Biological Treatment of Produced Water [Mar 2010]
What is Produced Water?
Produced water, also known as drilling water, is waste water formed during the process of petroleum extraction from underground reservoirs. To better understand what produced water is, it is important to take a closer look at the actual oil drilling process. Drilling for oil, referred to in the industry as the ‘upstream mining process’ frequently involves pumping large quantities of high pressure, extremely hot water into the petroleum reservoir beneath the ground. The water pressure forces the petroleum upwards, and the heat of the forced water lowers the viscosity of the petroleum. The fluid that returns to the surface is known as produced water and is comprised of hot petroleum, water that was trapped underground, as well as the pumped water, along with earth and debris.
Other articles you will find in the same issue include:
Enviromental Lab Testing
Enviromental Land Remediation
More or Less Air Quality - Monitoring Air Quality at the Personal Scale
Soil Analysis - Determination of different carbon species in soil by high temperature combustion
Spectroscopy in Space
Wind Measurement
As well as information about the following new Regulations
