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stream. The membranes are capable of reducing Applied pressure varies and the main high
seawater sulfate levels from approximately 3000 pressure pumps are subject to variable back
ppm to less than 40 ppm. pressure to provide the quantity of water at the
The primary consideration in process design required pressure for the changing conditions
was to agree with Amerada Hess on the level of across the membrane system.
sulfate required in the product water and also the A super duplex steel, Zeron 100, was utilized
feed water temperature. The higher the temper- for the pipework system to eliminate ferrous
ature, the lower the pressure needed to maintain contamination and reduce the weight of the
the flux rate and the flow per unit area of mem- module. Zeron 100 duplex (UNS32760)
brane surface. At higher temperatures the sulfate pipework allowed reduced pipe diameters and
passage through the membrane and into the valve sizes because of the high velocity the
product water increases but the energy absorbed internal polished surfaces of this super duplex
decreases. material could utilize without significant pres-
On the Syd Arne project, Weir Westgarth sure losses. Plant processes were controlled Phase 2, the fabrication step.
worked to optimize feed temperature flow by centrally within the platform control room and
mixing warmed seawater from the platform linked into the platform computer systems. nized by all that the filtration required upstream
cooling system outlet with the main injection Since the water is taken before de-aeration, of the membranes required careful considera-
feed flow. The membrane rejection characteris- the ability to chlorinate the feed greatly reduces tion. The feed supply had been identified as being
the potential problems associated with bacterial affected by an annual algae bloom that lasted
contamination. The addition of sodium bisulfite from mid-spring through to late autumn. Pilot tri-
removes any free chlorine before the membrane als were conducted during the first few weeks of
system. Chemical cleaning of the membranes is the fasttrack first phase, to allow definition of the
carried out using in-situ connections to remove optimum cartridge filter arrangement and pro-
any scale formed within the membrane system posed intermediate filtration.
or any bacteria. The sulfate-reduced water is As a result of these trails, dual media filters
then passed to the de-aerator system where de- were provided as a part of the second phase.
oxygenation and chemical additives are made in These were located on the opposite side of the
The Toisa Lion conveying the packages to the the normal manner prior to injection. platform from the SRP plant, on a purpose built-
platform. Due to the high scaling potential of the Syd cantilever deck.
tics being temperature dependant increases the Arne reservoir, Amerada Hess ordered the first Due to the location, the lift limit in this area
sulfate passage by 100% for every 10 C rise in phase of a 120 000 b/d sulfate reduction pack- was reduced to 20 tons. As a result, the filters
temperature. age at the end of May 2000, on a 17-week deliv- were delivered as eight individual filters with a
ery program. This schedule was made possible separate central access/pipe manifold support
Mixture control by internal manufacturing capabilities for criti- structure, to which the filters were linked on site.
The design conditions for the Syd Arne plant cal path items such as pumps, valves, and the The membrane process plant for the reduction
were 10-24 C with three high pressure pumps, Zeron 100 super duplex material. of sulfate in seawater is now a tried and proven
each rated for 354 cu m/hr with a 270 meter devel- The plant was designed to operate in three 33% technology, helping to decrease the environmen-
oped head, along with a 750 kW motor running at capacity streams. The product water specification tal impact of reservoir development. The process
3000 rpm. By controlling the mix ratio of the feed was to reduce the sulfate level of 2,740 ppm, to has overcome scale formation problems in
water, the membranes can be operated in a steady less than 50 ppm, and was designed around injected wells using seawater, which is incompat-
state condition with respect to temperature. FILMTEC SR90 nanofiltration membrane ele- ible with formation water.
This allows a constant feed water pressure to ments. Fasttrack execution of this technology was
be applied to the membrane ensuring a 75% con- Phase 1of the plant was designed to provide possible through client-contractor partnering,
version of seawater feed to low sulfate product an initial stand-alone 40,000 b/d and was deliv- and by securing long lead item supply from inter-
water for injection. The residual 25% is dis- ered mid-October 2000. The program consisted nal manufacturing capabilities.
charged overboard and contains the sulfate ions of three fabricated modules, limited in weight to The use of membranes as a specific ion
removed from the feed stream. The 75% conver- 40 tons by the crane facilities on the platform. removal mechanism is the first of many areas in
sion of feed to product is achieved by a two-stage Phase 2 of the project, comprising an additional which membrane technology shows great
membrane process with 50% recovery over each 80,000 b/d capacity, was ordered by Amerada promise in ensuring that harmful discharges are
stage. Hess in October 2000, with a 26-week delivery. minimized.
Because of the inter-relationship between This phase consisted of a further two modules.
temperature and output, the system must be To accommodate both phases of the plant,
able to vary the applied pressure to the mem- which had a combined wet weight of 228 tons,
brane in order to maintain a constant output with Amerada Hess undertook the strengthening and
Authors
Alistair M. Munro is Director, Sales and Marketing; Tony
changing temperature. The control of the mem- extension of an existing cantilever platform. McMonagle is the Project Manager; and Alan Skinner is the
brane system therefore incorporates analogue Manager, Sulfate Removal, all for Weir Westgarth Ltd.
loops to ensure that the reject to product ratio Filtration Jim Hardy is a Production Chemist, and Eon Stratton is the
stays constant. Prior to the start of the project, it was recog- Project Manager, both for Amerada Hess