Petrochemical industry and refineries are amongst the major consumers of processed, or ‘make-up’ water, especially for cooling systems, stripping, fractionation, and desalting. Additionally, the treatment and refining of fossil fuels generates large quantities of wastewater that varies widely, depending on the type of crude oil, composition of condensate and treatment processes. As an example, the average refinery requires 2.5 gallons of water for every gallon of crude oil processed.
As environmental regulations for wastewater disposal are getting stricter and fresh water resources are becoming increasingly limited, the industry requires more efficient management and reuse of this wastewater. The design and operation of modern refinery water and wastewater treatment is challenging and is driven by the latest technologies.
