Produced water characteristics, treatment and reuse: A review

Abstract

In oil and gas industry, produced water is considered as the largest waste stream, which contains relatively higher concentration of hydrocarbons, heavy metals and other pollutants. Due to the increase in industrial activities, the generation of produced water has increased all over the world and its treatment for reuse is now important from environmental perspective. Treatment of produced water can be done through various methods including physical (membrane filtration, adsorption etc.), chemical (precipitation, oxidation), and biological (activated sludge, biological aerated filters and others) methods. This paper aims to highlight characteristics of produced water in detail and physical, chemical, and biological techniques used for its treatment. In addition, reuse of produced water for different purposes has been discussed. At the end, few case studies from different countries, related to the treatment and reuse of their produced waters have been included.