Enhanced Nanofiltration Process of Thin Film Composite Membrane Using Dodecyl Phenol Ethoxylate and Oleic Acid Ethoxylate for Oilfield Calcite Scale Control

Saedah R Al-Mhyawi; Mahmoud F Mubarak; Rasha Hosny; Manal Amine; Omnia H Abdelraheem; M A Zayed; Ahmed H Ragab; Abeer El Shahawy

doi:10.3390/membranes11110855

Enhanced Nanofiltration Process of Thin Film Composite Membrane Using Dodecyl Phenol Ethoxylate and Oleic Acid Ethoxylate for Oilfield Calcite Scale Control

Membranes (Basel). 2021 Nov 4;11(11):855. doi: 10.3390/membranes11110855.

Authors

Saedah R Al-Mhyawi¹, Mahmoud F Mubarak², Rasha Hosny³, Manal Amine⁴, Omnia H Abdelraheem⁵, M A Zayed⁶, Ahmed H Ragab⁷, Abeer El Shahawy⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 21419, Saudi Arabia.
² Petroleum Application Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), Nasr City, Cairo 11727, Egypt.
³ Production Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), Nasr City, Cairo 11727, Egypt.
⁴ Processes Design & Development Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), Nasr City, Cairo 11727, Egypt.
⁵ Engineering Sciences Department, Faculty of Engineering, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt.
⁶ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 62224, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt.

Abstract

This research studied the enhancing effect on the nanofiltration composite (TFCNF) membrane of two non-ionic surfactants on a thin-film composite nanofiltration membrane (TFCNF) for calcite scale (CaCO₃) inhibition in oilfield application to develop a multifunctional filtration system: nanofiltration, antiscalant, and scale inhibitors. The effectiveness of dodecyl phenol ethoxylate (DPE) and oleic acid ethoxylate (OAE) as novel scale inhibitors were studied using the dynamic method. Scaling tests on the membrane were performed to measure the scaling of the inhibited membrane with and without scale inhibitors for salt rejection, permeability, and flux decline. The results revealed that the TFCNF membrane flux decline was improved in the presence of scale inhibitors from 22% to about 15%. The rejection of the membrane scales increases from 72% for blank membranes, reaching 97.2% and 88% for both DPE and OAE, respectively. These confirmed that scale inhibitor DPE had superior anti-scaling properties against calcite deposits on TFCNF membranes. Inhibited scaled TFCNF membrane was characterized using environmental scanning electron (ESEM), FTIR, and XRD techniques. The results of the prepared TFCNF membrane extensively scaled by the calcite deposits were correlated to its morphology.

Keywords: alkylethoxylate; nanofiltration membrane; non-ionic surfactants; oilfield calcite scale control; produced water treatment; scale inhibitors; scales precipitation.