Membrane Technology Aids Refinery Wastewater for Advanced Treatment

Membrane technology and other advanced wastewater treatment technologies have found a way to effectively reduce water consumption for the petrochemical industry, one of the six major energy conservation and emission reduction industries in China. At present, the average fresh water consumption and wastewater discharge volume of China's refining and chemical companies are close to the world's advanced level, and individual companies also exceed the international advanced level. This is what the reporter learned from the seminar on the application of the third membrane separation technology in the petroleum and chemical industry that ended on the 7th.

According to Qiao Yingbin, researcher at the Bureau of Scientific and Technological Development of Sinopec, the fresh water consumption and sewage discharge per ton is an important indicator to measure the level of refining in the world. The international advanced level is 0.5 tons and 0.3 tons, respectively. In 2000, the average water consumption of domestic refinery companies was 2.4 tons of fresh water for 1 ton of oil and 1.8 tons of sewage, which was nearly 5 times and 6 times higher than the international advanced level respectively. In 2007, this group of figures has dropped to 0.7 to 0.8 tons and 0.5 tons, respectively, close to the international advanced level. Zhenhai Refinery is more advanced than the international advanced level, with a ton of water consumption of only 0.38 tons and a discharge of 0.18 tons.

It is understood that a wide range of refining wastewater, complex components, high organic content, biodegradation difficulties. Refining wastewater must be reduced in COD (chemical oxygen demand), oil, inorganic salts, etc. for deep treatment. Using traditional biochemical methods for treatment, either the COD value is still high, or the BOD (biological oxygen demand) is high and the ammonia nitrogen content is high, which makes it difficult to play an important role in the advanced treatment of the refinery wastewater. Membrane technology in the micro-filtration membrane, ultrafiltration membrane and membrane bioreactor can reduce the water turbidity, oil, COD, sludge deposition index and other indicators, nanofiltration membrane and reverse osmosis membrane can reduce water hardness, alkalinity and Salt content. Therefore, the double-membrane (ultrafiltration + reverse osmosis) water treatment process, which is characterized by good effluent water quality, easy implementation of self-control, small footprint, and water-saving environmental protection, has become an ideal choice for petrochemical wastewater treatment.

In June 2004, Yanshan Petrochemical adopted the double membrane technology for the first time in the country for advanced treatment of chemical wastewater, realizing the breakthrough in using sewage desalination as boiler replenishment, and the transition from wastewater compliance discharge to water recycling is no longer a dream. . Later, Baling Petrochemical, Huizhou Dayawan Petrochemical Industrial Park, Karamay Petrochemical, Daqing Refining, Qilu Petrochemical, Dushanzi Petrochemical and many other companies also used membrane water treatment equipment to achieve deep purification of wastewater. After the sewage is treated, it can directly enter the refinery cooling tower and the heat exchanger, so that the water resources can be reused effectively.

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