Integrated Electrocoagulation-Adsorption Process Enhanced with Ferrite Nanoparticles for Treating High-Salinity Produced Water

Produced water, the largest waste stream in the oil and gas sector, poses significant environmental challenges due to its high salinity, hydrocarbons, and heavy metals. Current treatment methods often struggle to effectively remove salts and other contaminants, necessitating innovative, cost-effective approaches. This study investigates the integration of Electrocoagulation (EC) with Adsorption (AD) and Ferrite Nanoparticles (FNP) to enhance the treatment of high-salinity produced water from the Siba Gas Field in Iraq. The EC process was run with Al electrodes for coagulation and then FNP and clay-based adsorbents were added to enhance pollutant removal. Experimental results showed that EC alone removed less than 10% of salts. FNP addition achieved 20% salt removal, while EC-FNP combined with AD and clays such as Na-bentonite achieved 56% salt removal. The integrated process also reduced turbidity from 157 NTU to less than 1 NTU and stabilized pH and ORP. The study shows the synergy of EC-FNP and AD in treating saline wastewater, providing a promising, scalable, eco-friendly and cost-effective approach. These results provide a basis for further optimization and industrial application of EC-FNP/AD for saline wastewater in the oil and gas industry, supporting sustainable water management and environmental protection. Future work should focus on optimizing parameters, long-term performance, economic feasibility, and environmental impact for scale-up.