US 12,252,425 B2
System and method for treating evaporator blowdown
Mark C. Nicholson, Pewaukee, WI (US); and Corey Skadahl, Madison, WI (US)
Assigned to Veolia Water Technologies, Inc., Cary, NC (US)
Appl. No. 17/628,435
Filed by Veolia Water Technologies, Inc., Cary, NC (US)
PCT Filed Jul. 22, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/043000
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jan. 19, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/016310, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 28, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/877,353, filed on Jul. 23, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0281764 A1, Sep. 8, 2022
Int. Cl. C02F 9/00 (2023.01); B04B 1/08 (2006.01); C02F 1/04 (2023.01); C02F 1/38 (2023.01); C02F 1/52 (2023.01); C02F 101/32 (2006.01); C02F 103/10 (2006.01)
CPC C02F 9/00 (2013.01) [B04B 1/08 (2013.01); C02F 1/048 (2013.01); C02F 1/385 (2013.01); C02F 2001/5218 (2013.01); C02F 1/5236 (2013.01); C02F 2101/32 (2013.01); C02F 2103/10 (2013.01); C02F 2301/046 (2013.01); C02F 2301/08 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A process of recovering oil and treating evaporator concentrate containing suspended solids produced during the process, the process comprising:
recovering an oil-water mixture from an oil well;
separating oil from the oil-water mixture to produce an oil product and produced water;
directing the produced water to an evaporator and producing a distillate and the evaporator concentrate containing suspended solids;
treating the evaporator concentrate and removing the suspended solids therefrom by:
i. directing the evaporator concentrate into a feed tank having a mixer;
ii. generating a second centrate downstream from the feed tank;
iii. directing the second centrate into the feed tank and mixing the second centrate with the evaporator concentrate to form a mixture;
iv. directing the mixture from the feed tank to a disk stack centrifuge and centrifuging the mixture to produce a first centrate essentially free of suspended solids and a slurry containing the suspended solids;
v. further treating or disposing of the first centrate; and
vi. after centrifuging the mixture in the disk stack centrifuge, directing the slurry to a solid bowl centrifuge and centrifuging the slurry to produce a wet cake and the second centrate.