Challenge

A southern mining company was developing salt dome gas storage facilities that use water to mine salt from the domes shaping them so they can be used to store natural gas inside under high pressures.

The raw water used for the mining process contained high levels of iron (5-8 ppm) resulting in equipment fouling and high maintenance costs. This significantly reduced the rate at which the plant could develop the caverns, impacting both its on-line date and operating costs.

Solution

Siemens Water Technologies' solution was to provide two (2)  horizontal filtration trailers (HFT) loaded with multi-media for removal of the high amounts of iron and very few other suspended solids.  The customer treats the raw water with the addition of chlorine gas (oxidizer) and a coagulant prior to feeding the mobile water treatment units.  After the chlorination and filtration processes, the customer is now achieving  iron levels at less than 0.5 ppm – a significant reduction – that reduces system fouling.

Results

The Siemens' mobile treatment units were capable of treating high flow capacities in a minimal footprint that served the customer’s space issue well.  The automated control and operation of the units required limited supervision from the on-site personnel. Weekly site visits from trained Siemens staff provided the mechanical and technical knowledge required to keep the system running at peak performance. 

Furthermore, the mobile system was onsite within seven days – earlier than requested by the customer. The customer was able to treat the water to their specification without lost production time/cost.