Oil-Sands Produced Water Treatment by Electrocoagulation

加拿大使用了几种技术，将蒸汽注入沥青（油砂）储层，以降低沥青粘度并使石油生产成为可能。因此，石油在高温下产生，与大约三倍体积的水混合。一旦石油被分离出来，水就被处理，输送到蒸汽发生器，再循环到威尔斯井。采出水含有无机和有机污染物的复杂混合物，这些污染物会污染锅炉，通常通过物理和化学处理工艺的组合来去除污染物。大约80%的水以蒸汽的形式回收，剩余的20%作为浓缩的“排污”收集，其中大约一半可以回收，剩余部分被处理掉。这种水处理工艺的投资和运行成本很高，并严重影响环境性能，包括排放水量和补充水的消耗。在当前低油价和环境法规日益严格的环境下，需要新的水处理技术来降低成本并提高油砂生产的环境性能。电凝聚法是一种有效的去除二氧化硅和其它污染物的方法，作为一种新的处理采出水或排污的方法，具有很大的应用潜力。然而，采出水系统中的复杂化学会导致操作和性能问题，需要进行研究以了解去除机制和电极结垢过程，从而为这些应用定制技术。我们的行业合作伙伴正计划将电凝聚法应用于采出水处理。该项目将使他们能够确保电凝聚法尽可能高效地使用。这将降低运营和资本成本，并显著减少水的使用和处置。该项目将涉及调查污染物与电凝聚过程的相互作用，作为操作条件的函数。将使用最先进的仪器来研究污染物去除机制，以提供可靠的性能数据并推荐合适的操作条件。

Several technologies are used in Canada whereby steam is injected into bitumen (oil-sands) reservoirs to reducebitumen viscosity and enable oil production. The oil is thus produced at high temperatures, mixed with aboutthree times the volume of water. Once the oil is separated, the water is treated, fed to the steam generators andrecycled to the wells. The produced water contains a complex mixture of inorganic and organic contaminantsthat can foul the boilers and contaminants are typically removed by a combination of physical and chemicaltreatment processes. Around 80% of the water is recycled as steam, the remaining 20% collected as aconcentrated 'blowdown', around of half of which can be recycled and the remaining part is disposed of. Thiswater treatment process has high capital and operating costs, and critically effects the environmentalperformance including the amount of disposal water and the consumption of make up water. In the currentclimate of low oil prices and increasing environmental regulation, new water treatment technology is needed toreduce costs and enhance the environmental performance of oil sands production. Electrocoagulation iseffective for removal of silica and other contaminants, and there is significant potential for the applicationelectrocoagulation as a new solution for treatment of produced water or blowdown. However, the complexchemistry in produced water systems can lead to operational and performance problems, and research is neededto understand removal mechanisms and electrode fouling processes to tailor the technology for theseapplications. Our industry partner is planning to apply electrocoagulation for the treatment of produced water.The project will enable them to ensure that electrocoagulation is used as efficiently and effectively as possible.This will reduce operating and capital costs and lead to a significant reduction in water use and disposal. Theproject will involve investigation of the interaction of contaminants with the electrocoagulation process, as afunction of the operating conditions. State of the art instruments will be used to investigate the contaminantremoval mechanisms, to provide reliable performance data and recommend suitable operating conditions.