Membrane Performance Analysis for Smart Water Production for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbonate and Sandstone Reservoirs

• Published in: Energy & fuels Vol. 32; no. 4; pp. 4988 - 4995
• Main Authors: Nair, Remya R, Protasova, Evgenia, Strand, Skule, Bilstad, Torleiv
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 19.04.2018
• ISSN: 0887-0624; 1520-5029
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.8b00447

Water with specific ion composition is required for smart water production intended for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in petroleum reservoirs. Membrane desalination is proposed in a unique configuration to deliver water with varying ionic composition for water injection in both carbonate and sandstone reservoirs. This research is dedicated to improve existing EOR technology and achieve environmentally friendly production of fossil fuels offshore. Present work addresses objectives, such as optimizing the nanofiltration (NF) membrane performance for smart water production from seawater in terms of flux, ion rejection, and power consumption for producing 1 m3 h–1 smart water. The power consumed for smart water production is calculated at 0.7 kWh m–3 for carbonates and 5.21 kWh m–3 for sandstones. NF membranes were chosen for smart water production over other desalination technologies as a result of their flexibility in altering ionic composition, low energy requirements, low chemical usage, and small footprint along with ease of operation. Smart water production from seawater considerably reduces use of fresh water during offshore water injection and is environmentally friendly.