The design, development, and testing of a standardized treatment system for oilfield brines

The petroleum industry in the eastern United States is dominated by a large number of independent producers. In Western Pennsylvania alone, there are about 1000 producers who operate 45,000 wells. Although most of the producers are small independent businesses, they provide a major economic base for many of the state's counties. In addition to the current economic situation in the oil and gas industry resulting from the decline in crude oil prices, it is anticipated that additional economic duress would result from the necessity to comply with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge standards and Clean Streams Law Part II Water Quality permit requirements. The standardized oil field brine treatment process addressed by this research was designed to meet certain discharge criteria set by DER. The treatment process consists of several sequential unit operations: oil-water separation, aeration and pH adjustment, settling, secondary aeration, and filtration. A comprehensive chemical analysis of the input and effluent streams was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the treatment process. Results indicate the capability of the process to adequately address the problem of oil field brine treatment. The treatment facility is being field tested. In addition to the field testing of the facility, a mathematical model has been developed for scale-up purposes and is being tested using the inputs form the field test.