Evaluation of Membrane desalination schemes in desert oil field with emphasis on membrane separation technologies
Mohamed H. Sorour,* Heba A. Hani, Ghada A. Al-Bazedi and Hayam F. Shaalan
Chemical engineering and pilot plant department, National research center
Address: El-Bohouth Street, Dokki-Giza- Egypt; P.O. Box 12622
Tel.: (+2) 02 33389935, Fax: (+2) 02 33370931
* Corresponding author e-mail: hi_heba2@yahoo.com; Tel:01005276183
Abstract
Most large-scale petroleum production sites are located in remote and coastal locations. Securing availability, accessibility, reliability, and affordability are key issues for sustainable water production in oil fields locations. In this paper, comparative assessment of reverse osmosis (RO), electro-dialysis (ED) and electro-dialysis reversal (EDR) has been conducted from the technical, financial and environmental standpoints. The special features of brine management in remote desert locations have been addressed through possible cost effective salt recovery interventions. Thus, a comparative evaluation of deep well injection versus salt recovery based on solar ponds has been addressed. The paper is concluded with addressing the economic criteria for implementation of integrated membrane schemes in remote desert locations. The attractive features of electro-dialysis have been emphasized taking into consideration the latest development in ion exchange membrane and EDR electrode assembly.