Overview
ARBOK-CHLORIDE treats high-salinity oilfield produced water — removing chloride, sulfides, heavy metals, and solids — via Arbok vacuum separation at ambient temperature and deep vacuum, with no membranes, electrodes, or reagents. Permian produced water (50 000–250 000 mg/L chloride, near-saturated brine) destroys membranes and electrodes in weeks; ARBOK-CHLORIDE instead converts it into clean water, dry chloride salts, elemental sulfur, and light hydrocarbons — eliminating Class II reinjection and its seismic risk.
Applications
Primary use cases: on-site treatment of produced water / formation brine at wellhead or pad; high-chloride industrial wastewater; frac-water recycling.
Industries and users: oil & gas operators, oilfield water midstream.
Scale: 20–200 short tons/day per unit, delivered as a modular vertical tank array; linear scale-up by module.
Operating Principle
Under deep vacuum, held well below atmospheric pressure, at ambient temperature, the produced-water stream separates by volatility and density: H₂S and volatile hydrocarbons flash to gas (H₂S → elemental sulfur; hydrocarbons → motor-grade fraction); water evaporates and condenses as distillate (TDS < 500 mg/L); chloride salts (NaCl, CaCl₂, MgCl₂) crystallize as dry product; sand, clay, calcites, and heavy metals exit as dry residue. No catalysts, reagents, membranes, or electrodes; no new waste streams.
Limitations: dry-salt/residue offtake; feed varies by field/season; corrosion-active feed handling.
Key Parameters
Energy: 0.16 kWh/bbl. Process: deep vacuum, well below atmospheric pressure; ambient temperature. Water recovery: ~80 %, distillate TDS < 500 mg/L.
Feed (Permian): chloride 50 000–250 000 mg/L; TDS 80 000–220 000; Na⁺ 20 000–60 000; Ca²⁺ 5 000–30 000; Mg²⁺ 1 000–5 000; sulfides 10–3 000 mg/L (as H₂S).
Outputs: clean water (frac reuse/discharge); chloride salts (industrial grade); elemental sulfur; light hydrocarbons; dry mineral residue (road-grade). Capacity: 20–200 short tons/day per unit. Discharge: ZWD.
Architecture and Components
Modular array of vertical separation tanks with an integrated multi-valve separator stage and dry-residue receiver; vacuum separation/condensation; salt crystallization; sulfur and hydrocarbon collection; control system. Wellhead/pad-deployable; modular, linearly scalable.
Advantages
Technical: handles near-saturated, corrosive brine where RO/membranes/electrodes fail; multi-product separation in one pass.
Economic: 0.16 kWh/bbl; converts disposal cost into product revenue; BOOM (no operator CAPEX).
Environmental: eliminates Class II reinjection and seismic risk; protects groundwater; dry residue only (no ponds).
Strategic: gives operators water autonomy (frac reuse), exiting competition with data centers/agriculture for scarce West Texas water.
Integrations
Deploys at wellhead, pad, or gathering station (no waste transport); pairs with ARBOK sulfur/oil-recovery units; products sold or bought back by operator under offtake.
Deployment & Operation
Steps: produced-water assay → unit sizing → wellhead/pad install → commissioning (weeks). Continuous, automated. Business model: BOOM (Build-Own-Operate-Maintain); ARBOK self-finances and earns via product offtake.
TRL
TRL 8 (confirmed by Michael). System complete and qualified: Arbok-VO validated on high-salinity, sulfide-bearing feedstocks; modular TARK units operational; BOOM/offtake model ready. Remaining to TRL 9: sustained commercial operation at multiple wellhead sites.
Market Potential
Global chloride-removal market $4.2 billion (2023) → $9.8 billion (2032), CAGR 9.8 %; oilfield produced-water = 28 % (largest, fastest-growing). ARBOK addressable value ~$1.4–2.1 billion/year. Permian alone disposes ~4 billion bbl/year; chloride management costs reach ~$836 million/year. Regional drivers: seismic risk, EPA pressure, China GB 31571-2015 (≤250 mg/L Cl⁻).
Typical Project Economics
Today operators pay $0.50–2.00/bbl to reinject (Permian 15 Mbbl/day → $7–30 million/day buried) and buy frac water up to $40/ton. ARBOK per 10 000 bbl/day unit: clean water ~$1.5M, chloride salts ~$4.2M, sulfur ~$41K, hydrocarbons ~$280K → ~$6.0 million/year revenue. Operator saves $1.8–7.3M/year disposal + up to $18.5M/year water = $20–26 million/year benefit. Unit payback 5–7 years; profitable life 10–15 years.
Risk Factors
Dry-salt/sulfur offtake markets; product-grade qualification; operator adoption vs entrenched reinjection; corrosion-active feed handling; field-unit validation to lift TRL.
Related Technologies
ARBOK-VC (Vacuum Cracking) · ARBOK-SULPHUR · ARBOK-CRYSTALLIZER · ARBOK-ORR (Oil Regeneration & Recover)