Cannon Artes is honoured to have been selected by KSO Artha Envirotama for the supply of a “Walnutshell” Filter Package for Water Injection Facilities, in South Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The End Client is the upstream arm of the state-owned energy giant PT Pertamina which, with 55bUSD revenues and nearly 14,000 employees is the biggest corporation on the Indonesian soil.

The water injection facilities will contribute to keep oil flowing from the  oil field. Injecting water in the reservoir is in fact the most frequently applied method to enhance the recovery of oil. However, in order to do that, water must respect very stringent requirements in terms of contaminants and pollutants.

The system is arranged on three “Walnutshell” Filters, arranged in parallel and capable to deliver an overall capacity of 75,480 BWPD equal to 500 m3/h.

The “Walnutshell” Filtration technology features crushed walnut shells as filtration media. Such media presents, further to the mechanical filtration capacity, an incredible affinity for hydrocarbons and a very limited attrition rate. The affinity for hydrocarbons allows the implementation of a coalescing effect on the oil droplets that could adhere on the media particles, build-up in dimension and be removed by physical separation.

The mechanical resistance and low-attrition rate enable the possibility of fluidizing the media bed during backwashing in absence of a comminution effect, thus allowing a greater efficiency in removing dirt and oil.

During the “loading” phase the liquid passes through the filter media, where oil and solids are trapped within it. When pressure drop reaches a set-point, the backwashing is automatically started. The removal of oil and filtered matter from the media is done through the fluidization of the media and the external circulation through a dedicated scrubbing vessel. While the media is returned to the filter vessel, the contaminated water is purged.

Moreover, as the circulation of the media is effected by a pump installed on the top of the filter, the shearing action of the impeller on the media particles contributes to the efficient removal of oil and solids from them.

The system is able to guarantee an oil removal efficiency equal or higher than 90%, while simultaneously providing a solid retention capacity from 99.5% for particles with a mean diameter of 8 µm up to a 98% at 5 µm.

Mr Massimiliano Bertoldi, Cannon Artes’ Area Manager for Indonesia so commented the acquisition: “We are really proud to start a partnership with  KSO Artha Envirotama. This job allows Cannon Artes to position itself as a market leader in the “Walnutshell” filtration technology and, at the same time, reinforce its presence as a key partner for Mess.rs Pertamina E&P after the previous landmark supply for the Banyu Urip Project”.

KSO Artha Envirotama is one of the most reputable EPC contractors in Indonesia. Established in 1993, Artha is particularly focusing on the environmental sector, addressing both municipalities and the industry.