Chemical Engineering April 2012 - 13

This water-treatment system
can aid disposal options for brine
A
six-stage water treatment process involving electrocoagulation
(EC) and multi-stage flash (MSF) distillation could
improve options for the disposal of sludge and brine in applications
that include the treatment of water from hydraulic
fracturing of oil and gas wells (see also Frac Water Reuse,
Chem. Eng., February, pp.14-16), as well as desalination.
The first small-scale demonstration of the Clleen Frac
end-to-end system, developed by Clleen Water and Power
(Irving, Tex.; www.waterdesalinationplants.com), is expected
to start up in May 2012 in North Dakota. A second,
larger facility is planned in Pennsylvania.
" In certain shale plays, brine disposal represents the
largest water-treatment costs for hydraulic fracturing operations,
and can be even higher than the fresh-water costs
themselves, " says engineer Anthony Migyanka, developer
of the Clleen water system. The Clleen system can reduce
disposal costs by generating a non-toxic sludge and dry
salt that can be resold. The system is appropriate for water
with any level of total dissolved solids from 3,000 ppm to
300,000 ppm. The sludge can undergo a further treatment
step with specialty enzymes and soil additives to form organic
fertilizer.
A key component of the system is the EC step, which is
based on technology from Quantum Ionics Inc., a partner
of Clleen. The non-chemical EC step separates emulsified
oils, organic materials and silt from the water, while killing
bacteria. The EC also removes heavy metals by converting
the metal ions, such as iron, into their corresponding
oxides. The result is a non-toxic sludge and an oil waste
stream that is recovered in a vacuum clarifier.
The system's other key technology is an MSF-distillation
apparatus that is unique in the way it uses heat. " We heat
the air to generate steam, rather than the water, and the
hot condensate is used to raise the temperature of the feed
water prior to flashing, " explains Migyanka. This method requires
less energy to generate a pure condensate stream and
a brine stream than conventional distillation. The concentrated
brine from the MSF distillation enters a crystallizer
that produces a dry salt with market value.
Plastics with soy-derived protein
reduce petroleum use
N
Born to run
ew biocomposite plastics that combine soybean-meal
protein with conventional plastic resins allow significantly
lower use of petroleum-based chemicals in polyethylene
(PE) and polypropylene (PP) manufacturing.
The new class of bioplastics incorporates soybean-meal
protein, which is chemically bound to the PE or PP backbone
and replaces between 10 and 40% of the resin in
the plastics. The proprietary, single-step process does not
require isolation or purification of the soybean meal. The
protein unfolds and is functionalized and dispersed into
the polymer.
Engineers from the research and development organization
Battelle (Columbus, Ohio; www.battelle.org) de(Continues
on p. 14)
Top performance, maximum availability and
upgrade options: the new decanter generation
GEA Westfalia Separator ecoforce works at the
top of its class, is low maintenance and designed
for eternity.
GEA Westfalia Separator Group GmbH
Werner-Habig-Straße 1, 59302 Oelde, Germany
Phone: +49 2522 77-0, Fax: +49 2522 77-2488
www.westfalia-separator.com
engineering for a better world
Circle 16 on p. 82 or go to adlinks.che.com/40266-16
GE-90-01-003
http://www.waterdesalinationplants.com http://www.westfalia-separator.com http://www.battelle.org http://adlinks.che.com/40266-16
Chemical Engineering April 2012

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