Produced Water Treatment - Term Paper Example

This water must be treated prior to discharge or re-injection. Produced water has a complex composition, but its constituents can be widely grouped into inorganic and organic compounds, including dissolved and dispersed oils, grease, heavy metals, and radionuclide’s, treating chemicals, formation solids, salts, dissolved gases, scale products, waxes, and microorganisms and dissolved oxygen. More than 40% of the 250 million barrels of water produced in a daily basis from both gas and oil are emancipated into the environment.

This clearly shows its effects in the environment and globally making it to be considered instead of clearing it as waste. Environmental concerns have driven research into the treatment of produced water. Current conventional treatment technologies are targeted at removal of heavy metals, oil and grease, and desalination, which often lead to the generation of large volumes of secondary waste. Produced water treatment also represents challenges for major oil-producing projects, especially in India, where special treatment requirements to meet the discharge norms for disposal or injection into spent oil wells have not yet been met.

This affects the environment to which it can be reversed by being treated and become useful to the people. From recent researches, The USA and China have been quoted the leading disposers of produced water worldwide as seen in the previous years. This is a result of increased demand in oil and petroleum products worldwide in many non-oil producing countries. In 1995 the American Petroleum Institute, (API), made its recommendation on the Best Available Technology for Produced Water Management on Offshore Gas and Oil Installations.

The following were identified by the report as the water toxicity contributing factors. The discharge of untreated water into fresh water bodies such as streams presents a toxic level that is highly lethal to aquatic life. In addition,