Use of carbon materials for produced water treatment: a review on adsorption process and performance

Abstract

The oil and gas production is identified by consuming a large amount of water and generating massive produced water. The produced water is either reinjected into the underground layers or released into the rivers and oceans that can cause severe damage to the environment due to toxic elements such as salts, oil and grease, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. So produced water treatment and management can reduce the significant threats to the soil and water resources and solve the lack of water in different water-consuming sectors. During the last decades, adsorption methods, such as using expanded graphite and activated carbon materials, have attracted scientists' attention because these adsorbents are cost-effective and practical. This study aimed to review expanded graphite's synthesis, adsorption process, and efficient factors in removing heavy oil, heavy metals, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, and organic acids from produced water and compare with other adsorbents, including activated carbon and residual biomass. Based on the results of extensive research works, expanded graphite's high adsorption feature suggested that graphite can be a promising adsorbent in actual produced water treatment.

Expanded graphite as the best sorbent for hydrocarbons

“…6, EG has not only a significantly higher absorption capacity compared to the recommended sorbents, but also the shortest absorption time, and this result is accordance with the data of [13]. In [25,26], a method of obtaining EG and a mobile installation for obtaining it in the field are given, as well as a model of a light floating device for water bodies is developed. .…”

Thermal Disorder in Finite-Length Carbon Nanowire

“…Carbon exists in various configurations such as graphite, diamond, graphene, nanotubes, etc. The advantage of using carbon nanomaterials for chemisorption is their promising ability to provide a wide range of adsorption applications such as water treatments [1] and nanosensors [2]. For water treatments, the production of oil and gas generates a large amount of wastewater, known as produced water, which can contaminate soil and water resources if released into rivers and oceans.…”

“…In response to this, treatment and management of the produced water is necessary to mitigate the environmental impact. Expanded graphite and activated carbon adsorbents have been studied as cost-efficient and effective means of treating this wastewater [1,3]. From sensing technology's point of view, the response of in situ grown carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a SiO 2 substrate when supplied with a constant current has been observed as a voltage response with respect to time to detect gas concentrations of H 2 and CO 2 .…”