WATERTOWN, MA, Jan. 10, 2005 -- Ionics Inc., a global leader in water purification and wastewater treatment, has been awarded a $7.5 million contract by Deer Creek Energy Limited, a Calgary, Canada-based company engaged in development of oil sands deposits through steam injection and mining extraction methods. Ionics will supply two RCC® brine concentrators for converting two waste streams (produced water from the oil extraction process and boiler blowdown) into high quality boiler feedwater. The boiler feedwater is used to produce steam for downhole injection to fluidize the heavy oil at Deer Creek's new steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) facility. The project is slated for completion in March 2006.
"We selected Ionics RCC brine concentrators based on their proven performance record throughout the world and Ionics' longstanding reputation for providing reliable, efficient, and high quality water in our industry. We look forward to reducing downtime and process upsets with the implementation of this innovative water purification technology," said Deer Creek CEO and President Glen C. Schmidt.
The brine concentrators turn highly saturated industrial wastewaters into clean water for reuse. Use of this technology results in lower capital and lifecycle costs in the production of steam and dramatically increases system reliability and on-stream availability as compared to warm lime water treatment processes previously installed in other SAGD operations. The new equipment has also allowed Deer Creek Energy to incorporate higher efficiency, lower cost drum boilers for steam generation into their design, eliminating the need for once-through steam generators (OTSG) and vapor-liquid separators.
With an brine concentrator, greater than 95% of wastewater can be recovered as high purity distillate, resulting in less than 10 ppm total inorganic dissolved solids. The remaining 5%, of concentrated slurry, may be reduced to dry solids in a crystallizer or may be disposed of by other means.
"We are very pleased to work with Deer Creek on this innovative application of Ionics' water treatment capabilities. The contract with Ionics validates its commitment to leveraging the most advanced cost-effective technologies to achieve an optimal production level," said Ionics CEO Doug Brown.
About Ionics Inc.
With over 50 years of experience in design, installation, operation and maintenance of water and wastewater treatment systems, Ionics (www.ionics.com) is a leading global provider of emergency and long-term water treatment services. More membrane-based desalination systems have been designed and built by Ionics than any other supplier worldwide. It's also a leader in supplying brine concentrators and zero-liquid-discharge systems, in providing ultrapure water systems for the power and microelectronics industries, and in the measurement and analysis of water impurities. The company also supplies point-of-use and point-of-entry water treatment systems for commercial and residential applications.
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