Membrane Distillation as a Viable Option for Desalination of Highly Saline Oil/Gas Produced Waters

Membrane distillation is one of a few options that have been explored for desalinating oil and gas produced waters, particularly those with total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations in excess of 50,000 mg/L. Many of the previous efforts in this area have been limited to studying simple electrolyte solutions composed of sodium chloride. In this presentation we will present our findings on a large breadth of commercially available membranes and membranes currently being developed. Results from performance studies done using model and actual produced waters having TDS concentrations in excess of 200,000 mg/L will be presented. Attendees will takeaway valuable information correlating membrane characteristics and pretreatment to performance.