induced gas flotation units
4M Process offers both vertical and horizontal induced Gas Flotation Units designs. The Induced Gas Flotation (IGF) process involves introducing gas into the produced water stream via eductors. This is achieved by introducing the process stream and the induced gas stream into the contact section of the vessel. The floated oil and solids are skimmed from the surface and the clarified effluent is discharged from the bottom of the vessel.
IGF designs optimize the principles of Stokes law by using finely dispersed gas to reduce the apparent density of the oil and solids; increase their droplet size and greatly increase buoyancy through coalescence.
Pressurized produced water passing through the eductor creates a vacuum at the gas suction port, whereby the gas is drawn from the vapor space in the IGF Vessel and induced into the water stream. This is essentially a closed loop with very low gas consumption.
Removal efficiency is influenced by physical characteristics of the incoming produced water stream such as pH, total dissolved and suspended solids, temperature, presence of chemicals, mixtures of different streams and Zeta Potential.
Most of the oil/organic contained in the wastewater stream is in the form of a reversed emulsion. Suspended solids are usually oil/organic wet particles, metal oxides, etc. Both oil/organic and suspended solids are of such a density that they will float when they are attached to the minute dissolved bubbles.
Oil/organic and suspended solids accumulate on the surface of the liquid as a froth, where they are continuously removed from the flotation compartment by means of a gravity spill over a weir.