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Article

Numerical Simulation of Treatment Capacity and Operating Limits of Alkali/Surfactant/Polymer (ASP) Flooding Produced Water Treatment Process in Oilfields

1
Key Laboratory for Enhanced Oil & Gas Recovery of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
2
Oil Recovery Plant No. 4, PetroChina Daqing Oilfield Company Limited, Daqing 163000, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2025, 18(13), 3420; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18133420
Submission received: 30 May 2025 / Revised: 22 June 2025 / Accepted: 27 June 2025 / Published: 29 June 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Wastewater Treatment, 2nd Edition)

Abstract

As an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique, alkali/surfactant/polymer (ASP) flooding effectively mitigates production decline in mature oilfields through chemical flooding mechanisms. The breakthrough of ASP chemical agents poses challenges to the green and efficient separation of oilfield produced water. In this paper, sedimentation separation of produced water was simulated using the Eulerian method and the RNG k–ε model. In addition, the filtration process was simulated using a discrete phase model (DPM) and a porous media model. The distribution characteristics of oil/suspended solids obtained through simulation, along with the water quality parameters at each treatment node, were systematically extracted, and the influence of operating conditions on treatment capacity was analyzed. Simulations reveal that elevated treatment loads and produced water polymer concentrations synergistically impair ASP flooding produced water treatment efficiency. Fluctuations of operating conditions generate oil/suspended solids content in output water ranges spanning 13–78 mg/L and 19–92 mg/L, respectively. The interpolation method is adopted to determine the critical water quality parameters of each treatment node, ensuring that the treated produced water meets the treatment standards. The operating limits of the ASP flooding produced water treatment process are established.
Keywords: ASP flooding produced water; CFD numerical simulation; treatment capacity; operating limits ASP flooding produced water; CFD numerical simulation; treatment capacity; operating limits

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhu, J.; Wang, M.; Jing, K.; Hong, J.; Bu, F.; Wang, Z. Numerical Simulation of Treatment Capacity and Operating Limits of Alkali/Surfactant/Polymer (ASP) Flooding Produced Water Treatment Process in Oilfields. Energies 2025, 18, 3420. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18133420

AMA Style

Zhu J, Wang M, Jing K, Hong J, Bu F, Wang Z. Numerical Simulation of Treatment Capacity and Operating Limits of Alkali/Surfactant/Polymer (ASP) Flooding Produced Water Treatment Process in Oilfields. Energies. 2025; 18(13):3420. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18133420

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhu, Jiawei, Mingxin Wang, Keyu Jing, Jiajun Hong, Fanxi Bu, and Zhihua Wang. 2025. "Numerical Simulation of Treatment Capacity and Operating Limits of Alkali/Surfactant/Polymer (ASP) Flooding Produced Water Treatment Process in Oilfields" Energies 18, no. 13: 3420. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18133420

APA Style

Zhu, J., Wang, M., Jing, K., Hong, J., Bu, F., & Wang, Z. (2025). Numerical Simulation of Treatment Capacity and Operating Limits of Alkali/Surfactant/Polymer (ASP) Flooding Produced Water Treatment Process in Oilfields. Energies, 18(13), 3420. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18133420

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