Oil Produced Water treatment for oil removal by an integration of coalescer bed and microfiltration membrane processes

This article presents an experimental investigation of Oil Produced Water (OPW) treatment for oil removal by integration of two processes: coalescer bed and microfiltration membranes (MFs). The objective is to overcome operational problems and limitations that both the processes present when used separately. The coalescer bed was formed by cationic exchange resins, working in upflow condition. The MF unit used a polyetherimide hollow fiber submerged module with a permeation area of 0.5 m(2). The investigations were conducted by using synthetic OPW with oil concentrations of 200-400 mg L-1 and oil droplet diameters from 3 to 8 mu m. In the coalescer bed the fluid velocity ranged from 4.4 to 17.4 m h(-1) and the bed height was 5 cm. The water recovery rate in MF was kept in the range of 0.75-0.90 by using a transmembrane pressure varying from -12 to -30 kPa. The coalecer bed worked in steady state conditions, reaching an efficiency of 35-52%. The overall efficiency of the integrated process reached 93-100% and the oil contents ranged from 0.1 to 14.8 mg L-1. These results indicate that the effluent in the integrated process has quality not only for injection, but also for reuse purposes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.