Water and Wastewater Minimization in Tehran Oil Refinery using Water Pinch Analysis

Abstract

This study aimed to find an appropriate way to minimize water utility in the petrochemical and petroleum industries. For this purpose, Tehran oil refinery was chosen to analyze feasibilities of regeneration, reuse and recycling in the water network. In this research, two key contaminants including COD and hardness were analyzed. Amount of freshwater was reduced about 180 m3/h (53%) and 216.88 m3/h (63%) regarding COD and hardness respectively. In the next stage, two mentioned contaminants were analyzed simultaneously based on the mass transfer constraints. Results showed that the amount of required water was reduced from 340 m3/h to 197.12 m3/h that was about 42%. Analyzing both methods clearly demonstrated that amount of required water would be determined by mass transfer of COD. In addition, the method based on multiple contaminants gave more precise results rather than single contaminant.