Treatment of oily produced water (OPW) using mixture of coagulant and shrimp shell

The large volume and complex composition of oily produced water (OPW) make its treatment not a simple matter. Coagulation is a common method to treat OPW. However, the health and cost issues regarding chemical coagulant had piqued interest in natural coagulant. In this study, the efficiency of the coagulant mixture consists of chitosan and alum to treat OPW is studied. The optimum pH value and the best ratio of chitosan and alum were determined using a standard jar test apparatus. It was found that the coagulant worked best in the acidic condition which was pH 2 and the optimum chitosan dosage was 0.6 g/L where the oil percentage removals were 69% and 64% respectively. The best ratio of coagulant mixture was at 6:4 of chitosan to alum. The oil percentage removal by a coagulant mixture at the optimum condition was 69%. Generally, the mixture of chitosan and alum had the ability to treat OPW hence can reduce the alum usage.