Produced water from polymer flooding contains elevated concentration of high molecular weight hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM). The presence of HPAM stabilizes oil in water, causing a significant reduction in the performance of established water treatment process. In this study, a novel chemical was developed in order to improve the performance of water treatment process. The aim was to 1) increase the effluent quality of produced water for discharge or reinjection into disposal wells.
Firstly, the efficiency of the product was evaluated in bench scale with synthetic produced water and with standard jar test equipment. Different parameters including dosage, pH, oil concentration and salinity were studied. The influence of these parameters on residual polymer and oil concentration, sludge volume, and sludge dewatering were investigated. The results indicated about 90% of polymer was removed during treatment. Significant oil reduction was also observed. The sludge volume was lower than benchmark product and dewatering of sludge was better than benchmark product. The results were further validated during a field trial.

Primary Author:

Mehrdad Hesampour
Principal Scientist
Kemira
Finland

Presenter/Co-Author:
Miguel Pelaez
Kemira
Atlanta, Georgia
USA