The oil and gas industry produces large quantities of water as a by-product of petroleum production. Discharge specification of produced water requires efficient management and sophisticated technology. Conventional technologies such as those based on gravity separation, cyclonic separation method, filtration techniques, flotation technique, and natural gas/air sparge tube systems are used for treating produced water. However, most, if not all, of these technologies require a large footprint. This problem has created a challenge for the produced water industry, as well as for operators managing the offshore production facilities. Responding to the challenge at hand, Siemens Water Technologies Corporation has developed a novel compact flotation unit (CFU) equipped with a dissolved gas flotation (DGF) pump for treating produced water. The CFU has a small foot print and shorter residence time. The DGF pump is equipped with a unique, dual-sided impeller, which pulls the blanket gas on one side and the produced water on the other. Under applied backpressure, the gas entering the DGF pump dissolves in a portion of a recycled, cleaned water stream. The dissolved gas generates bubbles due to the pressure drop when the mixture of produced water and gas passes through a special valve before entering the CFU. The ratio of the inlet produced water flow rate to the DGF pump output rate plays an important role in optimum separation of oil droplets from the produced water. Besides the above-mentioned ratio, generation of an adequate number and size of bubbles provides another critical key factor in efficient operation of the CFU system. To validate our theoretical approach regarding the controlled forced vortex of the multiphase flow, we performed various tests in the shop facility of Siemens Water Technologies Corporation, as well as on a platform facility offshore Louisiana. We used a response surface methodology technique to analyze the CFU performance data and to generate an optimum surface response for free oil and grease removal efficiency. For optimizing the size of the piping and CFU dimensions, we used the rigorous yet simple principles of the constrained similitude. The free oil removal efficiency results in the shop and field tests, for CFU without the use of packing material, were satisfactory. Additionally, we found that CFU system tests resulted in the removal efficiency of water soluble oil (WSO). We did not expect this additional outcome as the CFU system was not designed to affect the removal of WSO.
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March 2011
Research Papers
Performance Analysis of a Novel Compact Flotation Unit
M. Howdeshell
Michael Howdeshell is the Director of Research and Development for Siemens Water Technology’s General Industries Solutions segment in Rothschild, WI. He holds a BA in Chemistry and Math from Augustana College (Rock Island, IL) and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Indiana University (Bloomington, IN). Over the past 2 decades Dr. Howdeshell has worked extensively in industrial research, sales, and marketing. His primary focus has been the treatment of oily waste water from the oil and gas industry developing systems that are more efficient and effective at protecting the world’s water supply. Dr. Howdeshell is author or coauthor on nearly 15 issued or in-progress U.S. or world patents and has published or presented more than 30 papers in various symposiums, journals, and trade publications.
M. Howdeshell
Siemens Water Technologies Corporation
, 301 W. Military Rd., Rothschild, WI 54474
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E. Godeaux
Edward Godeaux is currently the General Manager for the Products Group within Siemens Water Technologies Corporation with three locations: Lafayette, LA; Houston, TX; and Waukesha, WI. Edward Godeaux has been in the water treating industry specific to produced water for 17 years with a special interest in research and development and custom design applications. He is the inventor or coinventor of nearly six issued or in-progress U.S. and international patents and has published or presented more than a dozen papers in various symposiums, journals, and trade publications.
E. Godeaux
Siemens Water Technologies Corporation
, 411 Commercial Parkway, Broussard, LA 70518
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N. Pednekar
Vishal Dhumal holds a diploma in Chemical Engineering from the Bombay Technical Education and BE degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pune, India. He received his MS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. As a Research Assistant, he has worked on his research in the field of Multiphase Fluid Flow under Dr. Fred F. Farshad. As a Research Associate, he worked on the Compact Flotation Unit research project for Siemens Water Technologies Corporations under Dr. A. Hayatdavoudi. His thesis focuses on oil-water separation with emphasis on produced water treatment in oil and gas industry.
N. Pednekar
Former Graduate Student
200 Oakcrest Dr., Apt C-135, Lafayette, LA 70503
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V. Dhumal
Niranjan Pednekar holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pune, India and a MS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. During the MS degree program he worked as a Graduate Research Assistant on a thesis project titled “Optimization of Compact Flotation Unit Using Response Surface Methodology and Constrained Similitude” under guidance of Dr. Asadollah Hayatdavoudi. He has successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and is a practicing Registered Engineer-In-Training. Mr. Pednekar has technical areas of interest in oil-water separation, optimization of flotation units, process design engineering, fluid dynamics, and process simulation.
V. Dhumal
Former Graduate Student
200 Oakcrest Dr., Apt C-135, Lafayette, LA 70503
Search for other works by this author on:
M. Howdeshell
Michael Howdeshell is the Director of Research and Development for Siemens Water Technology’s General Industries Solutions segment in Rothschild, WI. He holds a BA in Chemistry and Math from Augustana College (Rock Island, IL) and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Indiana University (Bloomington, IN). Over the past 2 decades Dr. Howdeshell has worked extensively in industrial research, sales, and marketing. His primary focus has been the treatment of oily waste water from the oil and gas industry developing systems that are more efficient and effective at protecting the world’s water supply. Dr. Howdeshell is author or coauthor on nearly 15 issued or in-progress U.S. or world patents and has published or presented more than 30 papers in various symposiums, journals, and trade publications.
E. Godeaux
Edward Godeaux is currently the General Manager for the Products Group within Siemens Water Technologies Corporation with three locations: Lafayette, LA; Houston, TX; and Waukesha, WI. Edward Godeaux has been in the water treating industry specific to produced water for 17 years with a special interest in research and development and custom design applications. He is the inventor or coinventor of nearly six issued or in-progress U.S. and international patents and has published or presented more than a dozen papers in various symposiums, journals, and trade publications.
N. Pednekar
Vishal Dhumal holds a diploma in Chemical Engineering from the Bombay Technical Education and BE degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pune, India. He received his MS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. As a Research Assistant, he has worked on his research in the field of Multiphase Fluid Flow under Dr. Fred F. Farshad. As a Research Associate, he worked on the Compact Flotation Unit research project for Siemens Water Technologies Corporations under Dr. A. Hayatdavoudi. His thesis focuses on oil-water separation with emphasis on produced water treatment in oil and gas industry.
V. Dhumal
Niranjan Pednekar holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pune, India and a MS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. During the MS degree program he worked as a Graduate Research Assistant on a thesis project titled “Optimization of Compact Flotation Unit Using Response Surface Methodology and Constrained Similitude” under guidance of Dr. Asadollah Hayatdavoudi. He has successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and is a practicing Registered Engineer-In-Training. Mr. Pednekar has technical areas of interest in oil-water separation, optimization of flotation units, process design engineering, fluid dynamics, and process simulation.
J. Energy Resour. Technol. Mar 2011, 133(1): 013101 (9 pages)
Published Online: March 15, 2011
Article history
Received:
March 31, 2009
Revised:
December 23, 2010
Online:
March 15, 2011
Published:
March 15, 2011
