Effluent Management in Oil and Gas Extraction

Abstract

The oil and gas industry is characterized by petrochemical industrial wastewater known basically as effluent, which typically contains various organic and inorganic components, naturally present or added during oil and gas processes. Thus, proper management or treatment is needed for reuse, discharge, or final disposal requiring complexity of the wastewater composition needing stringent discharge procedures, standards requiring combinations of treatment methods.  Effluent being a complex mixture of different organic and inorganic compounds (mostly salts, minerals, gas and oils), is majorly generated during oil/gas production. The volume of effluent is increasing around the world, and as a consequence, its discharge to the environment is one of the global concerns. The various methods of effluent management have their own advantages and disadvantages when used for offshore or onshore units. However, comprehensive and deep-understanding of each issue can provide a guideline for better and more practical solutions to its management. In this work, various physical and chemical treatment methods are reviewed and the most effective recommended to proper effluent management that meets all international standard and enhances sustainability. In this study the Pre-treatment, treatment and post treatment approaches employed reduced the amount of impurities present in the effluent with varying pH of 7.2 and 7.8, COD of 30 and 60mg/L, BOD value of 45 and 54 respectively, TSS value of 80 and 60mg/L and TDS of 5200 and 4800.