Characterization and Treatment Technologies Applied for Produced Water in Qatar

Abstract

Qatar is one of the major natural gas (NG) producing countries, which has the world’s third-largest NG reserves besides the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Since the produced water (PW) generated in the oil and gas industry is considered as the largest waste stream, cost-effective PW management becomes fundamentally essential. The oil/gas industries in Qatar produce large amounts of PW daily, hence the key challenges facing these industries reducing the volume of PW injected in disposal wells by a level of 50% for ensuring the long-term sustainability of the reservoir. Moreover, it is important to study the characteristics of PW to determine the appropriate method to treat it and then use it for various applications such as irrigation, or dispose of it without harming the environment. This review paper targets to highlight the generation of PW in Qatar, as well as discuss the characteristics of chemical, physical, and biological treatment techniques in detail. These processes and methods discussed are not only applied by Qatari companies, but also by other companies associated or in collaboration with those in Qatar. Finally, case studies from different companies in Qatar and the challenges of treating the PW are discussed. From the different studies analyzed, various techniques as well as sequencing of different techniques were noted to be employed for the effective treatment of PW.

Recent Perspectives on the Management of Formation Water Generated from Hydrocarbon Reservoirs

“…FW consists of a mixture of dissolved and suspended organic and inorganic compounds. The presence of various inorganic components such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulfate, and organic components makes the treatment process difficult to meet the stringent guidelines . Its composition varies with the geographical location, age and depth of reservoirs, the extraction technique, and chemical composition of the oil fields.…”

“…The voluminous FW can be reused or discharged after complying with the prescribed norms. FW has a complex mixture consisting of a variety of components including dissolved gases, hydrocarbons, metals, naturally occurring radioactive materials, organic and inorganic substances, suspended solids, oil and grease . In addition, it has various microorganisms such as algae, fungi, general anaerobic bacteria, and sulfate-reducing bacteria .…”

“…FW has a complex mixture consisting of a variety of components including dissolved gases, hydrocarbons, metals, naturally occurring radioactive materials, organic and inorganic substances, suspended solids, oil and grease. 7 In addition, it has various microorganisms such as algae, fungi, general anaerobic bacteria, and sulfate-reducing bacteria. 8 The properties of FW may vary concerning natural causes (geochemistry of the hydrocarbon reservoir, water cut percentage, and age of reservoir) and anthropogenic activities (chemicals added, and amount and quality of water injected during oil extraction).…”

Graphene Quantum Dot-Added Thin-Film Composite Membrane with Advanced Nanofibrous Support for Forward Osmosis

“…Forward osmosis (FO) is an advanced membrane-based separation process that has received increasing interest for various applications in the last several years [ 10 , 11 ]. The FO process is driven by the osmotic pressure difference between a diluted feed solution (FS) and a concentrated draw solution (DS) across a semipermeable membrane [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Currently, FO technology has been used in different areas such as desalination, water treatment, power generation, and food processing [ 17 , 18 ].…”

Sustainable Preparation of Graphene Quantum Dots for Metal Ion Sensing Application

“…With the world’s rapid development in several sectors, the possibility of excessive pollution ejection into the environment has increased [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. As a result, environmental water pollution caused by harmful metal ions has developed as one of the most serious issues faced by humans [ 4 , 5 ].…”