Oil Recovery From Wastewater Sources

For Oil Recovery from any type of oil contaminated wastewater eg. tank washing, ships slops & bilge water, garage & cooking oil disposal, oil spills & slicks, FORTecx provides its proprietary demulsifies, emulsifiers and ultrasonics processes to induce rapid phase separation (the settlement of water and oil into two separate layers), rather than waiting very long periods of time for gravity to achieve the required results.

The goal:

  • to cause very rapid phase separation, in a continuous process, 24/7 if required, rather than ‘batch’ processing.
  • to do so in as eco-friendly a way as possible, using small amounts of demulsifiers, the constituents of which are from sustainable sources and biodegradable.
  • to do so as economically as possible.
  • to achieve as close to 100% phase separation as possible, whereby the recovered oil has a very low % of water and the residue water has as a negligible % of oil.

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  • the recovered oil be further refined to increase its value.
  • the water further processed to remove or eliminate other contaminates such as heavy metals, bacteria etc, to achieve a purity of water that will allow safe reuse or return to the environment.

Demulsification

Requires the breaking down of the oil & water mixes and any oil/water emulsions present, allowing for the separation and subsequent recovery of the oil phase. This process can be crucial in industries such as petroleum refining, chemical manufacturing, and food processing, where oily wastewater is generated. Here’s a general overview of how oil recovery using demulsifiers is typically conducted:

  1. Characterization of Wastewater: First the wastewater is analysed to determine its composition and characteristics, inter alia, the concentration of oil and the type of emulsions present, plus other relevant parameters. This information guides the selection of demulsifiers and the design of the recovery process.
  2. Selection of Demulsifiers: Choose demulsifiers or surfactants that are suitable for breaking down the specific type of emulsions present in the wastewater. Demulsifiers work by reducing the interfacial tension between oil and water droplets, promoting coalescence of the small water droplets into larger droplets to facilitate phase separation.
  3. Addition of Demulsifiers: Add demulsifiers to the wastewater at the appropriate dosage, ensuring thorough mixing to achieve uniform dispersion of the demulsifier throughout the waste liquid. The demulsifier can be added directly to the wastewater or mixed with a carrier solvent for better distribution.
  4. Agitation and Mixing: Agitate or mix the demulsifier-treated wastewater to promote the interaction between the demulsifier molecules and the oil-water interface. Mechanical stirring, pumping, or mixing equipment may be used to ensure adequate contact and dispersion.
  5. Allowing Settling Time: Allow sufficient time for the demulsification process to occur and for the oil droplets and the water droplets to coalesce and phase separation take place. This may involve allowing the treated wastewater to settle in tanks (called gun barrel separators) or clarifiers, or using centrifugation to accelerate phase separation.
  6. Separation and Recovery: After demulsification, the oil phase is separated from the water phase using appropriate separation techniques. Common methods include gravity separation, centrifugation, flotation, or membrane filtration. Recovered oil can be collected and further processed or treated for reuse.
  7. Treatment of Effluents: Additional treatment must then occur for the wastewater generated to remove residual contaminants and ensure compliance with environmental regulations. This may involve additional treatment steps such as filtration, chemical precipitation, or biological treatment.
  8. Monitoring and Quality Control: Detailed monitoring of all oil recovery processes is important. Recording the quality of the recovered oil and the purity of the treated water, to ensure that they meet regulatory standards and environmental requirements. Conducting regular testing and analysis is essential to assess the ongoing effectiveness of the demulsification treatment and ongoing optimisation of the whole process.
  9. Waste Management: Just as important is the thorough management of any waste materials generated during the oil recovery process, including residual sludge, wastewater, and used demulsifiers, according to applicable regulations and best practices for waste disposal or recycling.

The Importance of Wastewater Management

Oil recovery and oily wastewater services are a crucial part of most industrial processes. Without these services, it would be impossible for companies to operate their facilities safely and efficiently. Nearly all manufacturing processes produce oily wastewater, so the proper processing of this waste is imperative to not only comply with government regulations, but as an effort in good faith to reduce potential negative environmental impacts. The oily wastewater generated by various industrial manufacturing processes goes through multiple advancing stages of separation and filtration to ultimately turn out clean, reusable oil and purified water. These stages include skimming, gravity separation, coagulation, chemical treatment, emulsification, demulsification, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and nanofiltration, among others.

In recent years, cutting-edge technology combined with established methods has enabled oily wastewater to be safely processed at a level of efficiency not available to previous generations.

Oily wastewater contamination affects drinking water and groundwater resources, causes air pollution, endangers marine ecosystems as well as human health, and affects farmers’ ability to produce healthy crops. Proper treatment of this oily wastewater is crucial to reduce its effect on the environment and humans.

The recovery of used oil for recycling and reuse provides environmental benefits in three ways: it prevents the used oil from damaging the environment by ending up in landfills and waterways; it allows the water to be extracted and purified for reuse; and it reduces the need to produce more oil and oil derivatives from deposits in the earth.

FORTecx R&D

FORTecx’s typical R&D on behalf of clients, involves the following steps:

  • Sampling and Analysis: A thorough assessment of the oil-contaminated wastewater to determine the composition of the oil and the nature of its bond with liquids. To also identify other contaminates, such as heavy metals and bacteria.
  • Define the most effective, economic and environmentally friendly procedures using FORTecx’s proprietary demulsifiers and physical processes, including ultrasound.
  • Once the oil is recovered, it can then be enhanced with FORTecx’s specialist treatments.
  • The wastewater can then be purified, and all contaminants removed using FORTecx chemical formulas.

IP& Patents

As required by its clients’ individual processes, FORTecx continues to improve the strength, effectiveness, versatility and costing, of both its demulsifiers and its wastewater formulas and processes.

As significant milestones are achieved, updated patents will be filed.