Supercritical water desalination and oxidation (SCWDO): Effectiveness on complex solutions, technoeconomic, and CO2 impact for produced water treatment

Sharan, Prashant; Dugas, Michael Patrick; Ravichandran, Santosh; Castro, Raymond; Biswas, Ayan; Warsinger, David M.; Singh, Rajinder Pal; Currier, Robert Patrick; Findikoglu, Alp Tugrul

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2025.118963

Supercritical water desalination and oxidation (SCWDO): Effectiveness on complex solutions, technoeconomic, and CO₂ impact for produced water treatment

Journal Article · Mon Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Desalination

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2025.118963· OSTI ID:3001291

^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Castro, Raymond ^[1]; Biswas, Ayan ^[1]; Warsinger, David M. ^[2]; ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

The modern energy-economy is increasingly causing the production of highly saline brines, including from produced water. Supercritical water desalination can concentrate and extract minerals from these brines, but the effects of mixed salt interactions, organic degradation with additives, and the technology's economics are not well understood at supercritical condition. The present study evaluated and experimentally studied an integrated supercritical water desalination and oxidation (SCWDO) process for treating real-produced water samples from oil/natural gas field. The complex interactions between the various anions and cations in produced water were extensively evaluated. Most of the divalent and trivalent ions were extracted below 250 °C while the majority of the monovalent salt were removed between 380 to 410 °C. The treated real produced water was of drinking water quality, with <500 mg/l of total dissolved solid (TDS) and with 100% organics removal. Furthermore, the heat liberated during the organic oxidation could be utilized internally and for electricity generation for enhanced the energy efficiency and lower cost of produced water treatment. With system optimization, the proposed SCWDO process can essentially be made a net zero energy process. A novel process flow diagram for the commercial scale self-powered hybrid SCWDO technology was proposed as a cost-effective produced water treatment to mitigate the environmental crises. Techno-economic analysis showed that produced water treatment cost with SCWDO can be reduced to 2–3 $/m³ and can be up to 60 % cheaper to traditional deep well reinjection. Additionally, the proposed SCWDO process could achieve net negative CO₂ emission.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 3001291

Report Number(s):: LA-UR--23-22311; 10.1016/j.desal.2025.118963

Journal Information:: Desalination, Journal Name: Desalination Vol. 613; ISSN 0011-9164

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Supercritical water desalination and oxidation (SCWDO): Effectiveness on complex solutions, technoeconomic, and CO2 impact for produced water treatment

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