Process and system for treating produced water and flowback water from oil and gas operations

Abstract

A system and method for treatment of flowback water and produced water at an oil or gas wellhead includes a modular treatment facility that may be installed at a well site. The modular treatment facility includes separate and interchangeable modules that remove undesirable contaminants. The modules may be removed and replaced with similar modules when they are no longer effective at removing the contaminants. The spent modules may be transported to a regeneration center to be regenerated and transported back to a modular treatment facility.

1 . A method for treating water discharged from oil and/or gas drilling and/or fracturing operations at a well site, the method comprising:
 providing a docking station at the well site;   mounting a plurality of replaceable processing modules to the docking station;   providing the discharged water to the docking station; and   processing the discharged water by passing it through the processing modules for reducing contaminants from said discharged water.   
     
     
         2 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 removing the used processing modules from the docking station; and   reconditioning said used modules.   
     
     
         3 . The method as recited in  claim 2 , wherein removing the used processing modules comprises removing the used processing modules periodically. 
     
     
         4 . The method as recited in  claim 2 , wherein removing the used processing modules comprises removing the used processing modules after they have been used to process a certain amount of the discharged water. 
     
     
         5 . The method as recited in  claim 2 , further comprising replacing said removed used processing modules with reconditioned modules. 
     
     
         6 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein providing said docking station comprises transporting the docking station to the well site. 
     
     
         7 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising processing said discharged water through two organic removal treatment modules, two metals removal treatment modules and two sealant and selective salts removal modules. 
     
     
         8 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein processing the discharged water comprises processing the discharged water by passing it through at least some of the processing modules in series. 
     
     
         9 . The method as recited in  claim 8 , wherein processing the discharged water further comprises processing the discharged water by passing it through at least some of the processing modules in parallel. 
     
     
         10 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein processing the discharged water comprises processing the discharged water by passing it through at least some of the processing modules in parallel. 
     
     
         11 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said processing modules are modular filters. 
     
     
         12 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising re-using the water after processing in oil and/or gas drilling and/or fracturing operations. 
     
     
         13 . A system for treating water discharged from oil and/or gas drilling and/or fracturing operations at a well site, comprising:
 a docking station for receiving the discharged water; and   a plurality of replaceable processing modules mounted to the docking station for receiving the discharged water from the docking station, each module configured to reduce one or more contaminants from the discharged water.   
     
     
         14 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein the docking station is transportable to the well site. 
     
     
         15 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein at least some of the plurality of replaceable processing modules are coupled to each other in series. 
     
     
         16 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein at least some of the plurality of replaceable processing modules are coupled to each other in parallel. 
     
     
         17 . The system as recited in  claim 16 , wherein at least some of the plurality of replaceable processing modules are coupled to each other in series. 
     
     
         18 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , wherein each module is a modular filter. 
     
     
         19 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , further comprising a module regeneration facility configured for regenerating used modules. 
     
     
         20 . The system as recited in  claim 13 , comprising two organic removal treatment modules, two metals removal treatment modules and two scalant and selective salts removal modules.