title: Application of Membrane Crystallization for Minerals' Recovery from Produced Water.
abstract: Produced water represents the largest wastewater stream from oil and gas production. Generally, its high salinity level restricts the treatment options. Membrane crystallization (MCr) is an emerging membrane process with the capability to extract simultaneously fresh water and valuable components from various streams. In the current study, the potential of MCr for produced water treatment and salt recovery was demonstrated. The experiments were carried out in lab scale and semi-pilot scale. The effect of thermal and hydrodynamic conditions on process performance and crystal characteristics were explored. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses confirmed that the recovered crystals are sodium chloride with very high purity (>99.9%), also indicated by the cubic structure observed by microscopy and SEM (scanning electron microscopy) analysis. It was demonstrated experimentally that at recovery factor of 37%, 16.4 kg NaCl per cubic meter of produced water can be recovered. Anti-scaling surface morphological features of membranes were also identified. In general, the study provides a new perspective of isolation of valuable constituents from produced water that, otherwise, is considered as a nuisance.
authors.affiliation: National Research Council-Institute on Membrane Technology (ITM-CNR), Via Pietro BUCCI, c/o University of Calabria, cubo 17C, Rende 87036, Italy. a.aamer@itm.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Aamer
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: National Research Council-Institute on Membrane Technology (ITM-CNR), Via Pietro BUCCI, c/o University of Calabria, cubo 17C, Rende 87036, Italy.|Department of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, University of Calabria, Rende 87036, Italy.
authors.forename: Cejna Anna
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Quist-Jensen
authors.affiliation: National Research Council-Institute on Membrane Technology (ITM-CNR), Via Pietro BUCCI, c/o University of Calabria, cubo 17C, Rende 87036, Italy. francesca.macedonio@unical.it.|Department of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, University of Calabria, Rende 87036, Italy. francesca.macedonio@unical.it.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Macedonio
authors.affiliation: National Research Council-Institute on Membrane Technology (ITM-CNR), Via Pietro BUCCI, c/o University of Calabria, cubo 17C, Rende 87036, Italy. e.drioli@itm.cnr.it.|Department of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, University of Calabria, Rende 87036, Italy. e.drioli@itm.cnr.it.|WCU Energy Engineering Department, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea. e.drioli@itm.cnr.it.|Center of Excellence in Desalination Technology, King Abdulaziz University (KAU-CEDT), Jeddah 21589, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. e.drioli@itm.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Drioli
keywords: crystal characteristics; membrane crystallization; membrane material; produced water