Advanced polishing and reuse systems for petroleum refineries, converting treated effluent into cooling tower makeup, boiler feed water, and process applications to reduce freshwater consumption by up to 70%.
Treat drilling muds, cuttings wash water and site runoff. Solid-liquid separation and water recycling for drilling operations.
Refinery wastewater treatment including API separators, DAF, advanced biological treatment and polishing for strict discharge.
Oil and gas wastewater treatment for produced water treatment.
Sour water and desalter effluent treatment for petroleum refineries.
Closing the Loop in Refinery Water Management
Water scarcity and rising discharge volumes are driving refineries to maximise wastewater recycling. After primary and advanced biological treatment, refinery effluent can be polished to meet the quality requirements for cooling tower makeup, boiler feed preparation, crude desalting, and firewater systems. Our reuse systems combine advanced filtration, activated carbon, and disinfection to deliver reliable recycled water while reducing freshwater withdrawals and environmental liability. Ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, activated carbon and disinfection are combined to match recycled-water quality to each reuse duty. Reynolds & Bauhm design these schemes to cut freshwater withdrawal and discharge volume while safeguarding cooling, boiler and process systems.
The most common reuse application, requiring low suspended solids, controlled hardness, and minimal organics to prevent biofouling and scaling.
Polished effluent as feed to demineralisation or reverse osmosis plants for high-purity boiler makeup water production.
Treated desalter effluent recycled back to crude unit wash water, reducing both freshwater demand and wastewater volume.
Non-potable reuse for equipment washdown, area hosing, and utility systems where potable quality is not required.
Refinery Water Reuse Pathways
Recycled water with controlled TDS, hardness, and organics for cooling tower evaporation makeup without excessive blowdown.
High-quality polished effluent as RO or ion exchange pre-treatment feed for steam generation systems.
Direct reuse of treated desalter effluent for crude oil washing and dilution in atmospheric distillation units.
Polished refinery wastewater stored in firewater reservoirs meeting conductivity and suspended solids requirements.
Treated process water recycled for pipeline and vessel pressure testing during maintenance turnarounds.
Biologically treated and disinfected effluent suitable for green belt irrigation around refinery boundaries.
Polishing Train for Refinery Reuse
Oil separation, clarification, and advanced biological treatment remove bulk contaminants.
Self-cleaning filters or multimedia filtration remove residual suspended solids and biomass.
UV or chlorination systems control bacterial growth in cooling towers and distribution networks.
Products for Refinery Water Reuse
Automatic backwash filtration removing residual suspended solids to <5 mg/L for cooling tower makeup.
Benefit: <5 mg/L SS
Deep-bed filtration for high-capacity solids removal ahead of carbon adsorption or membrane systems.
Benefit: High throughput
Granular activated carbon removes COD, phenols, and trace hydrocarbons that could foul cooling systems.
Benefit: Odour & COD removal
High-rate tertiary clarification for polishing biological effluent in minimal footprint.
Benefit: 70% smaller footprint
Buffer storage and distribution tanks with level control and backup supply management.
Benefit: Demand balancing
Mobile filtration and carbon adsorption plants for reuse piloting and temporary capacity.
Benefit: Rapid deployment
Why Choose Reynolds & Bauhm
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Tertiary-treated biological effluent + filtration + chlorination feeds cooling tower makeup. Quality targets: <5 NTU, <1,500 mg/L TDS, <100 mg/L hardness.
Hot, salt-free stripped sour water is ideal desalter wash water. Replaces 3–5% of crude charge in fresh-water demand.
RO on tertiary biological effluent + GAC produces <100 μS/cm permeate suitable for boiler makeup. Reject (concentrate) sent to crystalliser or evaporator.
MBR replaces biological + clarifier + sand filter in one step. Permeate quality <5 mg/L TSS, <15 mg/L BOD — directly suitable for many reuse routes.
Brine concentrator + crystalliser for 95%+ water recovery. Capital intensive but mandatory in water-scarce regions or under tight discharge consent.
Typical UK refinery: fresh-water intake 0.5–1.5 m³/bbl crude. 50% reuse saves 100,000 m³/yr per 200,000 BPD — –500k/yr in abstraction + treatment fees.
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CFD EngineeringContact our experts to design a polishing and reuse system for your refinery.
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