ELECTROCOAGULATION systems have been employed for years in the treatment of wastewater. These systems have shown good contaminant removal compared to chemical precipitation; nevertheless, higher capital and operation costs, along with lower flow rates, have reduced the use of these systems. Most rely upon high voltages to produce a strong electromagnetic field in order to disrupt the attraction of the particles, allowing suspended contaminants to precipitate.

The Joule EP4 Unit, however, provides lower operating costs and higher flow rates – providing the proven, superior treatment effectiveness of electrocoagulation at a cost that makes it viable and competitive for produced water treatment. An engineering cost evaluation shows that the Joule EP4 Unit would reduce treatment and transport costs 50% or more per bbl at up to 100 gpm while providing for reuse of the recycled water to reduce the need for makeup water. With some regions at significantly higher rates including transportation, the cost analysis indicates that treatment and reuse using the Joule EC System is a very advantageous alternative for E&P Operators.

Electropurification lends itself to treatment of complex mixed wastewater streams and as a pretreatment to increase efficiency of purification and desalination. The lack of major chemical additives protects the potential to derive some benefit from the separated contaminants. The potential for broad applicability regardless of contaminant type has already allowed installation of this system at a variety of environmental remediation sites for both surface and groundwater contamination.