Clean results: Removing oil from drainage water in the oil industry
Drainage water from drilling sludge accumulates at oil wells. This water is always contaminated with oil which has to be removed before the water can be returned to the sea in order to protect the sensitive ecosystem.
Drainage water – (oil + solids) = water
The GEA Westfalia Separator Group installed a system to clean drainage water on an oil platform belonging to Transocean, the world's largest operator of such platforms. In a multi-stage process, the system separates out oil and solid particles, most of which are coated in oil, from the water. Once the process is complete, the water has an oil content of less than 5 ppm and thereby satisfies the limit values stipulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for returning water to the sea of between 5 and 15 ppm. To increase the size of the solid particles, making it easier for them to be separated out, the process uses a polymer to promote flocculation. Particular requirements for the drilling platform: The polymer batching station must be explosion-proof.
Key figures
- Cleaning, in particular removing oil, of drainage water on drilling platforms
- Polymer batching station Ultromat® ATF 1000 Ex
- Explosion-proof special design
- Final oil content of less than 5 ppm, undershooting the IMO limit values
Flaky cleaning, outstanding result
The GEA Westfalia Separator Group chose to again work with ProMinent on the basis of good past experience, as Thomas Perschke, Head Business Line Oil & Gas, is only too happy to report. But what clinched the deal was the fact that ProMinent produced the polymer batching station Ultromat ATF 1000 Ex as the desired, customised explosion-proof design specifically for GEA Westfalia. Two stirrers in each of the Ultromat's three stainless steel chambers process 30 kg of powder an hour. This produces 1,000 litres of polymer, all of which is conveyed hour by hour into the de-oiling system. A separator separates out solids and oil, and following a final check, the now almost pure water is returned to the sea.
Extra explosion protection for excellent cleaning
- Operational safety due to explosion-protected special design
- The water is guaranteed to meet the IMO limit values at the very least
- 1,000 litres of ready-to-use polymer an hour
- Siemens S7-313 provides automatic control