Design and Fabrication of a Low-Cost Laboratory-Scale Produced Water Treatment Apparatus

• Khadija MUHAMMED-DEEN

  Author

• Ikechukwu OKAFOR

  Author

• Abdullahi S. B. GIMBA

  Author

• Dakut YERIMA

  Author

• Khaleel JAKADA

  Author

• Chinaza ENWERE

  Author

• Samuel O. ONI

  Author

• Ezeja A. COLLINTINS

  Author

• Okonji F. UGOCHUKWU

  Author

Produced water is a major waste stream generated during oil and gas extraction and contains a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, suspended solids, dissolved constituents, and trace elements. Conventional treatment technologies can achieve effective contaminant removal but may require significant capital investment, energy consumption, and technical expertise, limiting their application in small-scale and remote oil-producing areas. This study investigated the design, fabrication, and laboratory-scale performance of a low-cost, gravity-driven treatment system incorporating limestone, laterite, and coconut-shell-derived activated carbon. The system combined physical filtration and adsorption, with activated carbon serving as the primary adsorptive medium for hydrocarbon removal. Three glass columns with an internal diameter of 130 mm were arranged in series and packed with 800 g of limestone, 500 g of laterite, and 400 g of activated carbon. Approximately 2 L of produced water were treated under gravity flow, with a passage time of approximately 1 h 11 min. The filtration experiment was conducted in triplicate, and influent and effluent samples were evaluated for total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), hydrocarbons, pH, and selected elemental constituents. The system achieved removal efficiencies of 91.7% for hydrocarbons, 87.8% for TSS, and 83.0% for TDS. The total fabrication cost was ₦255,000, and the system operated without electrical input. The results demonstrate the potential of a locally fabricated, gravity-driven multi-media system as a preliminary produced-water treatment approach at laboratory scale. Further investigation is required to establish adsorption capacity, long-term performance, media saturation and regeneration, and scalability under higher flow conditions.

• 74_Muhammed-Deen et al. (2026)

Copyright (c) 2026 Khadija MUHAMMED-DEEN, Ikechukwu OKAFOR, Abdullahi S. B. GIMBA, Dakut YERIMA, Khaleel JAKADA, Chinaza ENWERE, Samuel O. ONI, Ezeja A. COLLINTINS, Okonji F. UGOCHUKWU (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.