Cost-Effective Treatment of Produced Water using
Co-Produced Energy Sources: Phase II Field Scale
Demonstration and Commercialization
11123-03
Robert Balch
Petroleum Recovery Research Center - New Mexico Tech
Best of RPSEA 10 Years of Research - Ultra-Deepwater and Onshore Technology Conference
August 30-31, 2016
The San Luis Resort, Spa & Conference Center, Galveston, TX
1
rpsea.org
Justification
JUSTIFICATION
• Produced Water is a major issue
• 90% of produced water is currently treated by separation and
disposal
• Disposal costs can exceed $2.50 for injection disposal
• Purification costs can be even greater
• Cost of water management as fields mature can force early closure
due to economics
• Most commercial desalinization focuses on sea water
• Less TDS, volatiles, organics, etc.
• Economics of scale make desalinization for small operations
cost-prohibitive
• High infrastructure cost
• Energy consumption
2
Justification
• There is a need for smaller scale and less expensive
purification technologies
• Benefits small operators
• Benefits small and/or remote fields
• Provides reduced operational costs
• Reduces waste stream/disposal costs
• Provides a beneficial product which can be used for
commercial purposes
• Clean water
• To meet this goal we have developed a low-temperature
purification process based on humidification and evaporation
3
Sample Produced Water Concentrations
Component
4
Bicarbonate
Hydrogen
Sulfide
Chloride
Sulfate
Sodium
Potassium
Magnesium
Calcium
Strontium
Iron
Total
Dissolved
Solids (TDS)
San Juan
Permian Basin
Basin (CBM)
(Oilfield), mg/L
mg/L
5870.3
1538.1
Typical
seawater,
mg/L
107
65
22.5
N/A
2389.5
24.1
4169.3
35
19
11
6.3
0.65
130636
4594.1
80421.2
398.6
894.1
4395.5
88.9
65.3
19352.9
2412.4
10783.8
399.1
1283.7
412.1
7.9
15.5
12,590.2
223,054.3
34,774.4
Outline
I.
Basics of the Humidification-Dehumidification (HDH)
process
a)
b)
c)
Conceptual design
Lab and bench scale summary
Operational parameters
II. Field tests with solar heating
a)
b)
Efficiency in summer
Efficiency in winter
III. Pilot tests with solar and waste gas heating
IV. Economic analysis
5
HDH Conceptual Model
Produced water purification (Desalination) in this work is achieved by
humidification and subsequent condensation/dehumidification
Humidified air
Produced water
Condensation
Air blower
Pure water
Condensed waste water
6
Field Prototype– Design, Fabrication and Testing
1. Oil skimmer
1
2. Holding tank
4
2
3. Solar panels
4. Humidification
dehumidificati
on (HDH) unit
3
5. Air blower
6. Condenser
5
6
8
7
P&ID of the field prototype
7
7. Discharge
pump
8. Concentrate
discharge
pump
Field Prototype – HDH Unit
Removable ceiling for replacing
packing and maintenance.
Alternating hot and cold
chambers
Packing material
Outlet to condenser
Concentrate brine drain
8
Fabricated Field Prototype
9
Process Yield and Inlet Water Concentrations
Process Yield (%) as a function of Inlet water concentration(ppm)
25
187400ppm,
20.3 %
Humidification
test (FIELD)
Yield (%)
20
192776ppm,
19.4%
15
219410ppm,
9.7%
8500ppm,
6.9 %
10
Humidifcation
test-Pilot scaleField
Humification+La
tent heat (Field)
182425ppm,
7.8%
5
0
0
50000
100000
150000
Inlet produced water TDS (ppm)
10
200000
250000
Ion Rejection
Water TDS(ppm) after treatment
215000
207
210000
80
205000
> 99.9% ION
REJECTION
Water ppm
200000
195000
245
190000
185000
138
209632
After treatment
206322
180000
175000
189759
182425
170000
165000
HDH- Test 2
HDH-Test 3
HDH+Energy- Test 1
Operating mode
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HDH+Energy- Test 2
Before treatment
Where Will the Process Work?
WHERE WILL THIS PROCESS WORK?
Internal humidity
exceeds 99% within
2 hours of startup
Difference between
internal temperature
and humidity with
ambient air impacts
efficiency
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Where Will the Process Work?
WHERE WILL THIS PROCESS WORK?
Process is optimal at
180oF but can run as
low as 140o
Sweet spot for
deployment for year
round operation is
desert southwest,
Rocky Mountains,
and Great Plains
13
Field Sites
FIELD SITES
o Initial tests at a field
site near Artesia, NM.
o Pilot test at Federal
00 well near
Carlsbad New
Mexico
•
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Well produces ~20
BBLS of +180,000
TDS water per day
Field System Schematic Design
Design Considerations
• Continuous throughput
• Recycling concentrate
• Hot water storage
• Optimize sizing and
operational constraints
15
Flat Plate Solar Collectors
FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS
16
Stress Testing Results
Stress Testing was performed under summer conditions to measure:
o Maximum throughput for summer operations
• Impacts sizing and number of needed units
o Optimum inlet rates (produced water and air)
•
•
Water rates {0.5,1.0,1.5,2.0,2.5} gal/min.
