Downstream processing of reverse osmosis brine: Characterisation of potential scaling compounds

Zaman, Masuduz; Birkett, Greg; Pratt, Christopher; Stuart, B.O.; Pratt, Steven

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2015.05.004

Cited by 20 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…CSG produced water in Australia is usually saline and highly sodic. In addition, the ionic composition of CSG produced water is dominated mostly by sodium, chloride, and bicarbonate [1,3]. Given its saline and sodic nature, CSG produced water must be treated prior to environmental discharge or beneficial uses [1,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most current CSG produced water treatment systems utilise reverse osmosis (RO) as their core treatment process [3,5]. Water recovery of the RO process is constrained to about 80%…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They usually entail a security bond of about $1 million per hectare for any future environmental clean-up. Thus, evaporation ponds are expensive and can only be a temporary option while a more costeffective and environmentally friendly technology for CSG RO brine management is being developed [3,4]. Indeed, extraction of usable products from CSG RO brine for beneficial uses and zero liquid discharge treatment to phase out evaporation ponds have been actively promoted by the environmental regulators [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Membrane distillation and membrane electrolysis of coal seam gas reverse osmosis brine for clean water extraction and NaOH production

et al. 2016

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Duke, M., Gray, S., Nelemans, B. & Nghiem, L. D. (2016). Membrane distillation and membrane electrolysis of coal seam gas reverse osmosis brine for clean water extraction and NaOH production. Desalination, Membrane distillation and membrane electrolysis of coal seam gas reverse osmosis brine for clean water extraction and NaOH production AbstractMembrane distillation (MD) and membrane electrolysis (ME) were evaluated for simultaneous fresh water extraction and NaOH production from a mixture of NaCl and NaHCO3 to simulate the composition of coal seam gas (CSG) reverse osmosis (RO) brine. Experimental results demonstrate the potential of MD for producing fresh water and simultaneously concentrating CSG RO brine prior to the ME process. MD water flux was slightly reduced by the increased feed salinity and the decomposition of bicarbonate to CO2 during the concentration of CSG RO brine. MD operation of CSG RO brine at a concentration factor of 10 (90% water recovery) was achieved with distillate conductivity as low as 18 μS/cm, and without any observable membrane scaling. Exceeding the concentration factor of 10 could lead to deterioration in both water flux and distillate quality due to the precipitation of NaCl, NaHCO3, and Na2CO3 on the membrane. With respect to ME, current density and water circulation rates exerted strong influences on the ME process performance. Combining ME with MD reduced the thermal energy requirement of ME by 3 MJ per kg of NaOH produced and the thermal energy consumption of MD by 22 MJ per m3 of clean water extracted. Abstract: Membrane distillation (MD) and membrane electrolysis (ME) were evaluated for simultaneous fresh water extraction and NaOH production from a mixture of NaCl and NaHCO3 to simulate the composition of coal seam gas (CSG) reverse osmosis (RO) brine. Experimental results demonstrate the potential of MD for producing fresh water and simultaneously concentrating CSG RO brine prior to the ME process. MD water flux was slightly reduced by the increased feed salinity and the decomposition of bicarbonate to CO2 during the concentration of CSG RO brine. MD operation of CSG RO brine at a concentration factor of 10 (90% water recovery) was achieved with distillate conductivity as low as 18 µS/cm, and without any observable membrane scaling. Exceeding the concentration factor of 10 could lead to deterioration in both water flux and distillate quality due to the precipitation of NaCl, NaHCO3, and Na2CO3 on the membrane. With respect to ME, current density and water circulation rates exerted strong influences on the ME process performance. Combining ME with MD reduced the thermal energy requirement of ME by 3 MJ per kg of NaOH produced and the thermal energy consumption of MD by 22 MJ per m 3 of clean water extracted.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most current CSG produced water treatment systems utilise reverse osmosis (RO) as their core treatment process [3,5]. Water recovery of the RO process is constrained to about 80%…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Membrane distillation and membrane electrolysis of coal seam gas reverse osmosis brine for clean water extraction and NaOH production

et al. 2016

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“…The output is classified into two water types; permeate and the concentrated salt solution termed brine [62,64]. The chemical composition of the permeate is of high quality, with heavy metals, SAR, TDS, EC, HCO3 -, and Na + removed [62,66]. An advantage of the RO system is that it can typically recover between 75-80% of the water as permeate depending on the type of membranes that are used and the type of water that is input into the RO system [62,67].…”

Section: Principal Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…Extensive research has been done on the removal of silica from groundwater. Several methods have been successfully applied for silica removal, which can be generally classified into four groups: (1) chemical clarification, (2) electrocoagulation, (3) membrane processes, and (4) adsorption and ion exchange processes.…”

Section: Introduction 1 Backgroundmentioning

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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Downstream processing of reverse osmosis brine: Characterisation of potential scaling compounds

Cited by 20 publications

References 28 publications

Membrane distillation and membrane electrolysis of coal seam gas reverse osmosis brine for clean water extraction and NaOH production

Membrane distillation and membrane electrolysis of coal seam gas reverse osmosis brine for clean water extraction and NaOH production

Coal Seam Gas Water Quality and Impacts on Downstream Treatment Technologies

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

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