Abstract
Basal aquifer water is deep groundwater found at the bottom of geological formations, underlying bitumen-saturated sands. Some of the concerns associated with basal aquifer water at the Athabasca oil sands are the high concentrations of hardness-causing compounds, alkalinity, and total dissolved solids. The objective of this pilot-scale study was to treat basal aquifer water to a quality suitable for its reuse in the production of synthetic oil. To achieve zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) conditions, the treatment train included chemical oxidation, polymeric ultrafiltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), and evaporation-crystallization technologies. The results indicated that the UF unit was effective in removing solids, with UF filtrate turbidity averaging 2.0 NTU and silt density index averaging 0.9. Membrane autopsies indicated that iron was the primary foulant on the UF and RO membranes. Laboratory and pilot-scale tests on RO reject were conducted to determine the feasibility of ZLD crystallization. Due to the high amounts of calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate in the RO reject, softening of the feed was required to avoid scaling in the evaporator. Crystals produced throughout the testing were mainly sodium chloride. The results of this study indicated that the ZLD approach was effective in both producing freshwater and minimizing brine discharges.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 213-223 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Journal of Environmental Management |
| Volume | 165 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Basal aquifer water
- Crystallization
- Reverse osmosis
- Ultrafiltration
- Zero-liquid discharge
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Engineering
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Cite this
Pilot-scale study on the treatment of basal aquifer water using ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and evaporation/crystallization to achieve zero-liquid discharge. / Loganathan, Kavithaa; Chelme-Ayala, Pamela; Gamal El-Din, Mohamed.
In: Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 165, 01.01.2016, p. 213-223.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Pilot-scale study on the treatment of basal aquifer water using ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and evaporation/crystallization to achieve zero-liquid discharge
AU - Loganathan, Kavithaa
AU - Chelme-Ayala, Pamela
AU - Gamal El-Din, Mohamed
PY - 2016/1/1
Y1 - 2016/1/1
N2 - Basal aquifer water is deep groundwater found at the bottom of geological formations, underlying bitumen-saturated sands. Some of the concerns associated with basal aquifer water at the Athabasca oil sands are the high concentrations of hardness-causing compounds, alkalinity, and total dissolved solids. The objective of this pilot-scale study was to treat basal aquifer water to a quality suitable for its reuse in the production of synthetic oil. To achieve zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) conditions, the treatment train included chemical oxidation, polymeric ultrafiltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), and evaporation-crystallization technologies. The results indicated that the UF unit was effective in removing solids, with UF filtrate turbidity averaging 2.0 NTU and silt density index averaging 0.9. Membrane autopsies indicated that iron was the primary foulant on the UF and RO membranes. Laboratory and pilot-scale tests on RO reject were conducted to determine the feasibility of ZLD crystallization. Due to the high amounts of calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate in the RO reject, softening of the feed was required to avoid scaling in the evaporator. Crystals produced throughout the testing were mainly sodium chloride. The results of this study indicated that the ZLD approach was effective in both producing freshwater and minimizing brine discharges.
AB - Basal aquifer water is deep groundwater found at the bottom of geological formations, underlying bitumen-saturated sands. Some of the concerns associated with basal aquifer water at the Athabasca oil sands are the high concentrations of hardness-causing compounds, alkalinity, and total dissolved solids. The objective of this pilot-scale study was to treat basal aquifer water to a quality suitable for its reuse in the production of synthetic oil. To achieve zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) conditions, the treatment train included chemical oxidation, polymeric ultrafiltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), and evaporation-crystallization technologies. The results indicated that the UF unit was effective in removing solids, with UF filtrate turbidity averaging 2.0 NTU and silt density index averaging 0.9. Membrane autopsies indicated that iron was the primary foulant on the UF and RO membranes. Laboratory and pilot-scale tests on RO reject were conducted to determine the feasibility of ZLD crystallization. Due to the high amounts of calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate in the RO reject, softening of the feed was required to avoid scaling in the evaporator. Crystals produced throughout the testing were mainly sodium chloride. The results of this study indicated that the ZLD approach was effective in both producing freshwater and minimizing brine discharges.
KW - Basal aquifer water
KW - Crystallization
KW - Reverse osmosis
KW - Ultrafiltration
KW - Zero-liquid discharge
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84943143714&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84943143714&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.09.019
DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.09.019
M3 - Article
C2 - 26433363
AN - SCOPUS:84943143714
VL - 165
SP - 213
EP - 223
JO - Journal of Environmental Management
JF - Journal of Environmental Management
SN - 0301-4797
ER -