Term 252

Produced Water Desalination and Treatment System for Oilfield Applications

Project Type: Self-Initiated

Project Description

Team M077 developed a portable, bench-scale produced-water treatment skid for oilfield applications. The system integrates staged pretreatment and brackish-water reverse osmosis (BWRO) to reduce salinity, hydrocarbons, and suspended solids in a compact and modular layout suitable for remote operation. The treatment train consists of a low-pressure feed pump, a multimedia filter (MMF) to remove turbidity and solids, activated carbon (GAC) to adsorb dissolved organics and support hydrocarbon reduction, followed by staged cartridge filtration (10–5–1 μm) to protect the high-pressure pump and RO membrane. Final desalination is performed using a BWRO 2521 membrane operated at high pressure to achieve the required salt rejection. The project targets ≥95% TDS removal, ≥90% hydrocarbon reduction, ≥10 L/hr throughput, and a portable skid mass ≤50 kg (tank located outside the frame), with verification based on measured TDS/flow/pressure and hydrocarbon testing.