Hydrocarbon contamination in water - looking for remediation methods.

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Dear Water pros,

Our water source has been detected as contaminated by hydrocarbons (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons broadly know as TPH). Is there any technology to help us controlling hydrocarbons in site, at the intake of a potable water station?

Thank you in advance for your kind cooperation.

Best Regards

Mahmoud Hussien.

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32 Answers

  1. I have looked at the other responses you have recd and none of them have suggested Electro-coagulation which is the technology developed by my research company to deal with "Frac" water out of the oil field.  This is a technology that utilizes consumable electrodes that we supply to you and we can maintain the system or train your personnel how to replace the electrodes.  I have numerous articles on this technology on the internet.  You can call me at 916-877-1553 to talk more about how to use this in your situation.  When the oil is in the water the technology removes it with an electric current and the oil comes out looking like small pieces of pepper.  We also remove up to 98% of the other contaminants in the water including metals.

  3. We have a product called Osorb Media that absorbs hydrocarbons from water. Our media is NSF certified for drinking water applications, and available in several different forms. We also have an industrial treatment system and are looking for pilot locations. Please reach out to me for more information. http://www.absmaterials.com/osorb-media.aspx Email: info@absmaterials.com

  7. Hi Mahmoud,

    Enviro Now are specialists in absorbents and adsorbents that remove hydrocarbons from aqueous solutions. Most of our solutions are simple as you can see if you wish to visit our website at; www.enviro-now.com I'm happy to work with you to resolve your issues.

    Best regards,

    Bob

  9. Dear Mahmoud,

    If you successfully remove your bulk TPH from water and you still will need some improvement, you could use ozone, which will successfully polish the water and could make it cristal clear, remove any smell from it and disinfect it.

    If you interested, I will be more that happy to assist or to answer any of your questions.

    Misha Shifrin,

    www.AbsoluteOzone.com

  14. Dear Hussien


    Treatment equipment to remove dispersed oil from water relies on one or more of the following principles:

    • Gravity separation (often with the addition of coalescing devices)
    • Gas flotation
    • Cyclonic separation
    • Filtration
    • Centrifuge separation

    In applying these concepts, one must keep in mind the dispersion of large oil droplets to smaller ones and the coalescence of small droplets into larger ones, which takes place if energy is added to the system. The amount of energy added per unit time and the way in which it is added will determine whether dispersion or coalescence will take place.

    The greater the difference in density between the oil droplet and the water phase, the greater the vertical velocity; that is, the lighter the crude, the easier it is to treat the water.

    The higher the temperature, the lower the viscosity of the water and, thus, the greater the vertical velocity; that is, it is easier to treat the water at high temperatures than at low temperatures.

    Small oil droplets contained in the water-continuous phase are subject to the competing forces of dispersion and coalescence. An oil droplet will break apart when kinetic-energy input is sufficient to overcome the surface energy between the single droplet and the two smaller droplets formed from it.

    The greater the pressure drop (and, thus, the shear forces that the fluid experiences in a given time period), the smaller the oil droplets will be. Large pressure drops, which occur in small distances through chokes, control valves, and instruments, result in small oil droplets and water that is harder to treat.

    Within water-treatment equipment, in which the energy input to the fluid is very small, the process of coalescence takes place; that is, small oil droplets collide and form bigger droplets. Because of the low energy input, these are not dispersed.

    The Macro Porous Polymer Extraction (MPPE) Technology is a highly effective, fully automated, remote controlled and guaranteed method for removing dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons from water with efficiencies of 99.9% down to below ppb levels.

    The Macro Porous Polymer (MPP) acts as a carrier for nontoxic and biodegradable extraction media and absorbs and extracts hydrocarbons from water. The miniscule plastic spheres are capable of reducing contaminant concentrations in water by a factor of more than 1 million, which means that concentrations of thousands ppm (parts per million) can be lowered to below 1 ppb (parts per billion). This is done in only one cycle. The water purification provides clean water for recycling or discharging, and yields almost 100% pure hydrocarbons suitable for reuse. In the MPPE water treatment process, hydrocarbon-contaminated water is passed through a column packed with MPPE particles. The particles are porous polymer beads that contain a specific extraction liquid. The immobilised extraction liquid removes the hydrocarbon components from the process water. The purified water can either be reused or discharged.

    If the quantity of HC in water is more then distillation process may be used. And in stripping section steam can be introduced direct and HC overhead product can be recover from top product, The reflux stream also given for mass transfer and purification.

    Oil Free Hydrocarbon Removal Matrix (HRM)

    The oil free technology is engineered to remove hydrocarbons from water instantly. Oil free immobilizes and permanently bonds the hydrocarbon compounds without developing pressure. The Oil free technology removes oily sheen, synthetic and natural oils, BTEX, PCB's, solvents and organically bound metals. The pressure drop across a saturated Oil free cartridge is less than 1 psi. Oil free technology is available in turn-key systems with operational ranges from 1 gpm - 5000 gpm.

    Applications

    • Marine oily bilge water filtration and treatment
    • Protection of ultra filtration and nano filtration membranes from fouling
    • Process water recycle and reuse applications
    • Filtration of hydrocarbons from washing operations
    • Filtration of hydrocarbons from manholes and pits
    • Process/Produced water treatment
    • Filtration of hydrocarbons from compressor condensate
    • Filtration of hydrocarbons from tank farm runoff water

    Regards,

    Prem Baboo




    1 Comment

  15. I am presuming that the contaminant is in the form of a thin viscuos film which will float on top of the water. There are oil skimers available. For higher contamination, the water will not be potable. Therefore you need to specify the contamination level first.

