Solar Wastewater Treatment of Saline Oily Wastewater and Design of a New Containerized Wastewater Treatment System
摘要
Worldwide, petroleum and gas industries are widely recognized as significant sources of pollution. Drillings and extraction operations, in particular, are major contributors to environmental degradation. Crude oil, along with toxic and harmful contaminants are highly concentrated in rejected or produced water. Treatment of this wastewater is imperative before discharge into the environment to prevent adverse effects on human health and ecological balance. However, conventional treatment methods often conflict with the objectives outlined in the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, particularly regarding energy consumption. This paper proposes the integration of solar wastewater treatment (SOWAT) as a solution to reduce the excessive electricity consumption. This environmentally friendly process has been tested in treating produced water collected from the Sonatrach de-oling plant in Ouargla. In addition to significant depollution results, SOWAT has proven effective in removing barium sulfate (BaSO2) formation that induces oil pipelines clogging. An innovative hybrid thermal energy system has been developed to ensure continuous treatment, independent from solar intermittency thereby benefiting industries, especially those operating in fragile ecosystems with limited access to fresh water. Following a year of testing SOWAT, this paper also proposes the design of a new sustainable containerized wastewater system, powered by both solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar energy sources.