Feasibility studies for using a solar still on Sarkhon Gas Refinery wastewater recovery

To evaluate the performance of a solar still system in oily effluent treatment, a simple solar still was installed in the Sarkhon Gas Refinery zone near the port of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. The feed for this unit was supplied from the de-oiled effluent of the Sarkhon Gas Refinery. The Sarkhon Gas Refinery generates produced water, a byproduct of the petroleum production, at approximately 150 m(3)/day, which must be managed efficiently. Therefore, some simple methods are needed to treat the wastewater and to recover the pure water. The gas refinery wastewater generally contains oil, hydrocarbon materials, dissolved solids and other chemical additives. Parameters, such as oil and grease, total organic carbon, conductivity and total dissolved solids in the refinery wastewater effluent were measured. After using solar still to treat the effluent water, the product water (treated water) was examined for standard effluent characteristics. The results showed that the quality of treated water was in range of agricultural use-standards and therefore, can be used for agricultural purposes. The purification performance (contaminated vs purified water) of the solar still loaded with the Sarkhon Gas Refinery wastewater was total dissolved solids (TDS) from 2,221 ppm reduced to 140 ppm and conductivity from 3,704 mu S/cm reduced to 233 mu S/cm.