behaviors of the uncoated and coated membranes and antifouling resistance of the zwitterionic coating were evaluated. Among the coated UF membranes with varying coating times from one day to three days, the three-day coated UF membrane showed a good flux performance and the highest fouling resistance. The flux reduced by 38.4% for the uncoated membrane, while the reduction was 16% for the three-day coated membrane after the 5 h ultrafiltration of PW. Both improvements of the flux performance and recovery ratio are attributed to a negatively-charged surface developed on the membranes after the zwitterionic coating. The UF pretreatment also improved the flux behavior of the later forward osmosis (FO) process for PW treatment.

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Novel hydrophilic and hydrophobic amorphous silica: Characterization and adsorption of aqueous phase organic compounds

Adsorption Science & Technology ◽

10.1177/0263617417692339 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 36 (1-2) ◽

pp. 327-342 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Andrea Luca Tasca ◽

Farnaz Ghajeri ◽

Ashleigh J Fletcher

Keyword(s):

Organic Compounds ◽

Aqueous Phase ◽

Produced Water ◽

Ambient Pressure ◽

Adsorption Capacities ◽

Discernible Effect ◽

Dissolved Organics ◽

Bet Analysis ◽

Hydrophobic Materials ◽

The Cost

Very few studies have investigated the adsorption performance of hydrophobic and hydrophilic silicas with dissolved organics in water, which is a required final step during produced water treatment. The cost of functionalization also hinders the use of hydrophobic materials as sorbents. Novel hydrophilic silicas, prepared at low temperature and ambient pressure, were characterised by SEM, FTIR and BET analysis, and studied for the adsorption of aqueous phase organic compounds at concentrations below their solubility limits. Adsorption capacities were found to be up to 264 mg/g for benzene and 78.8 mg/g for toluene. Direct comparison is made with the analogous hydrophobic version of one of the silica materials, demonstrating comparable uptakes for benzene concentrations lower than 50 mg/L. This finding supports the hypothesis that, at very low aqueous phase organic concentrations, hydrophobicization has no discernible effect on access of the pollutants to the internal porosity of the material.

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The Water Flux Dynamic in a Hybrid Forward Osmosis-Membrane Distillation for Produced Water Treatment

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes10090225 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 225

Author(s):

Normi Izati Mat Nawi ◽

Muhammad Roil Bilad ◽

Ganeswaran Anath ◽

Nik Abdul Hadi Nordin ◽

Jundika Candra Kurnia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Treatment ◽

Produced Water ◽

Water Flux ◽

Forward Osmosis ◽

Membrane Distillation ◽

Flux Dynamics ◽

Flux Dynamic ◽

Produced Water Treatment ◽

Dynamic Hybrid ◽

Membrane Wetting

Standalone membrane distillation (MD) and forward osmosis (FO) have been considered as promising technologies for produced water treatment. However, standalone MD is still vulnerable to membrane-wetting and scaling problems, while the standalone FO is energy-intensive, since it requires the recovery of the draw solution (DS). Thus, the idea of coupling FO and MD is proposed as a promising combination in which the MD facilitate DS recovery for FO—and FO acts as pretreatment to enhance fouling and wetting-resistance of the MD. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the effect of DS temperature on the dynamic of water flux of a hybrid FO–MD. First, the effect of the DS temperature on the standalone FO and MD was evaluated. Later, the flux dynamics of both units were evaluated when the FO and DS recovery (via MD) was run simultaneously. Results show that an increase in the temperature difference (from 20 to 60 °C) resulted in an increase of the FO and MD fluxes from 11.17 ± 3.85 to 30.17 ± 5.51 L m−2 h−1, and from 0.5 ± 0.75 to 16.08 L m−2 h−1, respectively. For the hybrid FO–MD, either MD or FO could act as the limiting process that dictates the equilibrium flux. Both the concentration and the temperature of DS affected the flux dynamic. When the FO flux was higher than MD flux, DS was diluted, and its temperature decreased; both then lowered the FO flux until reaching an equilibrium (equal FO and MD flux). When FO flux was lower than MD flux, the DS was concentrated which increased the FO flux until reaching the equilibrium. The overall results suggest the importance of temperature and concentration of solutes in the DS in affecting the water flux dynamic hybrid process.

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The sweet spot of forward osmosis: Treatment of produced water, drilling wastewater, and other complex and difficult liquid streams

Desalination ◽

10.1016/j.desal.2013.11.014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 333 (1) ◽

pp. 23-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 245

Author(s):

Bryan D. Coday ◽

Pei Xu ◽

Edward G. Beaudry ◽

Jack Herron ◽

Keith Lampi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Produced Water ◽

Forward Osmosis ◽

Sweet Spot

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Centrifugal Flotation Technology Evaluation for Dissolved Organics Removal from Produced Water

Produced Water ◽

10.1007/978-1-4614-0046-2_8 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 181-186

Author(s):

Marcel V. Melo ◽

O.A. Pereira Jr ◽

A. Jacinto Jr ◽

L.A. dos Santos

Keyword(s):

Produced Water ◽

Technology Evaluation ◽

Organics Removal ◽

Dissolved Organics

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Effect of biosurfactant as a novel draw solution on photocatalytic treatment and desalination of produced water by different forward osmosis membranes

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2019.154 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 240-250 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Maryam Taghizadeh ◽

Daryoush Yousefi Kebria ◽

Farhad Qaderi

Keyword(s):

Produced Water ◽

Membrane Surface ◽

Water Flux ◽

Forward Osmosis ◽

Cellulose Triacetate ◽

Salt Flux ◽

Draw Solution ◽

Benzene Toluene ◽

Reverse Salt Flux ◽

Contact Angle Analysis

Abstract Water stress and environmental concerns have driven research into the treatment of produced water. In this study, a combination of forward osmosis and photocatalyst system was used for simultaneous salt removal and treatment of produced water. Furthermore, biosurfactant as a novel draw solution and the three types of forward osmosis membranes (cellulose triacetate with and without titanium dioxide (TiO2) and graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles) were investigated. The morphology and distribution of the TiO2 and TiO2/GO on the membrane surface were assessed by various analyses including field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray and contact angle analysis. The results demonstrated that the reverse salt flux was only 0.2 g/m2 h. Moreover, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) removal efficiency in the cellulose triacetate with TiO2 and TiO2/GO membrane under UVC radiation was 62% and 78%, respectively, while the data obtained in visible light reached 80%. The use of TiO2 and TiO2/GO membranes significantly improved the permeability, water flux, photocatalytic degradation of pollutants and desalination of produced water.

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