Process for treating a fluid

Abstract

A water treatment process that includes associating the water treatment process with an offshore operation; receiving a treated water stream comprising floc into a flotation vessel. The process further includes injecting an injection stream into the flotation vessel to interact with the treated water stream and removing floc from the treated water stream to form a secondary treated water stream.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A water treatment process comprising:
 associating the water treatment process onto a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel;   receiving a treated water stream comprising floc into a flotation vessel;   injecting an injection stream into the flotation vessel to interact with the treated water stream;   removing floc from the treated water stream to form a secondary treated water stream;   filtering the secondary treated water stream in a filtration zone to form a treated water product; and   discharging at least some of the treated water product into the ocean.   
     
     
         2 . The water treatment process of  claim 1 , wherein the filtration zone is within a cylindrical filtration vessel further comprising:
 a first perforated plate;   a second perforated plate; and   a compressible media disposed between the first perforated plate and the second perforated plate,   wherein the secondary treated water stream is fed into the bottom of the filtration vessel and upward through the compressible media opposite to an increasing porosity gradient of the compressible media, and wherein the compressible media comprises multiple pieces made of either polypropylene or polyethylene.   
     
     
         3 . The water treatment process of  claim 1 , wherein the injection stream is formed from an injection system comprising a dispersion member, and wherein the injection stream comprises bubbles having an average effective diameter in a range of 10 microns to 30 microns. 
     
     
         4 . The water treatment process of  claim 1 , wherein the treated water stream is received from a pressurized electrocoagulation unit operated at a pressure of 50 psi to 160 psi, wherein a gas source is generated within the electrocoagulation unit, wherein the injection stream is formed at least partially by using the gas source, and wherein the injection stream comprises bubbles having an average effective diameter in a range of 10 microns to 300 microns. 
     
     
         5 . The water treatment process of  claim 4 , the filtration zone is within the flotation vessel, and further comprises:
 a first perforated plate;   a second perforated plate; and   a compressible media disposed between the first perforated plate and the second perforated plate,   wherein the compressible media comprises multiple pieces made of either polypropylene or polyethylene.   
     
     
         6 . The water treatment process of  claim 5 , wherein the flotation vessel has a horizontal orientation. 
     
     
         7 . The water treatment process of  claim 5 , wherein the treated water stream is received from a pressurized electrocoagulation unit operated at a pressure of 50 psi to 160 psi, wherein the injection stream is formed at least partially by using gas overheads from the flotation vessel, and wherein the injection stream comprises bubbles having an average effective diameter in a range of 10 microns to 300 microns. 
     
     
         8 . The water treatment process of  claim 1 , wherein the filtration zone comprises a compressible media, and the process further comprises:
 periodically uncompressing and cleaning the compressible media, while at the same time continuing the filtering step through a second filtration zone.   
     
     
         9 . The water treatment process of  claim 1 , wherein the treated water stream is received from a pressurized electrocoagulation unit operated at a pressure of 50 psi to 160 psi, and wherein the treated product comprises less than 15 ppm total suspended solids (TSS). 
     
     
         10 . The water treatment process of  claim 9 , wherein the electrocoagulation comprises:
 an outer shell, the outer shell further comprising:
 a fluid inlet; 
 a fluid outlet; 
 a first busbar opening; 
   a set of electrodes disposed within the outer shell, each electrode being separated from an adjacent electrode by an electrode gap spacing;   a first pressure gland assembly sealingly coupled with the first busbar opening, the first pressure gland assembly further comprising a first gland power bar disposed within a first gland body;   a first busbar coupled with the first gland power bar, and further coupled with every other electrode of the set of electrodes; and   a plurality of sacrificial media disposed between each respective adjacent pair of electrodes.   
     
     
         11 . The water treatment process of  claim 1 , the process further comprising:
 disposing an amount of a sacrificial media into an electrocoagulation unit; and   operating the electrocoagulation unit at a pressure in a range of 50 psi to 160 psi.   
     
     
         12 . A fluid treatment process comprising:
 associating the flotation vessel with an offshore operation;   receiving a treated fluid stream comprising floc into a flotation vessel;   injecting an injection stream into the flotation vessel to interact with the treated fluid stream;   removing floc from the treated water stream to form a secondary treated fluid stream;   filtering the secondary treated fluid stream in a filtration zone to form a treated fluid product; and   discharging at least some of the treated fluid product from the process.   
     
     
         13 . The fluid treatment process of  claim 12 , wherein the filtration zone is within a cylindrical filtration vessel further comprising:
 a first perforated plate;   a second perforated plate; and   a compressible media disposed between the first perforated plate and the second perforated plate,   wherein the secondary treated water stream is fed into the bottom of the filtration vessel and upward through the compressible media opposite to an increasing porosity gradient of the compressible media, and wherein the compressible media comprises multiple pieces made of either polypropylene or polyethylene.   
     
     
         14 . The fluid treatment process of  claim 12 , wherein the injection stream is formed from an injection system comprising a dispersion member, and wherein the injection stream comprises bubbles having an average effective diameter in a range of 10 microns to 300 microns. 
     
     
         15 . The fluid treatment process of  claim 12 , the process further comprising electrically coupling an electrocoagulation unit with a power source. 
     
     
         16 . The fluid treatment process of  claim 15 , the process further comprising operating the power source to provide amps to the electrocoagulation unit in an amperage range of 300 amps to 500 amps, and to provide volts to the electrocoagulation unit in a voltage range of 1 volt to 20 volts. 
     
     
         17 . The fluid treatment process of  claim 16 , wherein the flotation vessel further comprises the filtration zone, and wherein a flow of fluid entering the electrocoagulation unit comprises water having 1000 ppm to 5000 ppm total suspended solids (TSS). 
     
     
         18 . A method for removing contaminants from a fluid, the method comprising:
 disposing an amount of a sacrificial media into an electrocoagulation unit;   operating the electrocoagulation unit at a pressure in a range of 50 psi to 160 psi;   receiving the fluid into the electrocoagulation unit;   providing power to the electrocoagulation unit from a power source to electrochemically treat the fluid to form a treated fluid with a floc comprising coagulated contaminants;   transferring the treated fluid to a combination flotation-filtration vessel;   removing at least some of the floc and other contaminants via flotation and filtration within the combination flotation-filtration vessel to form a treated product.   
     
     
         19 . The method for removing contaminants of  claim 18 , the method further comprising:
 operably associating the electrocoagulation unit and the combination flotation-filtration vessel with an offshore operation; and   discharging at least some of the treated product into the ocean.   
     
     
         20 . The method for removing contaminants of  claim 19 , wherein the electrocoagulation unit further comprises:
 an outer shell, the outer shell further comprising:
 a fluid inlet for receiving the fluid; 
 a fluid outlet for transferring the treated fluid; 
 a first busbar opening; 
   a set of electrodes disposed within the outer shell, each electrode being separated from an adjacent electrode by an electrode gap spacing;   a first pressure gland assembly sealingly coupled with the first busbar opening, the first pressure gland assembly further comprising a first gland power bar disposed within a first gland body; and.