Steam from waste water

The first thermosludge steam generator was developed some 13 yr ago as the solution to a pair of problems that plagued Kern County oil operators. One problem involved a shortage of fresh water. The problem was heightened by the desire of operators to expand steam operations following the discovery in the early 1960s that steam could increase production dramatically from low-gravity fields. The thermosludge steam generator was developed to use produced water as feedstock, neatly solving the problem of where to get a source of water and also helping to solve the problem of waste-water disposal. Since the first unit went into operation in the McKittrick field in 1966, 21 units have been placed in operation by various operators in Kern County's McKittrick, Midway-Sunset and S. Belridge fields, San Luis Obisop and Santa Barbara counties' Guadalupe field, and at Grand Junction, Colo., and Lake Maracaibo, Venez. Others are on order and under construction. All of the units that have been built are still in operation. Most in operation have received only a minimum of operator attention and maintenance. All are essentially trouble-free, and no steam tubes on any unit have failed. The units can be either crude oil or gasmore » fired, and redesign is being contemplated to handle coal.« less