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Types of Wastewater and Treatment Options

Types of Wastewater
Oil in Wastewater
Emulsions & Solids in Wastewater

The below information provides a general overview of wastewater and treatment options.

Please keep in mind that there are a lot of variables that are NOT described in these charts that would impact the best treatment solution for site-specific needs.

Wastewater

	Description	Treatment
Blowback Water (aka Frac Water)	wastewater produced by hydraulic fracturing	Clarification Separator
Groundwater	water flowing underground, which could discharge into a waterway	Above Ground Oil Water Separator
Process Water	water generated in manufacturing or treatment processes; examples wash racks and pump & treat	Above Ground Oil Water Separator, Above Ground Clarification Separator, or Clarifier
Produced Water	water that is from water-based oil and gas exploration	Clarification Separator
Stormwater	water generated from a rain event	Below Ground Oil Water Separator

Oil in Wastewater

Different sizes of oil droplets require different treatment methods.

Condition of Oil	Oil Droplet Size	Treatment
Free Oil	150 microns or greater	API oil water separator
Dispersed Oil	20 microns to 149 microns	Coalescing oil water separator
Mechanical Emulsified Oil	20 microns or less	Oil water separator with a post-treatment DAF system or clay filter
Chemical Emulsified Oil	5 microns or less	Chemical pre-treatment followed by an oil water separator, or a DAF system with chemical pre-treatment
Soluble Oil (micro-emulsion)	0.05 micron or less	Emulsion Breaking System/ Oil Water Separator, Emulsion Breaking System, DAF System, Ultra filtration, Reverse Osmosis or Biological Treatment

Emulsions & Suspended Solids in Wastewater

A suspension, or any liquid containing dissolved solids, requires different treatment.

	Description	Treatment
Colloid	Very small, insoluble, non-diffusible solid or liquid particles that remain in suspension in a surrounding liquid. Particles are usually 2 micron or less.	Clarification Separator or DAF System
Dissolved Solids (TDS)	Any solid material that will dissolve in the liquid that is being filtered, such as sugar in water.	Emulsion Breaking System/ Oil Water Separator, Emulsion Breaking System/ DAF system, Ultra filtration, Reverse Osmosis or Biological Treatment
Emulsion	Any colloidal suspension of a liquid in another liquid that is normally immiscible.	Emulsion Breaking System/ Oil Water Separator, Emulsion Breaking System/ DAF system, Clay or carbon filters/ Ultra Filtration
Settlable Solids	Solid particles that have a greater specific gravity than water that will naturally settled out.	Clarifier (just solids); Clarification separator- (solids and oil)
Suspended Solids (TSS)	Naturally buoyant solid particles. They have a specific gravity close to water.	Clarification Separator
Surfactants	Surface active agents, which are found in cleaning agents.	Emulsion Breaking System/ Oil Water Separator, Emulsion Breaking System/ DAF System