BLOWDOWN BOILERS CONSERVATION PETROLEUM REUSE WASTEWATER

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Abstract

Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is a mature technology for in-situ bitumen production. Dry steam is injected into the reservoirs to decrease the viscosity of the bitumen so that it can flow to the surface. Large amounts of produced water are recovered with the bitumen and it is mandatory to reuse the water. Treating this produced water to meet boiler feedwater (BFW) specification is very costly. Once-through steam generators (OTSGs) are widely used for steam generation. OTSGs normally operate at a certain steam quality, so typically 20% to 25% of the boiler feedwater is discharged as blowdown water. To meet the produced water recycle ratio that is regulated by the Canadian government agency, the industry has to reuse the blowdown as much as possibleﾗ either by recycling it to the produced water treatment system, or by sending it to a dedicated blowdown water-treating unit. Some portion of the blowdown might be disposed in deep wells, which results in increased well and pipeline costs and extra make-up water demand and treating. Put simply, the treatment of blowdown water is critical to overall water management performance.

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