Abstract:
Water, for example produced water, is treated to make it more suitable for use in an oil field recovery process. In the oil filed recovery process, the treated water is pressurized and heated to supercritical conditions in a steam generator, preferably a Once Through Steam Generator (OTSG), to result in a supercritical dense phase fluid, which is then injected into oil bearing formations for the purpose of enhanced oil production. The treatment includes softening and decarbonation. The water is preferably acidified before decarbonation. There may be a step of sulfate removal. Softening may be by ion exchange or membrane separation. Sulfate may be removed by ion exchange.