Water Filtration for petroleum and gas in upstream, midstream and downstream

The oil and gas industry(upstream, midstream and downstream) relies on advanced filtration systems to ：

Crude Oil Filtration

Application: Removal of solid impurities from crude oil to ensure efficient refining and transportation.

Target Filtration: Removal of sand, dirt, and rust particles.

Filtration Products & Process:

Pre-filtration: Coarse filters (mesh filters) to capture large particles.

Primary Filtration: Bag filters or cartridge filters (micron ratings 1–100 μm) for finer filtration.

Secondary Filtration: High-efficiency filters for ultra-fine particles, using membrane filtration (e.g., microfiltration or ultrafiltration).

Gas Filtration

Application: Filtration of natural gas to remove particulates, water, and contaminants before distribution.

Target Filtration: Removal of particulates, water, sulfur compounds, and other impurities.

Filtration Products & Process:

Coarse Filtration: Stainless steel mesh filters for large particle removal.

Advanced Filtration: Carbon filters to remove hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and activated alumina for moisture removal.

Post-treatment: High-performance filters for removing hydrocarbons and other contaminants from the gas.

Produced Water Treatment

Application: Filtration of produced water (water that comes up with oil) for reuse or safe discharge.

Target Filtration: Removal of solids, oil, and other contaminants.

Filtration Products & Process:

Pre-treatment: Coarse filtration to remove large particulates and oil.

Oil Separation: Use of coalescing filters or separators to remove oil from water.

Fine Filtration: Cartridge filters (typically 5-20 microns) for removing remaining solids.

Refining Filtration

Application: Ensuring the purity of various products in the refining process, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

Target Filtration: Removal of particulate matter, catalysts, and chemical contaminants from crude oil and intermediate products.

Filtration Products & Process:

Catalyst Filtration: Multi-bag or cartridge filters to remove spent catalyst particles.

Hydrocarbon Filtration: Fine filtration (typically 0.5–5 microns) using depth or pleated filters for the removal of impurities from gasoline and diesel.

Liquid-Liquid Separation: Use of coalescing filters to separate emulsions and remove oil droplets from water.

Pipeline Filtration

Application: Filtration of crude oil, natural gas, and refined products during transportation through pipelines.

Target Filtration: Removal of solid contaminants, water, and debris.

Filtration Products & Process:

Pipeline Strainers: For large debris removal before the main filtration process.

Fine Filtration: Use of high-efficiency filters to ensure no contaminants enter the pipelines and damage equipment or block valves.

1. Produced Water Treatment

Application: Treatment of produced water from shale gas fields and offshore platforms, including oil removal and water re-injection.

Technical Solution:

· Hydro-cyclone Separator: Pre-separation of oil droplets larger than 200 µm, removing 90% of oil.

· Coalescing Filter Cartridges (PP/Glass Fiber): Fine oil removal down to ≤10 ppm.

· Reverse Osmosis (RO): Removes salts and other contaminants before re-injection.

Filtration Process:

1. Produced water → Hydro-cyclone separation → Coalescing filter → Reverse osmosis desalination( bag/cartridge filters) → Water re-injection into the formation.

Industry Standard: ISO 13503-5 (Oilfield water treatment performance testing).

2. Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Recovery and Purification

Application: Recycling and purification of shale gas fracturing fluids, including removal of proppants and guar gum residue.

Technical Solution:

· Vibrating Screens + Centrifuge: Recovery of proppants (quartz sand) with a particle size of 0.1–2 mm.

· Ceramic Membrane System: Removal of guar gum residues (precision: 0.1 µm), reducing fracturing fluid costs by 40%.

Case Study: In the Permian Basin, the use of membrane filtration technology increased fracturing fluid reuse from 50% to 80%.

Filtration Process:

1. Fracturing fluid → Vibrating screens + Centrifuge → Ceramic membrane filtration → Reuse of purified fluid.

3. Crude Oil Desalting and Pre-treatment

Application: Desalting and dewatering of crude oil in land-based refineries and Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units.

Technical Solution:

· Electrostatic Desalter: Removes salts to ≤3 ppm, combined with bag filters (10 µm) for solid interception.

· Coalescing Filter Cartridges: Removes water from crude oil to BS&W (basic sediment and water) ≤0.5%.

Filtration Process:

1. Crude oil → Electrostatic desalter → Coalescing filter → Cleaned oil for further processing.

Equipment Cost: One unit can process 10,000 bbl/day, with an investment of approximately $5–8 million.

4. Natural Gas Dehydration and Sulfur Removal

Application: Dehydration of natural gas and removal of H₂S and CO₂ before liquefaction (LNG production).

Technical Solution:

· Molecular Sieve Adsorption Tower: Dew point ≤ -70°C, meets LNG liquefaction requirements.

· Amines Filter Cartridges (Glass Fiber): Intercepts amine degradation products (precision: 1 µm).

Industry Challenge: For high-sulfur gas fields (H₂S ≥ 20%), customized sulfur-resistant filter materials (such as Hastelloy alloys) are required.

Filtration Process:

1. Natural gas → Molecular sieve adsorption → Amines filtration → Cleaned gas for liquefaction.

5. Seawater Desalination and Water Injection Systems

Application: Production of potable water for offshore platforms and preparation of seawater for injection into wells.

Technical Solution:

· Reverse Osmosis (RO) System: Desalination rate ≥99.5%, with total dissolved solids (TDS) ≤500 ppm.

· Ultrafiltration Pre-treatment (PVDF Membrane): Removal of algae and bacteria (SDI ≤3).

Energy Efficiency: Advanced energy recovery devices (ERD) reduce energy consumption to 3–4 kWh/m³.

Filtration Process:

1. Seawater → Ultrafiltration pre-treatment( bag/cartridge filters) → Reverse osmosis → Potable water or water for injection.