Innovation in Oil-Water Separation for Oil Storage Facilities
In routine operations at oil storage facilities, oil-water separation is a key step for efficient operation and safety control. Oil-water separation here specifically refers to the operation of effectively separating the water settled at the bottom of storage tanks from crude oil during the extraction, transfer, storage and processing of petroleum. Its purpose is to thoroughly remove bottom water, ensure crude oil quality remains stable and maintain the safe and smooth operation of storage facilities.
Efficient oil-water separation significantly reduces the concentration of oil and suspended solids in discharged wastewater, easing the negative impact on the environment. At the same time, the separated water can be reused as a resource or discharged after treatment to standard, helping to conserve water resources and promote sustainable environmental management.
Faced with increasingly strict environmental regulations and rising public expectations for environmental quality, conventional water treatment approaches at storage facilities are finding it progressively harder to meet new requirements. An innovative oil-water separation technology has therefore emerged. With its high efficiency, environmental friendliness and economy, it is leading a transformation in water treatment at storage facilities.
I. Overview of the technical process
The core of the process is the integrated use of a CDFUCDFU (ultrafine bubble flotation unit) and a coalescing de-oiling unit.
The process begins when drainage from the tank farm enters the water-drawing buffer tank, where gravity settling provides preliminary separation of the oil phase and suspended solids. The wastewater then flows into the coalescing de-oiling unit, whose unique coalescing filter media and structural design effectively capture and aggregate fine oil droplets smaller than 10 microns, greatly accelerating oil-water separation with a treatment efficiency above 99%.
After that, the effluent from the coalescing de-oiling unit enters the CDFUcyclonic dissolved gas flotation unit.CDFUThe technology generates large numbers of ultrafine bubbles that efficiently and rapidly remove free oil, emulsified oil, suspended solids and other impurities from the water. These ultrafine bubbles have extremely strong adsorption capacity, enabling emulsified oil to demulsify under surface tension and removing oil adhering to the surface of suspended solids. This further reduces the oil and suspended solids content of the produced water, strengthens the system's ability to cope with water quality fluctuations, and ensures the final effluent meets treatment and discharge standards.
On-site water-drawing treatment unit at a petrochemical oil depot in Shichuan
II. Technical advantages
Outstanding treatment performance: the solution uses advanced technology and equipment to remove various pollutants from wastewater efficiently and rapidly, with treatment efficiency above 90%.
Space saving: the modular and compact design greatly reduces the footprint of the whole system, saving valuable land resources.
Minimal chemical use: the process requires essentially no or only very small amounts of chemicals, reducing sludge generation and subsequent treatment costs.
Strong fluctuation resistance: the system has good resistance to shock loading and can adapt to wide fluctuations in water quality, ensuring stable effluent quality.
Low overall cost: thanks to the simple process flow and streamlined ancillary equipment, investment, operating and maintenance costs are all significantly reduced.
In summary, this innovative oil-water separation process for storage facilities, with its efficiency, environmental friendliness and economy, provides a new solution and development path for water treatment in the industry.
