Oil Produced Water Treatment Using Reed Remediation Techniques-A Case Study from Sudan
Produced water is the largest single associated waste product in crude oil production.In the oil fields it is a common phenomenon to find a water layer below an oil layer.Thus,oil production is usually accompanied by water.Worldwide experiences estimated that the total production of water is expected to be in the range of five to ten times that of oil,during the economic lifetime of an oilfield.If this produced water is disposed to the environment directly without treatment may cause environmental pollution.In response to growing pressures on air,water,and land resources,global attention has focused in recent years on finding new ways to sustain and manage the environment.It is a great challenge for oil companies to find a best method to dispose produced water in environmentally friendly and optimum economic conditions.Bioremediation is seen as a promising tool in this endeavor because it can provide an effective approach for managing and preserving the environment.The objective of this paper is to give highlights on the concept of bioremediation techniques as applied to treat the produced water in Sudan oil fields at Heglig.In the simplest terms,bioremediation is the use of microorganisms (bacteria or fungi) to decompose toxic pollutants into less harmful compounds.Bioremediation is the optimization of biodegradation.Where biodegradation is a natural process by which microbes alter and break down oil into other substances.The resulting products can be carbon dioxide,and water.The optimization can be accomplished by two forms of technology: 1-fertilizing (adding nutrients) or otherwise (e.g using reed plants) and/or 2-seeding (adding microbes).These additions are sometimes necessary to overcome certain environmental factors that may limit or prevent biodegradation.The paper further discusses the application of this technology to a research/pilot bioremediation project in Heglig-Sudan,which is being implemented with the objectives to biodegrade hydrocarbons from produced water.The project system uses natural plants(reeds-Phragmites Australis) to optimize the biodegradation process.The paper also identifies the potential benefits and gives highlights on the system design and shows some of the very promising results that such a system can naturally biodegrade the hydrocarbons of the produced water.The system operation options,which have been undertaken to obtain optimum results for the biedegradation of the hydrocarbons in the produced water,were discussed.The project is considered as the largest of its kind in the world and it is further hoped that the effects of the project will radiate out beyond Heglig.The system is expected to act as a model approach to oilfield wastewater treatment and will therefore be replicated elsewhere in Sudan as well as in the different parts of the world.
produced water reed bed Phragmites Australis biodegrading hydrocarbons
Siddig Eissa Ahmed
Faculty of Engineering & Arch, Omdurman Ahlia University, Sudan
国际会议
The 5th International Yellow River Forum (第五届黄河国际论坛)
郑州
英文
242-254
2012-09-24（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）