Treatment of Produced Oil and Gas Waters With Surfactant-Modified Zeolite

Whereas most water produced from onshore oil and gas operations is disposed via reinjection, some waters, such as those from offshore production platforms, coastal production, and some onshore wells, must be treated to remove organic constituents before the water is discharged. Current methods for reducing residual free phases and dissolved organic carbon are not always fully effective in meeting regulatory limits. In addition, cost, space requirements, and ease of use are important factors in any treatment system. Surfactant-modified zeolite (SMZ) has been used successfully to treat contaminated ground water for organic and inorganic constituents. This research will use laboratory batch and column studies to design a field system that will be used to treat produced waters to reduce dissolved and free-phase organic constituents. The system will be designed to operate simply and to have low operating costs. Methods for regeneration of the spent zeolite will also be tested, as will the treatment system at a field production site in the final project task. Research over the past six months has focused on the selection and characterization of the surfactant modified zeolite and the produced waters. The zeolite to be used in this work has been obtained from St. Cloud Mine near Winston, New Mexico. The primary surfactant to be used to modify the zeolite is hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA).