Siemens Water Technologies

Walnut Shell Filters

Redesigning for Offshore Use

Michael Howdeshell
Chad Felch
Eric Lorge

Water Technologies

Geography

-Siemens
-O&G offices
Slide 2

Water Technologies

Agenda
Walnut Shell Technology Background
Testing in North Sea

Taking Walnut Shell Technology Off-Shore

Slide 3

Water Technologies

Water Treatment in Oil Field Industry

Produced
Water

Primary Separation

Secondary Separation

Tertiary Separation

Hydrocyclone

Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF)

Walnut shell filter

API Separator

Dissolved Gas Flotation (DGF)

Coalescing filter

Plate Separator

Induced Gas Flotation (IGF)

Cartridge filter

Skimmer

Sand filter
Slide 4

Water Technologies

Separation Technology Spectrum

Membrane
Walnut Shell and
Coalescing Filters

3
Efficiency

DAF, IGF, DGF

CPI
Centrifuge
1

Hydrocyclone
API

Water Technologies

10

100

1,000

Oil in Water Concentration (ppm)

10,000

Slide 5

How Do Walnut Shell Filters Work

Continuous pressurized media bed

Bed(s) cycle based on time or P
Media is recharged using backwash cycles
Oil is adsorbed not absorbed
Used to removed SS and free oil
Walnut shell media have an equal affinity for oil and water
Very low attrition rate

Slide 6

Water Technologies

The Siemens Walnut Shell Filter Media

The Black Walnut Shell

Excellent surface characteristics for

Coalescence

Filtration

High modulus of elasticity

Chemical free oil separation

Slide 7

Water Technologies

Walnut Shell Global Usage

- Installation

Water Technologies

Slide 8

- Void regions

Pilot Testing BP Valhall Platform

Objectives
Prove walnut shell media can handle North Sea
produced water
Test efficiency of system

Suitable for off-shore?

Bergen
Oslo
Stavanger

Water Technologies

Slide 9

BP Valhall

Pilot Unit Used on BP Valhall Platform

Slide 10

Water Technologies

Walnut Shell Media Close-ups

Slide 11

Water Technologies

Backwash Procedure Used in Test

Slide 12

Water Technologies

Results from Pilot Testing

Slide 13

* Measurements conducted with TD500 OiW analyzer

Water Technologies

70

65

60

55

50

45

Water Technologies

0
8/22/2008

8/23/2008

8/24/2008

8/25/2008

8/26/2008

Slide 14

8/21/2008

Effluent oil (ppm)

Inlet oil (ppm)

Results from Pilot Testing

Inlet and Effluent Oil Concentrations

Results from Pilot Testing

Oil Removal Efficiency

100
98
96
94
92
90
88
86
84
82
80

Water Technologies

8/23/2008

8/24/2008

8/25/2008

Slide 15

8/22/2008

Moving from On-Shore to Off-Shore

Demonstration Objectives

Prove walnut shell media can handle North Sea

produced water

Test efficiency of system

Suitable for off-shore use?

Off-shore challenges
Footprint and weight reduction
Simplify and optimize backwash system

Slide 16

Water Technologies

Moving from On-Shore to Off-Shore

Tasks
Reduce external scrubbing
Increase throughput
Reduce backwash water
volume

Slide 17

Water Technologies

Siemens Internal Backwash

Slide 18

Water Technologies

Improvements for Off-Shore

Complete turn over and mixing of the media
Fully fluidize the walnut shell bed

No rotating equipment or moving parts

The ability to use a finer walnut shell media to improve oil and solids
removal
Smaller footprint and weight

5%

0.72%

Sand Filter

Water Technologies

Old WSF

0.35%
New WSF

Slide 19

Forward Flow Used for

Backwash (%)

A reduction in backwash water volume

The Siemens Walnut Shell Filter

Design Considerations
Ready for off-shore use
Refinement of the design through
many years of successfully
commissioned installations, most of
which still in operation today
Direct experience of many
applications for which walnut shell
filters can be appropriate
No compromise of design to ensure
effluent quality is maintained

Slide 20

Water Technologies

Summary
Walnut Shell Media
Efficiently remove oil from North Sea produced water

Solids do not impact the efficiency

Suitable for off-shore use
Walnut Shell System
Reduced footprint through efficient backwash design
and finer shell media
Reduced weight
Reduced backwash water volume
Slide 21

Water Technologies

Thank you for your attention!

Slide 22

Water Technologies