Fractionation of Centromere Regions from Chromosomal DNA

65111 The U.S. oil and gas industry produces 1 trillion gal/year of water contaminated with oil and dissolved hydrocarbons. Although EPA regulations require this water to be treated to 7-29 mg/L hydrocarbons, compliance is difficult with current technology, especially for water produced on offshore platforms. This project will develop an innovative nonfouling nanofiltration/ultrafiltration membrane system to remove suspended oil and other dissolved hydrocarbons from produced water. Membranes have not been used for this application in the past because of fouling problems. Two candidate membranes for this process are now in development. In Phase I, the performance of spiral-wound modules containing these membranes will be measured with model oil emulsion mixtures in a bench-scale test system. A detailed technical and economic analysis of the complete process will be performed, and a Phase II field test site will be identified. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The 300 offshore platforms in the U.S. each produce an average of 0.5-2.5 million gal/day of oil- and hydrocarbon-contaminated water. Replacement of the conventional gas flotation process with more efficient, more compact, lower cost membrane units would produce significant cost savings and bring the platforms into compliance with EPA regulations.