Browsing by Subject "fouling"
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Item Application of Membranes to Treatment of Water Based Exploration and Production Wastes(2010-10-12) Olatubi, Oluwaseun AlfredProduced water and spent drilling fluids from petroleum operations represent a significant expense to companies developing new energy reserves. These spent fluids, seldom recycled, offer a viable source of water resources for oil-field reuse. A major obstacle to reuse is the presence of suspended solid material in the fluids. Such contaminants, if not removed, will not only prevent any reuse but will also impede disposal. The objective of this project was to evaluate membrane filtration as a way to remove suspended and entrained particles to produce re-useable effluents using membranes. Ceramic and Polyvinylidene Flouride (PVDF) hollow fibre membranes were used in laboratory scale experiments in the investigation of the colloidal filtration of field produced spent drilling fluids and produced water. Feed parameter and operational parameter evaluation of ceramic and PVDF hollow fibre membrane filtration of spent drilling fluids and produced water showed that feed concentration, solids in the spent drilling fluid and oil in the produced water, is the most important parameter during membrane filtration. Operational parameter variation showed that high cross flow velocity was beneficial in flux maintenance during spent drilling fluid filtration due to its high solids concentration because of the scouring effect on the cake layer on the membrane surface. Pressure regimens were important in flux decline as relatively high pressures accelerate the consolidation of the concentration polarization layer causing flux decline. High temperatures were generally beneficial for increased flux in the filtration of produced water and spent drilling fluids. Resistance calculations were used to deduce the contribution of individual resistances during the ceramic filtration of produced water and spent drilling fluids and were identified as a real-time tool for monitoring membrane integrity and fouling. Backwashing as a fouling mitigation technique was effective in flux maintenance in ceramic membranes especially in the filtration of produced water; cleaning solutions were effective in flux recovery in ceramic membrane filtration and to a slightly lesser degree in hollow fibre membrane filtration. A methodology in determining the suitability of water based oil field wastes using membranes was developed to help future investigations of this type.Item Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Fouling Parameters in a Small-Scale Rotating Unit(2013-07-30) Lane, Matthew RyanFouling, a problem since the first heat exchanger was created, has been the focus of various studies since the 1970s. In particular, crude oil fouling is a costly and problematic type of heat exchanger fouling that occurs in the preheat train to the atmospheric distillation column in petroleum refineries. Previous experiments have been designed to determine the causes of fouling using less than one gallon of crude oil and accumulating test results within a day. These experiments will be the basis of the Rotating Fouling Unit (RFU) at Heat Transfer Research Inc. (HTRI). The RFU focuses on better controlling the shear stress and heat transfer distribution along the surface of the heated test section by analyzing Taylor-Couette flow experiments and using them as a basis to better predict the flow across the heated surface of the test section in the RFU. Additionally, the equations for Taylor-Couette flow are used to verify the 2D flow simulations of the RFU to ensure the accuracy of the results. The design of the RFU incorporates data acquisition with a variety of measurements that will facilitate automatic and accurate data collection, so the results can be easily compared to previous fouling experiments. The RFU will act as a supplement to the High Temperature Fouling Unit (HTFU) at HTRI, and provide data comparable to that of the HTFU in order to better understand crude oil fouling. Computer simulations can accurately predict the shear stress and heat transfer coefficient along the surface of the test probe and help verify the improvements made to the original batch stirred cell designs.