Recent advances on the treatment technology of oil and gas produced water for sustainable energy industry-mechanistic aspects and process chemistry perspectives

Abstract

Produced water (PW) is the largest volume of wastewater generated during oil and gas recovery operations. It is a complex mixture of dissolved and particulate inorganic and organic matters ranging from near freshwater quality to concentrated saline brine. The management of PW has been the main focus of oil and gas industry in view of the stringent legislations on the discharge of oil and gas PW into the environment and the potential of PW as a source of fresh water, which hitherto comes from surface water, groundwater or municipal water, for water deficient oil producing countries. This article reviews current technologies for the management of oil and gas PW with a view of not only for more efficient removal and recovery of oils and other toxic agents, but also for environmental sustainability and fit-for-purpose reuse. The purpose of this article is to present some of the main technologies including primary treatment, secondary treatment including biological and membrane treatment and tertiary treatment especially advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) that have been used for the treatment of PW from oil and gas extraction; and to provide an overview of treatment technologies. The future developmental research needs for management of PW is also discussed.