Chemistry of silica scale mitigation for RO desalination with particular reference to remote operations

Milne, Nicholas; O'Reilly, Tom; Sartipy, Peter; Ostarcevic, Eddy; Beighton, Mark; Taylor, Kelvin; Mullett, Mark; Tarquin, Anthony J.; Gray, Stephen

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2014.07.010

Cited by 136 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…silica [92]. The direct reduction of these salts presence prior to introduction of the CS water into the system will reduce scaling of the RO membranes [91,92].…”

Section: Desalination Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Australia natural water has a range for Si of 1 -30 mg/L and groundwater generally has a range of 20 -100 mg/L [129]. Si is one of the most complicated particles in water purification and it can be found in soluble, colloidal, and suspended form [92]. The solubility of Si can be a major limitation to the RO treatment as it can result in scaling problems and can decrease the water production rates, as well as decrease energy efficiency [92,129,130].…”

Section: Fluoride and Bromide Ionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Si is one of the most complicated particles in water purification and it can be found in soluble, colloidal, and suspended form [92]. The solubility of Si can be a major limitation to the RO treatment as it can result in scaling problems and can decrease the water production rates, as well as decrease energy efficiency [92,129,130]. If insoluble Si is present in CS water it can impact on the RO treatment by forming a layer on the surface of the RO membranes during the high pressure movement of water across them [129].…”

Section: Fluoride and Bromide Ionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It precipitates due to polymerization in solution and therefore causes scaling of RO membranes [90,129]. Silica is one of the most complex species in water purification due to it complex structure [90,92]. The LSI for the simulations with both ROSA and IMS Design was found to be positive and therefore there is the potential for scaling to occur.…”

Section: Scaling Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coal Seam Gas Water Quality and Impacts on Downstream Treatment Technologies

Rebello¹

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The coal seam gas (CSG) industry in Australia is of significant importance economically, especially in Queensland where a substantial increase in the amount of gas extracted over the past six years has occurred. CSG formation, relation to local geological features, extraction approach and the potential impact/benefits of coal seam (CS) water has been considered by reviewing the location of CSG wells in relation to each other, the depth of the well in relation to the coal seam with which the CSG is associated, and the quality of the CS water compared with the requirements for each beneficial use application. An outline of the limited current legislative requirements on physical and chemical properties of CS water as regulated by the Queensland Government is provided, as well as the current treatment technologies used by the major CSG companies to ensure compliance with these requirements. Water quality from 150 CSG production wells from the Surat Basin, Queensland has been analysed and compared within and between multiple gas fields in a small geographic area prior to any storage, disposal and treatment. Chemical analysis revealed the CS water to have high bicarbonate, high sodium, and low calcium, low magnesium and very low sulfate concentrations. The chemical analysis also confirmed that the pre-treatment concentration levels of specific parameters such as sodium, chloride, total dissolved solids, and sodium adsorption ratio were above that required for use by agricultural and industrial sectors, therefore requiring treatment prior to use. This study has shown that the amount of each type of mineral that comprises coal, such as clay, sulfide ores, oxide ores, quartz and phosphates, may explain the water quality patterns by assessing the mineral content of the associated CS water in relation to the chemical composition of Surat Basin coal

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“…silica [92]. The direct reduction of these salts presence prior to introduction of the CS water into the system will reduce scaling of the RO membranes [91,92].…”

Section: Desalination Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fluoride and Bromide Ionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fluoride and Bromide Ionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scaling Potentialmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coal Seam Gas Water Quality and Impacts on Downstream Treatment Technologies

Rebello¹

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“…At 25 o C, neutral pH, and zero salinity, solubility is in the order of 100 to 120 mgL -1 . This increases with increasing temperature, increases sharply at very high pH (above 9.5), but decreases with increasing salinity (Fournier 1970;Marshall & Warakomski 1980b;Okamoto, Okura & Goto 1957) Also, Milne et al (2014) conclude that the presence of precursor cations, including, calcium, magnesium, aluminium, and iron, reduces apparent silica solubility, and can lead to scale formation at concentration below silica saturation . Additionally, silica adsorption to metal hydroxide can takes place.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silica Characterization in Coal Seam Gas Water and Its Removal by Activated Alumina

Zaman¹

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The scope of work for this thesis includes: (1) characterization of silica and other scaling compounds in coal seam gas (CSG) water, and (2) study of the removal of silica from aqueous solution using activated alumina.In the first phase of this research, coal seam gas water from a full scale water treatment facility was characterized with spectroscopic and other analytical techniques. Silica and other scaling compounds, all of which were present in dissolved and non-dissolved forms, were characterized. Transmission electron microscopic analysis showed the existence of spherical siliceous particles with a size range of 10-100 nm and aggregates of 1 to 10 microns in CSG brine.Elemental characterization confirmed that the particulate matters in CSG brine consist of the following elements in decreasing order: K, Si, Sr, Ca, B, Ba, Mg, P, and S. A plant-wide silica characterization showed that the ratio of particulate to dissolved silica varies as CSG water passes through the various process units and nearly one-third of the total silicon in the RO brine was present in particulate form. In search for the origin of particulate matters, it was found that RO brine is super-saturated with respect to several carbonate and sulphate based mineral salts and precipitation of such salts during the RO process should take place and could be responsible for subsequently capturing silica in the solid phase. However, the precipitation of crystalline carbonates and sulphates is complex. X-ray diffraction analysis did not confirm the presence of common calcium carbonates or sulphates but instead showed the presence of a suite of complex minerals, to which amorphous silica and/or silica rich compounds could have adhered. A filtration study showed that majority of the siliceous particles were less than 220 nm in size, but could still be potentially captured using a low molecular weight ultrafiltration membrane.In the second phase of this research, the potential of activated alumina for removing silica from aqueous solution was studied. Equilibrium, kinetics, and column study were performed to investigate the silica removal efficiency of activated alumina. pH studies showed that a pH of 8.8 is optimum for removal of silica using activated alumina. The equilibrium data fits the well-known Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was found to be 17.63 mg/g at pH 8.8. A second order kinetic model fitted the experimental data better than a first order model. Analysis of the kinetic data with Weber-Morris intraparticle diffusion model suggests both external and internal mass transfer controls the overall adsorption process. It was also found that as initial silica concentration increases, external mass transfer becomes important and cannot be ignored in the overall mass transfer process. From the continuous column study, it was surprising to find that feed flow rate did not affect the overall performance of the column between 1 mL/min (2.25 bed volume/hr) and 4.2 mL/min (9.65 bed volume/hr).This th...

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Water Quality Guidelines

2015

Reverse Osmosis

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Chemistry of silica scale mitigation for RO desalination with particular reference to remote operations

Cited by 136 publications

References 81 publications

Coal Seam Gas Water Quality and Impacts on Downstream Treatment Technologies

Coal Seam Gas Water Quality and Impacts on Downstream Treatment Technologies

Silica Characterization in Coal Seam Gas Water and Its Removal by Activated Alumina

Water Quality Guidelines

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