Boron removal from synthetic brines and oilfield produced waters using aluminum electrocoagulation

High boron (B) levels in oil and gas produced waters prevent its beneficial reuse as irrigation water without proper treatment. Aluminum (Al) electrocoagulation (EC) is a promising technology for B removal, but further research and development is needed to optimize EC for use in removing B from produced waters. To this end, B removal by adsorption onto insoluble aluminum hydroxide solids, generated by EC in simulated brines (up to 50,000 mg/L NaCl) and real oilfield produced waters, was studied. B removal during EC was greater than when aluminum hydroxide solids formed by EC were subsequently exposed to B containing solutions. Working parameters affecting B removal during the EC process, including current, total dissolved solid (TDS), temperature, pH, scale-forming cations and organic matter, were investigated to explore ways to achieve higher B removal. Boron removal increased with increased current loading and time, and with the concomitant increased Al solids concentration. However, too high a current loading limited B removal because of a change in the structure of the aluminum hydroxide solids. Higher TDS decreased B removal slightly, but lower TDS concentrations limited the use of higher current loadings. Temperature increased during EC treatment, particularly at higher current loadings, and this inhibited B removal due to an accelerated aggregation of amorphous Al solids into larger, denser, and presumably more crystalline particles. The best B removal occurred at pH 8, corresponding to a slightly positive zeta potential for aluminum hydroxide and a small but significant fraction of negatively charged B species. Scale-forming cations such as Ba²⁺ and Sr²⁺ had no obvious effect on the EC process. The presence of high concentrations of Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ resulted in low bulk pH values during the EC process and greater formation of solid products, but B removal did not decrease during a pH-controlled (pH = 8) EC process with these divalent cations present. Two produced water samples collected from oilfields in Kansas, US were treated using EC for 1 h, resulting in up to ~70 % B removal from solution with a current loading of 6.67 A/L, and up to 78 % with 13.33 A/L.