From oil and natural gas wells to nuclear power plants, shipping vessels to cooling and boiling water cycles, biofouling – particularly microfouling – is a real, persistent and costly threat to industries around the world. Common hazards include:
In addition, toxic chemical disinfectants and the disposal of hazardous waste products present ongoing expense and environmental liability. Today, ensuring profitable operations means having an effective water management strategy, and a critical component of effective water management is the control and destruction of bacteria and biofilms.
Biofouling occurs when thin layers of bacteria form to coat surfaces such as pipes, machinery, hulls, or wells – almost any surface commonly found in commercial and industrial operations can be impacted. Microbial biofilms typically form on moist or wet surfaces, and once developed demonstrate a remarkable resistance to changes in environment, antibiotics and chemical disinfectants, leveraging “persister cells” to survive even prolonged exposure to disinfectants.
Fidelity’s patented Ozonix® Technology is a chemical-free alternative to costly and toxic biocides that provides proven, highly effective microbial control through the complete oxidization of bacteria and destruction of bacteria cell walls and biofilms accompanied by zero generation of harmful disinfection byproducts. It accomplishes this through the production of hydroxyl radicals (OH-) that are significantly more powerful than chlorine or ozone when used in isolation.
Scale typically occurs when minerals in produced water surpass saturation limits as pressures and temperatures change. Scale buildup can take a variety of forms, but when found in and on pipes, wells, tubing and equipment, the results are largely the same; reductions in flow rates, production and efficiency losses, and often damaged equipment and replacement costs. Across industries, effective water and wastewater treatment programs must take scale-inhibition into account to safeguard productivity, protect assets, and mitigate risks.
For nearly a decade, Fidelity has successfully addressed some the most challenging scale in the world – cleanly and cost effectively. Fidelity’s Ozonix® technology is an Advanced Oxidation Process that has been proven effective through independent laboratory tests and the billions of gallons of wastewater that have already been recycled and re-used in the oil and natural gas industry to inhibit scale formation across a broad range of minerals, eliminating costly scale inhibitors.
Hydrogen sulfide is easily oxidized by the Ozonix® process, ultimately to form sulfate. The initial oxidation is to form elemental sulfur which is seen as a light colored colloidal suspension. Further oxidation dissolves the elemental sulfur to sulfite and continued oxidation produces sulfate.
The Ozonix® process oxidizes iron (Fe) into iron oxide (Fe2O3). Ozonix® does not remove this oxidized iron from the fluid. Rather, the iron oxide remains in the fluid, inactive and chemically inert.
Across industries and communities, clean water is critical to healthy, sustainable and profitable operations. Proper water disinfection and sterilization is an effective means of removing or killing bacteria and unwanted pathogens in water supplies. Chlorine and Chlorine dioxide are common chemical disinfectants that, while effective in certain scenarios, present a host of health and environmental concerns; such as harmful byproducts created from water treatment.
Fidelity’s patented Ozonix® water treatment technology is a chemical-free alternative for water disinfection that can help energy industries around the world mitigate risk and ensure a steady supply of clean water. Ozonix® is proven, cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution.