Sand Cleaning – Why Clean Produced Solids? ( B-FSM-134)
Produced sand is washed/cleaned to remove contaminants and prepare sand for environmentally approved disposal.
Basis:
- Offshore facilities which desire to discharge produced solids overboard
- Onshore facilities generally do not need to clean produced sand as the solids go to landfill, local treatment facility, or used in road surfacing or land-farming
- Contaminant removal system must be practical for the offshore environment
- Required compact, efficient, and simple cleaning system
The photo above shows (left) oil-on-sand at ~10%, (middle) “cleaned” sand at <1 wt.% oil on dry sand, and (right) extracted oil water from process.
References:
- Rawlins, C.H. and Wang, I. 2001. “Design and Installation of a Sand-Separation and -Handling System for a Gulf of Mexico Oil Production Facility”. SPE Production and Facilities, August, pp. 134-140. https://doi.org/10.2118/72999-PA
- Rawlins, C.H. 2019. “Enhanced Production Through Surface Facilities Sand Management.” SPE Distinguished Lecturer presentation. Link here
Next week I will cover “What Is/Is-Not Cleaned from Produced Solids”.
