A "Black Technology" for Oily Wastewater in Oilfields — How CDFU Cyclonic Dissolved Air Flotation Breaks the Deadlock
Industry Background
China's oil output has continued to grow and energy security has been steadily reinforced. Yet the problem of oily wastewater generated during oil extraction has long troubled the entire industry. Statistics show that China's oilfields produce more than 1 billion tons of oily wastewater every year; poorly handled, it not only causes serious environmental pollution but also wastes a large amount of recyclable water resources.
How difficult is oily wastewater treatment? Consider its "complexity": the water contains crude oil, suspended solids, dissolved salts and other pollutants, with small droplet sizes and a high degree of emulsification — some droplets are so fine they are invisible to the naked eye as they remain suspended. Conventional water treatment methods are often powerless against it.
The Predicament of Conventional Technology
In the past, oilfields commonly used oil-intercepting ponds, flotation separation and similar techniques to treat oily wastewater. These methods are not entirely useless, but they come with a pile of problems:
Large footprint: a medium-sized treatment station may need thousands of square meters of land
Low treatment efficiency: oil and water are not separated thoroughly, and effluent quality fluctuates widely
High reagent consumption: large amounts of chemical reagents are needed, keeping operating costs high
Difficult maintenance: equipment clogs easily and suffers a high failure rate
Faced with increasingly strict environmental standards, conventional technologies are falling further behind. Oilfield operators urgently need a more efficient, more economical and more stable solution.
SINOKLE's "CDFU" Technology Arrives on the Scene
Against this backdrop, SINOKLE introduced CDFU (compact cyclonic dissolved air flotation unit), which immediately attracted industry attention.
The core innovation of this technology lies in combining cyclonic separation with flotation separation. Put simply, it lets wastewater complete oil-water separation within a high-speed rotating centrifugal force field, greatly improving efficiency.
Technical Highlights
Micro-nano bubble technology: generates 5-30 micron bubbles that effectively capture tiny oil droplets and suspended solids
High separation efficiency: oil-water separation rate reaches 95% or more, far exceeding conventional equipment
Small footprint: only 1/3 that of conventional equipment, saving land cost
Low operating cost: no chemical reagents are needed, reducing reagent purchasing and secondary pollution
Highly automated: equipped with an intelligent PLC control system, it needs almost no manual attendance
A Real Case
A large oilfield produced-water treatment station adopted CDFU technology with a treatment capacity of 5,000 m³/day. Operating data show that the effluent oil content remains consistently below 10 mg/L, far better than the industry standard. The equipment runs stably and maintenance costs are significantly reduced.
Final Thoughts
Guided by the "dual carbon" goals, green development has become a required course for the oil industry. CDFU technology offers oilfields an efficient and economical new option for oily wastewater treatment — solving environmental problems while recycling water resources, achieving multiple benefits at once.
