Development of an Advanced, Membrane-Based Water Treatment Process for Produced Water from the Petroleum Industry

缺乏清洁的淡水是一个迫在眉睫的严重关切问题。它对发展中国家和发达国家的人民都产生了不利影响，联合国预测，在短短十多年内，世界上近一半的人口将持续缺水。石油和天然气开采过程需要大量的水来生产所需的产品；然而，与这些产品一起，它们也会产生一种称为采出水的高度复杂的废流。 处理采出水是一种日益增长的必要做法，不仅可以减少其对环境和人类福祉的不利影响，而且还可以改善可供再利用的水资源。采出水是一种成分复杂的复杂废水，随时间和地质条件的不同而变化，但其盐度升高仍然是处理和回用的关键限制之一。 加拿大能源公司Petro-Techna International Ltd.和兰伯顿学院致力于开发一种低成本、高性能和耐用的纳米工程复合膜，用于直接接触膜蒸馏(DCMD)，用于有效处理与石油和天然气行业相关的高盐度工业废水。拟议的应用研究项目的主要目标是合成和优化一系列高度疏水的纳米复合膜，这些膜具有高孔隙率、优异的防污染和润湿性能、优异的机械和化学稳定性以及低成本，用于处理加拿大及其他地区的石油和天然气行业的产出水。这一应用研究合作的成功完成将大大有利于石油技术国际有限公司，并有可能增加他们的年收入以及技术和专业人员队伍。这项技术将对环境产生积极和持久的影响，因为石油和天然气生产对淡水的需求将大大减少，导致未经处理的废水排放到环境中的数量大幅减少。

Scarcity of clean, fresh water is an issue of immediate and grave concern. It adversely impacts people from both developing and developed countries and the United Nations has predicted that in just over a decade, nearly half the world population will experience persistent water shortages. Oil and gas extraction processes require large quantities of water to produce desired products; however, along with such products, they also generate a highly complex waste stream known as produced water. Treatment of produced water is a growing and necessary practice that not only curtails its adverse effects on the environment and our well-being, but also improves available water resources for reuse. Produced water is a complex waste stream with inconstant composition, which varies with temporal and geologic conditions, but its elevated salinity remains one of the key limitations for treatment and reuse. Petro-Techna International Ltd., a Canadian energy company, and Lambton College aim to develop a low-cost, high-performance, and durable nano-engineered composite membrane for direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) applications for efficient treatment of high-salinity industrial wastewater associated with the oil and gas industry. The primary aim of the proposed applied research project is to synthesize and optimize a series of highly hydrophobic, nano-composite membranes with high porosity, superior anti-fouling and wetting properties, excellent mechanical and chemical stability and low cost for treatment of produced water in the oil and gas sector in Canada and beyond. The successful completion of this applied research collaboration will significantly benefit Petro-Techna International Ltd. and has the potential to increase their annual revenue and technical and professional workforce. This technology will have a positive, lasting impact on the environment as the need for fresh water for oil and gas production will be substantially reduced, leading to significant reductions in the release of untreated wastewater into the environment.