Epcon Offshore has developed its own treatment technology especially suitable for removing hydrocarbons, hydrophobic substances, aromatic compounds and small particles from produced water. The technology has been developed and tested jointly with oil companies in the North Sea. Today, it is a proven technology in treating produced water and one of the preferred choices of oil operators.
The Company
Epcon Offshore AS has been fully operational since 2001, and had a turnover of US$10 million in 2004. The company has 25 employees and is expanding rapidly. Its budget for 2005 is US$20 million.
The head office is located in Porsgrunn, Norway, with additional offices in London and Aberdeen. The company’s major stakeholders are private investors (65%), the venture capital company 3i (25%) and Norsk Hydro (10%).
Epcon Compact Flotation Unit Technology
The Epcon compact flotation unit (CFU) is a multiphase (oil/water/gas) separator with no moving parts. It requires no external energy and is reliable and highly efficient in the separation of water, oil and gas to achieve a high standard of treated water. The CFU also has a smaller volume and shorter retention time than traditional flotation units currently in use offshore. Several combined processes, including gas flotation and induced centrifugal inertia forces, act on the fluid components of different specific gravities.
The small oil droplets are made to agglomerate and coalesce, facilitating separation from the water. The separation process is aided by internal devices in the chamber and a gas flotation effect caused by the release of residual gas from the water. Process optimisation can also be achieved by the introduction of external gas and/or flocculants. The separated oil and gas is removed in a continual process via an outlet pipe.
Compared to traditional produced water treatment systems, Epcon’s CFU provides an alternative technology with:
- low weight;
- small footprint;
- robustness;
- high operational range;
- simple to operate;
- performance down to <10 mg/l;
- minimum maintenance;
- no small bore openings; and
- no rotating parts.
These attributes combine to give the CFU user higher capacity and better performance at a lower cost. The single CFU separation step has been proven to reduce the oil-in-water content to below 20mg/l, while simultaneously degassing the water. Two CFUs in series have been proven to reduce the oil-in-water content to below 10mg/l.
A retention time down to below 30 seconds will achieve a sufficient performance.
A vessel with an operation volume of only 2m3 will be able to treat a water flow of up to 250m3/h.
Epcon CFUs can be designed to fit all pipe size capacities, and they can easily be adapted to local conditions and requirements.
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