Treatment Technologies

Physical Methods

Class 7
Last class:
• Produce water uses and requirements

• ALWAYS  protect equipment from corrosión and scale and

deposit formation

• EOR  no damage formation and optimize specific Project

• Injection and confining  protect formation

• Steam generation and cooling  avoid corrosión and deposits

• Irrigation and Human consumption  prevent bioaccumulation,

respect safety levels of all chemicals
In this class:
• Physical methods for water treatment
Physical Methods
• Methods for:

• Removal of solids

• Separation of oil-water

• Removal of gas
Removal of Solids
• Filtration

• Flocculation and decantation

Filtration
Filtration
• Different technologies for separation solids from wáter

• Gravel, nutshell, etc

• Membrane and Ceramic

• Nanofiltration

• Reverse Osmosis
Filtration
Filtration
• Micro and Ultrafiltration
• Membrane filters
• Ceramic filters
 Filtration
• Nanofiltration 2-10
nanometers

• Base material 
aluminum or PET
Filtration
• Reverse Osmosis

• Remove ions  SALT

Filtration
Flocculation and Decantation
Flocculation and Decantation
• Coagulants may be aluminium sulphate, ferric
chloride or other, aided or not by a polymer.
Oil Removal
• Based in density differences
• Emulsions

• Important retention time

Oil Removal
Oil Removal
• Flotation cells
Oil removal
• Flotation
Oil removal
• Coalescers
Oil removal
• Hydrocyclone
Dissolved Gas removal
• Gases such as O2, CO2 y H2S are removed for:

• Reducing corrosion

• Reduce bacterial growth

• Maintain physico-chemical properties

• Chemical and physical processes

Physical Dissolved Gas Removal
• Two relevant factors:

• Henry´s law

• Temperature
Dissolved Gas Removal– Henry’s Law
Dissolved Gas Removal
– Temperature

• Higher temperature
 less disolved gases
Gas Stripping
• Gases
• Nitrogen
• Natural Gas

• Antifoam
Gas Stripping
• Vacuum de-
aireation

• Reduce total
pressure

• “boil” (at 25°

0,5psi or 3.5kPa)
Oxygen Exclusion
• Produced water DO NOT has oxygen

• Oxygen enters the system by using surface waters or

mismanagement or mishandling

• AVOID oxygen entering the system in the first place

Oxygen Exclusion
• “Gas blanket”

• Wells  BES cable

• Pumps  cracked
seals

• leakage
In this class:
• Physical methods for cleaning produced water:

• Different technologies for filtration

• Decantation and floculation

• Separation of oil and water

• Different densities

• Removal of gases
• Gas stripping
• Vaccum deareation
• Oxygen exclusión  gas blanket
Next class:
• Exam II

• In two weeks  Treatment technologies – Chemical

methods