How should the wastewater from electrodesalination in refineries be disposed of?
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As upstream oil fields add many chemical agents during extraction in order to increase production, this results in high levels of suspended solids in the wastewater from refineries. Experiments on sedimentation have shown that these suspended solids are very small and difficult to settle when mixed with water; no significant separation occurs even after leaving the mixture aside for a week. How do refineries deal with the wastewater generated by electrodesalination processes?
Crude oil electrodialysis wastewater is difficult to treat. Firstly, oil removal is necessary; since this type of wastewater contains surfactants (both emulsifiers and demulsifiers fall under the category of surfactants), it is essential to deal with these surfactants by separating the emulsified oil before proceeding with any further biochemical treatments. Secondly, due to the high salt content, and sometimes the presence of sulfides as well, it is advisable to conduct pilot tests on the wastewater or to have a professional water treatment company carry out appropriate process optimization. The salt content of the treated water is also very high; therefore, membrane treatment or evaporation may be necessary.
We have a dedicated set of wastewater treatment equipment; simply leaving it to settle is not enough to handle the waste
Our oil content is within the acceptable limits; the main issue is that the suspended solids cannot be removed.
Isn’t electric desalination wastewater generally sent to wastewater treatment plants?
It seems that the sedimentation is too slow; maybe we can find some agents in this area to accelerate sedimentation