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New Mexico State University

      Updated - 12/7/07       

Updated - 10/15/07

Updated - 2/04/08

SeSeparation of Water from Emulsified Oil

Research, develop, and demonstrate an innovative, cost efficient process; which employs or replaces contemporary processes for maximum recovery of water and oil from an emulsion consisting of 2% oil and 98% water.

Update 10/15/07: The type of oil that is being emulsified is Mineral Oil. The emulsion is mixture containing 2% of Cylroll CR55, Cyroll CR65, a foam formation inhibitor - Calcium Formate, and 98% water. The MSDS Sheets are attached as a .pdf that can be found in the Bench-Scale Demonstration section below.

Table of Contents
Background Problem Statement
Design Considerations Evaluation Criteria
Bench-Scale Demonstration Written Report Requirements
For More Information  

Background

    Separating oil from oil-water emulsions can currently be accomplished using chemical or physical means to break the emulsion and dehydrate the oil fraction; however, they have not been efficient in separating emulsions with low concentrations of oil.  Emulsion breaking and dehydrating the resultant oil fraction generally have high operating cost making disposal a short-term cost effective decision, but the life cycle cost remains high.  In order to reduce, reuse and recycle in accordance with RCRA there is a need to develop a technology that can effectively separate water and oil from emulsions to allow for the reuse of these valuable resources.

Problem Statement

    Research, develop, and demonstrate an innovative, cost efficient process; which employs or replaces contemporary processes for maximum recovery of water and oil from an emulsion consisting of 2% oil and 98% water.

 Design Considerations

 The proposed method should: 

  • Meet all OSHA and EPA regulations;
  • Produce maximum water yield;
  • Produce an oil with less than 3% water content;
  • Minimize waste solutions;
  • Have systems in place to measure quality and troubleshoot any stage in the process;
  • Avoid the use of harmful materials and the generation of Hazardous Waste;
  • Be cost and energy efficient;
  • Be adaptable to different sized systems;
  • Be commercially viable.

Evaluation Criteria

    Each team is advised to read the Participation Guide for a comprehensive understanding of the contest evaluation criteria.  Additionally, your proposed design will be evaluated on issues identified in the problem statement as well as the following:

  • Minimal upkeep and consistency of process;

  • Justification of cost and energy efficiency;

  • Originality of proposed methods; and
  • Yield and soundness.

Bench-Scale Demonstration

    During the contest, WERC will provide the teams up to 55 gallons of emulsified oil and water.  The specific amount required for your process to operate during the bench scale must be communicated to WERC at least three weeks prior to the contest.  Appropriate Material Safety Data Sheets should be available during the bench scale demonstration.

The type of oil that is being emulsified is Mineral Oil. MSDS Sheets can be found here: Task 5 MSDS.pdf - please ignore the black X on the first page.

    The bench scale model should accurately represent a reduced scale simulation of the actual application to the conceptual site model.  The poster presentation should demonstrate the amount of water removed and all byproducts resulting from the process.

    Update 2/408 - The sponsor is interested in amount of water that can be removed from the emulsion.  All teams will be given a 1 liter bottle of the emulsion mix and 2 empty 1 liter bottles.  Each team will be required to return the 2 1-liter bottles.  One of the empty bottles will hold the water that has been removed from the emulsion and the other empty bottle will hold the emulsion that has been separated out from the 1 liter sample.  Appropriate measures will be taken to obtain the mass balance. There may be another analytical test that will be run.  We should know if it will be possible by Friday 2/08/08.

Written Report Requirements

    The written report is the best means to demonstrate your team’s insight into the problem. The report should discuss other technologies considered but not pursued and why and to give the reader full understanding of the magnitude of your team’s involvement with the problem details.  The report will be evaluated for clarity, logic and coherence.  Standards appropriate for publications in technical journals apply.

    In addition to the listed requirements, the following must be discussed in your report to WERC management:

  • Schematics of each piece of equipment in the process;

  • Pictures and descriptions of each component;

  • List of parts and specifications, source, and cost of each;

  • Calculations and equations used in the system;
  • Descriptions of any software;
  • Installation instructions including any safety warnings;
  • User instructions;
  • Maintenance instructions including any safety warnings;
  • Describe process steps in detail including cost/benefit, evaluation criteria, and screening protocol;
  • Discuss advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of the selected method;
  • Include recent references and sources of information;
  • Waste generation and handling; and
  • Method of quality assurance.

For More Information

Contact:
Barbara Valdez, Program Facilitator
(575) 646-7821
(800) 523-5996