Technology
Water is an invaluable commodity in energy exploration. Access to clean water reserves can dictate explorations options, well life, frac quality, disposal options, and more. The capability to recover high volumes of flowback, frac, and produced water for reuse in the completion process enables energy companies to expand exploration, extend well life, and extract a higher quality of product. For the past 11 years, Water Tectonics has been specializing in high volume recovery technologies that provide maximum use water recycling for the Oil & Gas indsutry.
The WaveIonics Treatment System
At the core of the Water Tectonics process is the WaveIonics system. Extremely efficient in treating highly conductive, complex waste streams, the WaveIonics system can be scaled to handle loads of up to 50,000 barrels per day, and beyond.
The science behind the process is based on principles of electrocoagulation, but the WaveIonics system has developed the technology to a level far beyond that of traditional vendors. The WaveIonics system affords users the following advantages:
- Automated system logic and robust hardware components to manage and accommodate various electrical loads related to water contaminants
- Rate of processing with system designs that focus on treatment flows from 142-714bbl/hr and beyond
- Low-cost treatment consumables with high efficiency and long lifespans
- Simplified system rig up and rig down
Electrocoagulation: How Does it Work?
The basic process of electrocoagulation consists of forcing contaminated water to flow between closely spaced metal plates, across which an alternating, direct, or pulsing electrical potential is applied. When particulate contaminants such as heavy metals are in cationic form, they generally precipitate as hydroxides or oxides during this process. The electrode potentials are also sufficiently high to induce reduction and oxidation reactions in the particulate contaminates as well. When the polarity reverses, there is a tendency for the metallic oxides (hydroxides) to be repelled from the face of the electrode and continue to agglomerate in a coalescence chamber.
Here, the crystallization process continues as un-reacted metallic ions, free oxygen ions, and hydroxyl ions are incorporated into growing metallic oxide crystals. Most of the crystals of the metallic oxides and other coagulates settle to the bottom of the coalescence chamber and become sludge. A small portion of them remain suspended and float to the surface attached to small bubbles of gas where they become observable as a sludge blanket or foam.
The coagulated particles are then collected by various types of sand filters, cartridge filters, or other means and separated from the contaminated water. One of the most environmentally noteworthy differences with the electrocoagulation process versus a chemical or thermal coagulation process is that with electrocoagulation the system cannot over-treat the contaminated water. Over-treatment can create a situation even worse than the original. Electrical coagulation has no point of over treatment that has ever been observed. In fact, the same solution can be treated over and over and never fail to coagulate.
