Separation of chloride and sulfate ions in univalent and divalent cation forms from aqueous streams

The precipitation and separation of chloride and sulfate in several cation forms (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium) from aqueous streams were studied using isopropylamine (IPA) and ethylamine (EA) as precipitation solvents. The precipitation fractions (P) of the tested chloride salts at 5000 and 10,000 ppm by both IPA and EA over the studied range of solvents volume ratio (V(R)) were relatively identical (18-60%) and their small variations were within their experimental uncertainty. The P of combined sulfate at 1000 ppm (56-99.5%) and chloride at 5000 ppm (28-62%) in the form of calcium by IPA over the studied range of V(R) were appreciably higher than the P of sulfate (10-98.5%) from calcium sulfate in the absence of calcium chloride, or the P of chloride (18-58%) from calcium chloride in the absence of calcium sulfate. The P of chloride from oil-field-produced waters at 106,654 ppm (20-88%) by both IPA and EA were higher than the P of chloride from diluted produced water at 20,000 (17-68%) and 10,000 ppm (16-65%) over the studied range of V(R). The small amounts of sulfate present in the produced waters (e.g., 435 ppm) were completely removed at V(R) of 0.1 (the first stage of precipitation). Consistency tests performed on the acquired data indicated a good level of experimental consistency. Two model equations (2-Suffix and 3-Suffix) derived from thermodynamic principles of solid-liquid equilibrium (SLE) criteria were employed to correlate the acquired data. While both equations were adequate for correlating the precipitation data, the 3-Suffix equation was more accurate.