Filters
The filters must clean the water and remove any impurities, such as shells and algae. Typical filtration is to 2 micrometres, but really depends on reservoir requirements. The filters are so fine so as not to block the pores of the reservoir. Sand filters are a common used filtration technology to remove solid impurities from the water. The sand filter has different beds with various sizes of sand granules. The sea water traverses the first, coarsest, layer of sand down to the finest and to clean the filter, the process is inverted. After the water is filtered it continues on to fill the de-oxygenation tower. Sand filters are bulky, heavy, have some spill over of sand particles and require chemicals to enhance water quality. A more sophisticated approach is to use automatic selfcleaning backflushable screen filters (suction scanning) because these do not have the disadvantages sand filters have.
The importance of proper water treatment is often underestimated by oil companies and engineering companies. Especially with river-, and seawater, intake water quality can vary tremendously (algea blooming in spring time, storms and current stirring up sediments from the seafloor) which will have significant impact on the performance of the water treatment facilities. If not addressed correctly, water injection may not be successful. This results in poor water quality, clogging of the reservoir and loss of oil production.
Read more about this topic: Water Injection (oil Production)
Famous quotes containing the word filters:
“Raise a million filters and the rain will not be clean, until the longing for it be refined in deep confession. And still we hear, If only this nation had a soul, or, Let us change the way we trade, or, Let us be proud of our region.”
—Leonard Cohen (b. 1934)