Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Water reuse studies

Book ·
OSTI ID:6364989

Methodology for the reduction or elimination of refinery wastewater discharges were developed and key processes demonstrated in pilot plants. The approaches developed are primarily directed toward use in grass roots refineries. Segregation of wastewater streams was limited to (1) high-quality streams suitable with minimum treatment for use in steam generation; (2) relatively low TDS streams which, with minor treatment, are suitable for use in cooling; and (3) high TDS streams to be treated for the removal of characteristic refinery contaminants and reduced in volume or reduced to solid form for ultimate disposal. Because the preponderance of the water used in the model 150,000 barrels per day integrated refinery was for utilities (that is, cooling and steam generation), major emphasis was given to water management practices in these areas of use. As a result of the utilities water management practices and the reuse of various waters in processes, such as stripped sour water for desalting, the total effluent requiring final treatment was reduced primarily to the contribution of desalting effluent, ballast water, water treatment plant regenerants, and some process wastewater. The combined flow of these streams amounted to 22% of the normal wastewater volume. The final methodology for treating the reduced volume of high TDS effluent was a sequence of oil removal, equalization, solids removal and bio-oxidation, followed by a coil shed cooling tower which accomplished further reductions in wastewater volume utilizing waste heat. The blowdown from the cooling tower flowed to a brine concentrator where a final reduction in volume produced an effluent slurry for disposal and high-quality distillate water for use as boiler feedwater.

OSTI ID:
6364989
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English