The Impact of Brine on Storage Tank Emissions

Zach Oremland

May 8, 2024

With changing EPA regulations in OOOOb, OOOOc, and Subpart W, it is of utmost importance for operators to accurately predict emissions from produced water storage tanks. To properly estimate storage tank emissions, the fluids entering the tank batteries must be well characterized – with known hydrocarbon and salt content. ProMax® is the perfect tool to help characterize the storage tank feeds and estimate emissions at different conditions.

ProMax can account for the effect dissolved salts have on hydrocarbon solubilities in water, providing more accurate results. Accurate emissions reporting and determining the need for control devices can only be done properly when considering the impact of brine.

With ProMax 6.0.24120, users can input different concentrations of NaCl and CaCl₂ to determine the effect on flash emissions from produced water storage tanks. As shown in the figure below, high brine concentrations can significantly reduce the amount of methane the water can hold, which in turn, reduces methane emissions from the storage tanks.