Water Management

Purestream Technology offers oil and gas producers a variety of options for water treatment that can provide real economic and environmental benefits.

With approximately 14 billion barrels of water produced annually from oil and gas operations, produced water is one of the industry’s most challenging waste disposal issues. There are numerous processes and technologies designed to remove contaminants from effluent and enable cleaner water for reuse or discharge back into the environment.

Oil and gas producers are seeking safe and cost-effective disposal and reuse methods. Opportunities for beneficial reuse of produced water are increasing as the industry concentrates on new and innovative technologies and solutions. What has traditionally been a waste stream for disposal and discharge, is increasingly being utilized as a solution for offsetting drought conditions, providing water for agriculture and as a reusable resource for oil and gas operations

Successful water management involves choosing the right disposal options, and implementing the appropriate post-treatment, beneficial use plan for produced water. Waste water options and beneficial uses are highly dependent upon water quality and may require treatment prior to disposal or reuse. Specifications, regulatory requirements and water volume will define treatment options for operators in most cases.

Purestream Technology has factored all of these important considerations into the engineering and design of each of our water treatment systems. We realize that no two drilling sites are identical and that a one size fit’s all approach is not practical. Our suite of solutions provides producers with options for water disposal that have not been available in the past.

AVARA: A low-pressure, low-energy mechanical vapor recompression technology that allows for efficient treatment and recycling of produced water at or near the well head. Developed in collaboration with Utah State University Research Foundation’s Space Dynamics Labs, Purestream’s AVARA System reclaims produced and flowback water through a uniquely efficient vapor recompression process. The resulting output stream is distilled water that can be put to beneficial use for field operations with low or non-detectable levels of TDS and TSS. Features of the AVARA include:

• Modular construction, effective scale-up capacity from 100 bbl/day to 100,000 bbl/day
• Proprietary software controls optimizing feed water flow and pre-heating
• Proprietary heat transfer surfaces facilitate improved boiling and condensation heat transfer and reduced scaling
• Low-pressure operation resulting in reduced energy costs, operating temperatures, and stress induced corrosion
• Proprietary level control optimizes water-handling capacity across a wide TDS range
• Adaptable to on-site power possibilities: flares, grid, gas, diesel
• Self-contained power source (if needed)
• Utilizes engine/turbine exhaust heat for combined heat-power efficiencies
• No open combustion sources for improved safety and reduced fire risk
• Wireless transmission of operating parameters, diagnostics and control inputs

IGF: Our Induced Gas Flotation technology provides an effective and cost efficient solution for clarifying water with high total suspended solids (TSS) and hydrocarbon reclamation in produced water. The core functionality of the IGF is effective removal of 97% of TSS in input streams, including oil and condensate. Features of the IFG include:

• Robust, small footprint
• Minimum operator interface, low maintenance
• One vertical single cell IGF is designed to process 0 – 75 gpm of production water
• Inlet, outlet, skim, and recycle pumps with automatic isolation valves
• H₂S and CO₂ monitoring system
• Effluent TSS and floatable hydrocarbon levels below 10 ppm

Trilogy ZAP: This efficient water reduction system is engineered to evaporate produced / frac water in order to reduce trucking costs associated with transporting waste water to evaporation ponds and disposal wells. The ZAP is the most cost effective solution on the market to evaporate wastewater. Features of the ZAP include:

• Ability to reduce, through evaporation, significant volumes of High TDS produced water from several sources in close proximity
• Most cost efficient solution on the market to evaporate waste water
• May be operated utilizing waste heat of alternate sources or internal burners
• Concentrates waste water brine to TDS of 300,000 ppm while releasing low temperature steam containing TDS of 300 ppm
• Reduces the need for trucking, disposal ponds or injection wells