Iranian Researchers Discover New Solution to Remove Heavy Metals from Oilfields' Wastewater

Mahdieh Mehri, an AUT graduate and the executive director of the project entitled "Removal of heavy metals from the produced water in oilfields with high salt using the electrocoagulation method (EC)" told Iranian media that as far as she knows the EC method has not been used in removing heavy metals in wastewater from the oil and gas industry so their project is a brand new start.

According to her, the findings of their research show that using the EC method makes it possible to desalinate the wastewater in oil fields.

She also said that the wastewater produced in oilfields is contaminated with organic pollutants and various heavy metals that can be separated using the EC in an efficient way.

The UAT researcher further said that purified water obtained after desalination can be used for various purposes, such as agricultural irrigation or as firefighting water, adding, "This water can also be injected into wells without causing harm to environment."

Mehri described desalinating the wastewater in oilfields as a complicated process, saying, “This EC method can be used for desalinating water in the oil and gas industry and reusing the huge amount of produced water for useful applications in the industry without polluting the environment. In other words, due to the large amount of produced water, there is no need to transfer desalinated sea water, and after desalination, this obtained water can be used for irrigation usage and other purposes.”

“This project has been implemented using a reactor with a relatively simple design and using available metals such as iron, aluminum, copper and zinc along with aeration using an air compressor,” she said while describing the method's details. 

Mehri stated that previously in scientific articles and industrial publications, EC method was utilized to remove heavy metals or organic pollutants from various wastewaters such as underground wastewater or metalworking wastewater or leather industries as well as refinery industries. But, she added that removing heavy metals and hydrocarbon from wastewater in oilfields has not been studied in available articles and studies.

Referring to the competitive advantage of the project as compared to similar methods, the AUT researcher said that their method can be employed in different geographical locations where there is access to electricity and commonly used metals such as iron or aluminum sheet, without the need to add different chemicals.

"The plan can be used to purify water and industrial effluents containing heavy metals, which are often carcinogenic, and various hydrocarbon pollutants such as petroleum components," she added. 

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