Tervita to market new treatment for evaporator blowdown
by Canadian Manufacturing Daily Staff
Company expects construction of pilot plant to be complete by April 2013
Calgary—Tervita Corporation has entered into an agreement to license and market a new technology that will treat evaporator blowdown for steam assisted gravity drainage operators (SAGD).
The technology, called THi-pHEC (Treatment of High-pH Evaporator Concentrate), will treat the blowdown in a more responsible, sustainable and cost-effective way, according to the company.
Evaporator blowdown is the remaining waste solution after produced water has been treated.
Previously, evaporator blowdown was injected into caverns as waste.
According to Tervita, the new technology will create two waste streams where there was previously one, providing producers with more environmentally-appropriate disposal.
Many SAGD operations produce wastewater that contains dissolved silica maintained in a high pH solution, which Tervita says is not suitable for typical deep well injection and is currently disposed of in caverns.
Tervita’s new treatment will remove silica from the wastewater and create a solution that will meet criteria for Class 1b disposal and a dry solid suitable for Class 2 landfill disposal.
The company expects construction of a pilot plant to be complete by April 2013, with plans to move to a SAGD operation later in the year.
THi-pHEC was developed by Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies.
