TY - JOUR
T1 - Beneficial use of co-produced water through membrane treatment
T2 - technical-economic assessment
AU - Xu, Pei
AU - Drewes, Jörg E.
AU - Heil, Dean
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the US Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) for its financial, technical, and administrative assistance in funding and managing the project through which this information was derived. The comments and views detailed herein may not necessarily reflect the views of the BOR, its officers, directors, affiliates or agents. The authors also thank Paul Mendell with Mendell Energy, Inc. for his financial and technical support, and Toray America, Koch Membrane Systems, and Dow/Filmtec for providing membrane elements. The authors are also grateful to Christopher Bellona and Christophe Jacques, Colorado School of Mines for testing assistance.
PY - 2008/5/1
Y1 - 2008/5/1
N2 - Large amounts of co-produced water are generated during natural gas production. This study investigated the viability and cost effectiveness of ultra-low pressure reverse osmosis (ULPRO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes as potential techniques for beneficial use of produced water by meeting potable and irrigation water quality standards and concentrating iodide in the brine. A 2-stage laboratory-scale membrane testing unit was employed to examine rejection of various constituents of concern at a low and high recovery using produced water generated from sandstone aquifers. The performance of two ULPRO membranes TFC-ULP (Koch) and TMG10 (Toray America) and one NF membrane NF-90 (Dow/Filmtec) was compared to a conventional RO membrane (TFC-HR, Koch). These membranes were pre-selected during previous bench-scale experiments with regard to specific flux, fouling propensity, salts and organics rejection, and iodide recovery efficiency. Of the membranes tested, the NF-90 achieved the highest specific flux. The salt rejection and iodide recovery by the NF-90, however, were much lower than the RO and ULPRO membranes tested. The permeate quality of the NF-90 met USEPA National Primary Drinking Water Standards, but exceeded the Secondary Standards regarding chloride and total dissolved salts. The two ULPRO membranes TMG10 and TFC-ULP, exhibited a higher specific flux as compared to the TFC-HR while displaying a similar rejection, notably the TMG10 which showed a very stable rejection at low and high recoveries. Cost analysis showed that the ULPRO membrane system provided marginally lower overall O&M costs than RO for meeting drinking water standards. The ULPRO membrane operation resulted in even lower treatment cost than RO and NF for meeting irrigation water standards, especially at high energy cost. Findings from these studies indicated that ULPRO membranes can provide a viable and cost-effective solution to beneficial use of produced water from sandstone aquifers.
AB - Large amounts of co-produced water are generated during natural gas production. This study investigated the viability and cost effectiveness of ultra-low pressure reverse osmosis (ULPRO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes as potential techniques for beneficial use of produced water by meeting potable and irrigation water quality standards and concentrating iodide in the brine. A 2-stage laboratory-scale membrane testing unit was employed to examine rejection of various constituents of concern at a low and high recovery using produced water generated from sandstone aquifers. The performance of two ULPRO membranes TFC-ULP (Koch) and TMG10 (Toray America) and one NF membrane NF-90 (Dow/Filmtec) was compared to a conventional RO membrane (TFC-HR, Koch). These membranes were pre-selected during previous bench-scale experiments with regard to specific flux, fouling propensity, salts and organics rejection, and iodide recovery efficiency. Of the membranes tested, the NF-90 achieved the highest specific flux. The salt rejection and iodide recovery by the NF-90, however, were much lower than the RO and ULPRO membranes tested. The permeate quality of the NF-90 met USEPA National Primary Drinking Water Standards, but exceeded the Secondary Standards regarding chloride and total dissolved salts. The two ULPRO membranes TMG10 and TFC-ULP, exhibited a higher specific flux as compared to the TFC-HR while displaying a similar rejection, notably the TMG10 which showed a very stable rejection at low and high recoveries. Cost analysis showed that the ULPRO membrane system provided marginally lower overall O&M costs than RO for meeting drinking water standards. The ULPRO membrane operation resulted in even lower treatment cost than RO and NF for meeting irrigation water standards, especially at high energy cost. Findings from these studies indicated that ULPRO membranes can provide a viable and cost-effective solution to beneficial use of produced water from sandstone aquifers.
KW - Desalination
KW - Iodide recovery
KW - Nanofiltration
KW - Produced water
KW - Ultra-low pressure reverse osmosis
KW - Water reuse
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=39749180405&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.desal.2007.04.093
DO - 10.1016/j.desal.2007.04.093
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:39749180405
SN - 0011-9164
VL - 225
SP - 139
EP - 155
JO - Desalination
JF - Desalination
IS - 1-3
ER -