Work

Associated Gas Recovery Integrated with Solar Power for Produced Water Treatment: Techno-Economic and Environmental Impact Analyses

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Excess associated gas from unconventional wells is typically flared while excess produced water is injected underground. In this work, flare gas recovery is integrated with produced water desalination and a solar pre-heater. The solar module with a beam splitter preheats the produced water. Aspen Plus was used to perform process modeling as well as to estimate capital and operating costs. The Solar-Flare Gas RDcovery- desalination (Solar-FGRD) process can conserve water resources and reduce the brine injection by 77%. The accompanying solar farm results in excess solar electricity for exporting to the grid. The process burner combustion efficiency (CE) is 99.8% with the destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) of 99.99% for methane as opposed to the flare CE of 80-98% (and a methane DRE of 91-98%). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for CO2 and methane in terms of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) can be reduced by 45 % for US North Dakota & Texas flaring and 13% for North Sea flaring by employing the Solar- FGRD process. The comprehensive financial analysis demonstrates the financial-economic feasibility of the investment project with or without tax credits. Best-case and worst-case scenarios provide a realistic range that investors can consider before making investment decisions.

Source: Energies

DOI: 10.3390/en17225794

Authors: Daniel H. Chen, Fuad Samier Aziz, Gevorg Sargsyan

Institution: Lamar University

Language: English

Topic: Oil, Gas, and Environmental Issues

Subfield: Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Field: Energy

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Affordable and clean energy, Responsible consumption and production, Climate action, Clean water and sanitation

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,955