Experimental methodology for CO2 capture and sodium bicarbonate synthesis with producedwater from oil industry

Abstract

Produced water is the main residue from the petroleum extraction industry. Other critical factor in this sector is carbon dioxide emissions. This work presents a solution proposal for both problems throughout the development of an apparatus which allows the synthesis of salts dissolved in produced water with CO2 capture. The experimental unit developed in this work was based on the Solvay process, to convert sodium chloride (NaCl) into sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) from synthetic produced water and carbon dioxide (CO2). No previous work used the combination of produced water and CO2 aiming at the synthesis of new products. Four steps were made with different experimental setups. The best outcome for the reaction of bicarbonate attained a conversion of 44.5% of sodium chloride into sodium bicarbonate and capture of 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. A preliminary financial analysis indicates an annual revenue of US$ 126,607,292.31 in sodium bicarbonate and ammonium chloride and US$ 2,862,897.23 in carbon credits per year. The studied methodology can be used as a starting point for new experimental works that have the purpose to obtain salts from produced water and can help for better understanding its potential as carbon capture agent and a source of valuable products, contributing to the reduction of the environmental impact and adding value to the production chain.