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Produced water are the main waste from the exploitation of conventional and unconventional oil and gas reservoirs and must be treated and disposed of properly to avoid contamination of environmental matrices. However, Colombian environmental regulations related to alternatives for managing this produced water are scattered and have gaps. The objective of this review is to analyze the alternatives for discharge and reuse of produced water, established in the regulations and specialized literature, propose options to fill the regulatory gaps and present treatment technologies for these waters. The results of the review of the regulations show gaps related to the discharge of produced water into the air by total or partial evaporation in lagoons, as well as gaps and contradictions regarding the discharge of produced water into aquifers through injector wells. Regarding the review of specialized literature, the results show reuse options different from those considered in the regulations and two alternatives emerge as the most common: enhanced recovery in conventional reservoirs and hydraulic fracturing operations in unconventional reservoirs. Likewise, the specialized literature presents a wide availability of treatment technologies for produced water; however, their selection depends on their characteristics and the maximum permissible limits of contaminants according to the discharge and reuse alternative. As contributions, this review discusses the main problems associated with the disposal of produced water through injector wells, or its reuse in producer wells, which could cause contamination of aquifers and soils: loss of formation injectivity and corrosion of pipelines. Additionally, it proposes parameters for the characterization of formation waters and raw and treated production waters, together with possible compatibility tests in order to avoid the problems discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Produced water (PW) from the Cuban oil industry is a source of oil and chemicals into the sea. This kind of wastewater is a complex mixture of organic and inorganic compounds. The high salinity, metals and sediment could pose severe environmental impacts upon inadequate disposal. This study is based on the treatment proposal of this kind of wastewater used nature zeolite (N-Z) taking into account the deposits of this material across the island. Results suggest that, significant changes between a doses in terms of the adsorption of organic compounds were not found evaluated by UV-Vis at 295nm, the behavior was for the basic pH of the solution and the textural characteristics of the N-Z such as low surface area of 35 m2/g. Differents doses of N-Z vs. CL were studied, the best to carry out the adsorption process was 0,5 g of zeolite per 50mL of clear liquid (CL)according to the evaluation of the solid phase by ICP-OES(Inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry) the higher doses increase the compounds that are part of the zeolite structure. On the other hand the evaluation of the liquid phase with the Spectrophotometer at 295nm were no observed significant changes, demonstrating the non-adsorption of organic compounds. At the best doses the selectivity of the zeolite of heavy metal was Zn2+> Fe2+> Cu2+> Mn2+ and the ion exchange occurring by Al2O3 and CaO, also was evaluated by TGA (Thermogravimetry) analysis detecting a small difference in ash content between the virgin and exhausted zeolite that confirm the adsorption of inorganic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of the subsidence at maracaibo lake eastern coast caused by oil exploitation in the area since the 20s of the last century, was monitored in previous years by the application of geodetic leveling and GPS, however, due to the cost of these methods, This work describes experiences performed in the region, with a technique based on satellite images captured in the microwave spectrum, called Differential Interferometry with Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) allowing detection of small changes in the area. Thanks to the use of free access information from the Sentinel-1 platforms, the software SNAP v 5.0 and the calculation tool SNAPHU v.4.1.2, it was possible to determine subsidence for the first time in Venezuela by applying this technology. With the obtained products and the analyzes carried out, vertical movements of ± 2.8cm were determined in the areas of Cabimas, Tía Juana and Ciudad Ojeda for a period of three years, thus updating the existing information of the area in the same way. Finally, the reliability of DInSAR for the quantification of deformations was demonstrated, opening the possibility in the country to use it not only in this region but in others of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Colombia, the largest percentage of tanneries is located in Cundinamarca, exactly in the municipality of Villapinzon, which is the focus of study because it uses the upper basin of the Bogotá River as receiver source of wastewater discharge. The tanneries are one of the productive sectors that have the greatest negative impact on the water resource, specifically, the unhairing process that uses 1:1 mass ratio (skin-water). Based on this, the aim of this study was the evaluation of the impact of reusing the residual liquors generated in the unhairing process without altering the quality of the final product, through tests at pilot plant level of the process without sulfur and mixed to salted hides. The discharges generated by the process without sulfur were recirculated directly, while the mixed hire discharges had a pre-treatment of oxidation, coagulation and sedimentation, both discharges were monitored by measuring four physicochemical parameters of sanitary interest. The obtained results showed that the recirculation of the water on unhairing process did not increase the costs, by contrast, it represents savings and diminishes the negative environmental impact generated in the upper basin of the Bogotá River, considering that the approximate volume of reuse of water is 50%, confirming the proposed hypothesis about the recirculation of effluents from this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determination of the carbon footprint (CF) was done in order to know the contributions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) by the coffee production system, useful as indicator for decision-making in integrated management of the production of special coffees for the south of the department of Huila. The methodology was based on the Colombian Technical Standard NTC-5947, it consists in the estimation of the HC through of removals and emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and their functional unit. For the removals, cubication was used as a measurement tool, generating nonlinear models based on chronological time and transforming them into carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq). Emissions were obtained by a characterization instrument applied to 505 coffee farms of sixteen associations in the study area. Allometric variables were measured to avoid subsequent destructive assessment. The results showed that the allometric variable of the stem diameter measured at 15 centimeters of the soil had the greatest adjustment to predict the biomass of the coffee plants. In addition, CF based on the removals was 11.94 kilograms of CO2eq c aptured per kilogram of dry parchment coffee (d.p.c) produced and the emissions of 2,17 kilograms of CO2eq emitted to the atmosphere per kilogram of produced d.p.c. The activities with the highest GHG emissions were nitrogen fertilization, transport and the consumption of fossil fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internal corrosion in pipelines used for petroleum transportation, occurs by the action of the formation water that is deposited in the low areas of the profile of the ducts. This water presents different pollutants that increase its aggressiveness on the steels usually used in the construction of these structures. The hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide, and chlorides have a bigger interest from the corrosion points of view. The objective of the present work consisted in analyzing the influence physical-chemical and microbiological parameters and to determine the presence of bacteria in the aggressiveness in a formation water that it accompanying the petroleum, gathered during the cleaning of a pipeline, as well as to determine the corrosion rate in the steel in a line of handling wastewaters treatment tank by lineal polarization resistance tests. The BOD (Biochemistry of Oxygen Demands) and COD (Chemistry of Oxygen Demands) indicators in the first type of water, the presence of bacteria, mushrooms, yeasts and total microorganisms demonstrate their high contamination with organic matter, as a product of the bacterial activity, it facilitates the depositions formation and so the localized corrosion. This water presented a low resistivity and high concentration of chlorides ions that classifies it as salted and highly corrosive. The second type of water, because of its high chlorides and sulphide ions, and salts concentration, as well as their high electric conductivity favors the transport of charges to the corrosion processes. The lineal polarization resistance tests in a line of handling of wastewaters, belonging to a treatment tank, demonstrate that the corrosion rate of the steel were between 1, 7 and 2, 5 mm / year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]