Air rates {116,123,139,150,161} ft3/min.
Environmental Parameters for Summer 2013 Testing
Average Ambient Air Temperature and
Relative Humidity: 90oF and 50%
Range of Inlet Water Temperature:
170oF–180oF
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Total Dissolved Solids of Produced H20 :
~200,000 ppm
Duration of Each Test : 20 minutes for air and
water inlet tests, 12 hours for throughput
Optimal Feed Rates
Sample plots showing effects of feed rate on condensate (fresh water)
production, and resulting quality of the condensate
Sweet spot around 1.5gal water/min and 45Hz Air inlet (150ft3/min)
18
Volume Throughput Tests – Summer Conditions
• It takes about an hour for the system to reach full internal heat and
humidity.
• Test recycled concentrated produced water to recycle heat
• ~7 BBLS fresh water/day (~220 BBLs/month)
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DURATION
Average Relative
Average Ambient
Volume of Condensate
Test Run
(HOURS)
Humidity (%)
Temperature (oF)
(gallons)
1 (Day)
12
50
90
125
2 (Night)
12
40
70
140
3 (Day)
12
48
100
120
4 (Night)
12
36
75
137
5 (Day)
12
42
103
128
Volume Throughput Tests – Winter Conditions
• Test recycled concentrated produced water to recycle heat
• ~10.5 BBLS fresh water/day (~320 BBLs/month)
TEST RUN
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
20
DURATION
AVERAGE DAILY
(HOURS) RELATIVE HUMIDITY (%)
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
45
48
60
54
68
81
42
39
50
40
AVERAGE AMBIENT
TEMPERATURE (OF)
VOLUME OF
CONDENSATE (gal)
50
41
32
45
50
44
53
48
58
35
98
107
111
100
96
102
94
105
98
109
Operational Costs
• With passive heat: ~$3.60 to operate the process per day.
• ~$0.51/Barrel purified water in Summer
• ~$0.34/Barrel purified water in Winter
EQUIPMENT CURRENT VOLTAGE
(AMP)
(V)
Taco 007
0.79
115
Pump
Taco 0010
1.10
115
Pump
1/4hp Cent.
1.7
115
Pump
21
POWER
(kWh)
OPERATION
DURATION (HR)
PRICE
/KWH($)
POWER
COST ($)
0.0908
3
0.17
0.046
0.1265
3
0.17
0.064
0.1931
24
0.17
0.79
Air Blower
3
115
0.345
24
0.17
1.4
Air-Cooled
Condenser
2.78
115
0.3197
24
0.17
1.3044
Pilot Deployment at Federal 00 #3 Well
o Six month pilot test
o Automation of system to
allow unattended operation
with weekly visits
• Using Arduino controller
system and cellular data
network to set up fail
safes and remote
monitoring capability
22
Site Layout at Test Well
Purified Water Storage
Oil and Produced Water Storage
Heater Treater
Heat Exchanger
Well – Produces ~20 BBLS
Produced Water Per Day
Solar Panels
HDH Unit – Processes ~50 BBLS
Produced Water Per Day
Goal was to pass produced Water from well through system ~3 times per day cutting
produced water disposal in half, making ~10BBLS clean water per day
23
Site Layout at Test Well
24
Site Layout at Test Well
25
Site Layout at Test Well
26
Control Systems
Heat Exchangers
with Arduino
controlled flow
switches
System designed
with everything in
“normally shut”
mode to prevent
spills
27
Annualized Disposal Cost Analysis – Federal 00 Well
•
•
•
•
20 Barrels Water per Day
$2.30 Disposal Cost
$2.00 Fresh Water Value
$3.60 Electricity per Day
Cost Savings of $14,381/yr
$0.33/BBL AVG Disposal Cost
Unit Cost $18,855 w/o heating
$38,056 with solar
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Conclusions
o Collectors have higher efficiency from March to October but the process
is more efficient in dryer winter months
o Weather conditions – most significant factor in collector
performance/efficiency, as well as process efficiency
o Installation flexibility allows other thermal means to be retrofitted
o Produced water from most oil wells have higher temperature than
ambient, and thus can contribute latent geothermal energy
o Cost $3.60/24hr – operation, produces an annualized daily average of
10 BBLS of fresh water per day
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o Best for smaller water disposal needs of disposal (<500 BBLS per day)
Contacts
Principal Investigator:
Robert Balch
Petroleum Recovery
Research Center - New
Mexico Tech
[email protected]
575-835-5305
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Project Manager:
Dave Cercone
NETL
[email protected]
412-385-6571
Technical Coordinator:
Kent Perry
RPSEA
[email protected]
281-725-1252