The presence of boron in oil and gas wastewater (produced waters) is a potential challenge for reuse of these waters for irrigation and agricultural uses. Boron is an essential micronutrient, but also toxic to plants at relatively low concentrations. It is also typically present as neutrally charged boric acid (H3BO3) in solution which is difficult to remove by conventional treatment technologies. In previous studies, electrocoagulation using an aluminum anode effectively removed boron from synthetic produced water solutions. Boron removal proceeded primarily through borate (B(OH)4-) ion interactions with Al(OH)3, with optimal results at pH 8. The present study extends this work to examine the impacts of real produced water composition (including dissolved organic matter, high divalent cation concentrations, and suspended solids) on boron removal by electrocoagulation and treated water quality. As in previous studies, both increased boron removal and a faster rate of removal were observed in real produced waters with increasing current loading. However, increased temperature can limit the removal process as current increases further. The presence of high concentrations of Ca and Mg in the produced water results in low bulk pH values throughout the process and greater formation of solid product. However, boron removal did not decrease with this lower bulk pH, as it had in the synthetic solution. This suggests there may be sorption interactions with Mg and Ca solids forming due to localized high pH conditions near the aluminum electrode. The presence of organic matter from different sources (humic matter, phenol, and oilfield DOM) had minimal impact on boron removal, while the removal of DOC from produced waters during the electrocoagulation process is still under investigation. Further studies will assess the impact of produced water suspended solids and the integration of electrocoagulation into an integrated treatment process for produced water conditioning and desalination.

Boron removal during electrocoagulation in real produced water

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.