Advances in Compact Flotation Units (CFUs) for Produced Water Treatment.

Abstract

The Cameron TST-CFU is the next generation compact flotation technology that uses induced gas, dissolved gas and centrifugal forces to separate and remove hydrocarbons, aromatic compounds, hydrophobic substances and small solid particles from produced water. The technology uses special internals for mixing of gas and oil through several stages within one vessel. Following extensive lab and field testing several full scale units have now been deployed. This next generation compact flotation unit is capable of handling higher inlet oil concentrations (over 1,000 ppm) and providing lower outlet OIW concentrations (less than 10ppm). The TST-CFU system requires less equipment, is less dependent on chemicals and can potentially replace multiple produced water treatment stages. This presentation will outline the technology and present field operating data where the TST CFU has been used to replace conventional produced water treatment technologies. It will address the oil removal performance of the TST-CFU from fields with high OIW concentrations and small oil droplet size distributions. The TST-CFU compact flotation unit, is specially designed to incorporate many new features which enhance equipment performance, reduce foot print, weight of equipment, reduce capital costs, operating costs, maintenance costs, and allows other applications including higher operating pressure and off gas containment.