62ª Reunião Anual da SBPC |
B. Engenharias - 1. Engenharia - 12. Engenharia Química |
ELECTROCHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY FOR REMOVING PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS FROM PRODUCED WATER GENERATED BY BRAZILIAN PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY |
Carlos Alberto Martínez-Huitle 1 Daniel Araújo Carvalho 1 Jéssica Horacina Bezerra Rocha 1 Gustavo Rodrigues de Oliveira 1 Aline Maria Sales Solano 1 Djalma Ribeiro da Silva 1 |
1. Departamento de Química - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN |
INTRODUÇÃO: |
Produced water (PW) is considered to be one of the largest waste streams in the petroleum, oil and gas industry. The drilling and extraction operations that are aimed to maximize the production of oil may be counterbalanced by huge production of contaminated water (called PW) with pollutants, such as heavy metals, organic compounds (Benzene, toluene, xylene, phenol, halogenated aromatic compounds, chloroform and trichloroethylene), and dissolved/suspended solids. Therefore, considerable studies have been conducted to investigate new techniques in order to remove these compounds from PW. Electrochemical oxidation (EO) of refractory effluents has received a great deal of attention thanks to its attractive characteristics, such as versatility, energy efficiency, amenability of automation and environmental compatibility. Few studies have reported the results about the application of electrochemical technologies for removing contaminants from oil industry wastewaters, but no attempts to degrade organic pollutants from PW by EO have been reported yet. In this context, the present study aims to investigate the efficiency and energy requirements of a DSA anode (Ti/Ru0.23Ti0.66Sn0.11O2) by using EO process for removing hydrocarbons from PW produced by petrochemical industry. |
METODOLOGIA: |
RESULTADOS: |
CONCLUSÃO: |
Electrochemical process to remove organic pollutants from PW samples was investigated by using a DSA electrode. The present findings indicated that the oxidation rate was insignificantly affected by higher electrolyte flow rate, thus suggesting that direct oxidation of hydrocarbons on DSA anode is the main mechanism. Other strong electrogenerated oxidants, such as .OH and Cl- formed by supporting electrolyte (NaCl), can be also participating in the EO, therefore increasing the efficiency of oxidation process. Energy consumption measured depends largely on the applied current density, and a decrease of energy was observed when an increase in the flow rate was attained. These data showed the applicability of electrochemical technology for the treatment of organic petroleum wastewater, and they point to the DSA anode as an alternative for pollutants removal from PW generated in petrochemical industries. Further experiments are in progress in order to improve the current efficiency and reduce the charge required for complete oxidation. Other parameters such as pH, chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon and oxidation intermediates during electrochemical process will be studied in a near future. |
Instituição de Fomento: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN and PETROBRAS. |
Palavras-chave: Electrochemical technologies , Produced water, Environmental protection alternatives. |