  16. www.GlobalAdvantech.com We supply cost-effective water treatment and bioremediation systems using proven and proprietary technology. It may be possible to extract hydrocarbons. Systems are in ISO containers, are portable - unless a very large plant is required - and deal with the specific chemical analysis of the input water, the operational processes involved in each case, as well as the looking at the output requirements.

    If you're interested, please contact me or respond on the website.


    Thank you Mahmoud!

    Answered on by

  18. Dear Mahmoud,

    If the TPH levels are high and if a large fraction of it is free oil, then this fraction can be removed and recovered by a coalescence separator. The remaining dissolved PH fraction can be removed by activated carbon (GAC filter) for small-medium scale applications. For large scale applications, medium-high levels of dissolved hydrocarbons can be removed by (advanced) activated sludge biological treatment,

    Best regards,

    Bruno Peeters

  20. Dear Mahmoud,

    As the colleagues are saying, there are many technologies avilable to remove TPH from water. However, depending on the origin of the pollution, results will be limited and efforts maximised. I strongly suggest you to provide a detailed explanation of the water source (groundwater?) delineate the origin of contaminats (local leakages or broader), water yield to be treated, etc.

    Best regards,

    Jordi

  21. Hi Mahmoud

    The best technology is FRT-AOP (Free radicals Technology-Advanced Oxidation Proccess) which genetate hydroxyl radicals to reduce TPH into carbon dioxide and water.   

    Best regards

    Ramsey Haddad

    Dr R Y Haddad (Ph. D. Post Doctoral)

    Free Radicals Technology (FRT) Ltd.

    April Tarry, Lower Lees Road, Old Wives Lees, Canterbury, Kent CT4 8AS England/UK

    Tel: +44 (0)1227 730468 / M: 07897231162 / Web: http://www.3frt.com / Skype: ramsey.haddad  

  22. Mahmoud Hussien,

    To be in a position to provide a solution you would need to provide the complete water analysis.

    It is possible to remove hydrocarbons from water. Please let us know the volume of water to be treated as well as whether you have any post treatment use of the water?

  23. Mahmoud,

    There are a lot of comments here but there your post is short on data.  Removing oil from water is generally easily done - many technologies will work...and work well.  

    1. "Source water" - for potable use? Industrial plant make up water? Food industry?  Hydraluic Fracturing?  Depending on your answer, the appropriateness of one possible solution versus another can change significantly.

    2. What s the TPH concentration?

    3. If TPH concentration is in "mg/l range" (as opposed to %s)...Do you have any droplet size data?

    4. Is the oil free, dissolved or emulsified?

    5. Are there (total) suspended solids (TSS) associated with the oil?  (Particulate (suspended solids) are frequently involved in stabilizing emulsions even micro-emulsions.   If there is 50 mg/l or greater TSS, particle size distribution data would be important information for the process selection/design.  In addition, either an assay of the solids or some basic polymer testing would prove to be valuable.

    I ask the above questions because they each represents major directional factors in developing a proper PFD.  The intended use of the water would tell me what levels of removal are required.  For example, in Produced Waters for reinjection, the treated water specs are often

    Answered on by

  24. treating it biologically with the right microbiology with no sediment and costing very little power is what you want.  a properly designed system.  

  25. Mahmoud I highly suggest you take a look at www.soleco-technology.com as Solutek is a natural and highly effective solution for treating hydrocarbon water contamination; there is noithing like it in the market today. Mark C.

    Answered on by

  27. Dear Mr. Husslen,

    You have not given a lot of detail. Therefore my solution is faily vauge also - there is a strong possibility that you may be able to sort this out by the application of electrocoagulation.

    Good luck


  28. Dear Mahmoud,

    the solution depends, at first, on the type of the water source and the cause of the contamination. Kindly specify these elements.

    Here in France, with BRGM (a para-public organisation) we were able to stop the pollution cause, and eliminate the contaminant from the water source, not only on the water uptake. For example, thanks to simulation softwares, COV "Organic Volatil Compound", HAP "Aromatic Hydrocabonic Policyclics" and PolyChlorophenyls... were contained and eliminated from underground water.

    It exist specific process for each case. I invite you to check the following website:

    http://www.brgm.eu/activities/water/water

    Shall you need further information, you may contact me by mail or on +33602653359.

    Regards,

    Rawad EL RABBAA


  29. Yes, there are many methods. We need to know analysis and concentrations. Any free oil o all dissolved compounds. take care you analyse the whol sample and not after filtration only. Best regards, Jan Koning

  30. Hi Mahmoud,

    We specialize and have succesfully applied the eco-tech system of Constructed Wetlands to treat produced water contaminated with hydrocarbons. To give you an example, in Oman, we have built one of the largest constructed wetland facilities in Nimr (Nimr Water Treatment Plant) to treat 120,000 m3/d of produced water. TPH is completely removed from water (99% removal). Advantages for the technology is minimum operational costs, no energy consumption (we use gravity flow), low maintenance since there are no mechanical parts, environmental character given that the main element of the system is reeds. The technology is particularly appropriate for onsite treatment even in remote areas.

    I would be happy to provide you any further information about the technology and our company (Bauer).

    http://www.bauer.de/en/bre/index.html

  32. Dear Sir,

    Please let us know the source of water and submit the Physical , Chemical and Biological analysis report through an NABL approved water testing laboratory for us to know the water quality and provide the required solution.

    Best Regards,

    for GREEN TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

    VIRAF S MEHTA

    +91-9022731742

    www.greenenviro.net