WO2025072534A1 - Method and apparatus for removing dispersed liquid organic and suspended solid matter from processed water - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for treating water are described herein. A method of treating water having unwanted materials includes pretreating a water stream having unwanted materials to form pretreated water; and routing the pretreated water to a dead-end ionic filter unit comprising a housing, a flow barrier disposed in an interior of the housing between an inlet and an outlet of the housing, a plurality of filter elements coupled to the flow barrier in the interior of the housing to define flow pathways within the housing through the flow barrier from an inlet side of the housing to an outlet side of the housing, and an ionic filter material disposed in the interior of the housing at the inlet side.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVING DISPERSED LIQUID ORGANIC AND SUSPENDED SOLID MATTER FROM PROCESSED WATER

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This patent application claims priority benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/586,825 filed September 29, 2023, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

[0002] This patent application describes apparatus and methods of treating processed water from manufacturing and production facilities that has dispersed organic matter and suspended solids. Specifically, the apparatus and methods described herein use deadend filtration to provide compact, effective, and easily maintained separation of organics and solids from water.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Treatment of materials at manufacturing, production, and processing facilities to return materials obtained from the environment back to the environment without harmful effect is a common endeavor. Unreleasable water is often created at manufacturing, production, and processing facilities when water from a water source contacts materials that render the water unsuitable for return to the environment. Water enters a facility and while contacting equipment, structures, or ground areas of the facility, or being used for processing in the facility, may acquire chemicals and solids from the equipment, ground, or other surfaces. Some of the chemicals and solids may need to be removed before the water can be returned to the environment, so the water is recovered and treated to remove such materials.

[0004] Requirements for composition of water that can be returned to the environment can be demanding. Processing to meet such requirements can involve substantial equipment. Further, in some situations spacing requirements for such equipment can be challenging. For example, on offshore drilling facilities, spacing for equipment to process recovered water is quite limited. Finally, energy is always a commodity to be conserved and consumed as lightly as possible to minimize environmental burden. Efficient and effective means of separating organic materials, such as hydrocarbons, and other unwanted solid and liquid materials, from water is always needed.

SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments described herein provide a method of treating water having unwanted materials, the method comprising pretreating a water stream having unwanted liquid and solid materials to form pretreated water; routing the pretreated water to a deadend ionic filter unit comprising a housing, a flow barrier disposed in an interior of the housing between an inlet and an outlet of the housing, a plurality of filter elements coupled to the flow barrier in the interior of the housing to define flow pathways within the housing through the flow barrier from an inlet side of the housing to an outlet side of the housing, and an ionic filter material disposed in the interior of the housing at the inlet side; and removing the unwanted liquid and solid materials from the pretreated water using the dead-end ionic filter unit.

[0006] Other embodiments described herein provide a method of treating water having unwanted materials, the method comprising pretreating a water stream having unwanted liquid and solid materials to form pretreated water; routing the pretreated water to a deadend ionic filter unit comprising a housing, a flow barrier disposed in an interior of the housing between an inlet and an outlet of the housing, a plurality of filter elements coupled to the flow barrier in the interior of the housing to define flow pathways within the housing through the flow barrier from an inlet side of the housing to an outlet side of the housing, and an ionic filter material disposed in the interior of the housing at the inlet side; removing the unwanted liquid and solid materials from the pretreated water using the dead-end ionic filter unit; recovering purified water at the outlet of the housing; and using a portion of the purified water to rinse the filter elements.

[0007] Other embodiments described herein provide a method of treating water having unwanted materials, the method comprising pretreating a water stream having unwanted liquid and solid materials in a pretreatment unit to form pretreated water; routing the pretreated water to a dead-end ionic filter unit comprising a housing, a flow barrier disposed in an interior of the housing between an inlet and an outlet of the housing, a plurality of filter elements coupled to the flow barrier in the interior of the housing to define flow pathways within the housing through the flow barrier from an inlet side of the housing to an outlet side of the housing, and an ionic filter material disposed in the interior of the housing at the inlet side; removing the unwanted liquid and solid materials from the pretreated water using the dead-end ionic filter unit; recovering purified water at the outlet of the housing; rinsing the filter elements using a portion of the purified water to form a filter rinse; and recycling at least a portion of the filter rinse to the pretreatment unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Fig. 1 is a schematic process diagram of a treatment process according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] Methods and apparatus are described herein for treating unreleasable water at a manufacturing, production, or processing facility to render the water suitable to return to the environment. Fig. 1 is a schematic process diagram summarizing a process 100 for treating water to remove materials that prevent the water from being discharged to the environment. An unreleasable water source 102, which can be from a tank that holds unreleasable water for treatment, is coupled to a pretreatment unit 104 to prepare the water for a separation to remove unwanted materials. The pretreatment can be, or can include, a separation process, such as a hydrocyclone, centrifuge, lamella separator, gravity separator, flotation separator, or other bulk separation unit. The pretreatment can be, or can include, a chemical addition wherein processing aids are added to the water. The processing aids can include surfactants, pH adjustment reagents, emulsifiers, deemulsifiers, coagulants, flocculants, oil-binding agents, and sorbents. The processing aids generally improve performance of downstream separations and can be controlled based on results of such separations.

[0010] The pretreatment unit yields a pretreated water 106 that is routed to a deadend ionic filter unit 108. The dead-end ionic filter unit 108 has a housing 110 that contains a plurality of filter elements 112 coupled to a flow barrier 114 between an inlet 116 and outlet 118 of the housing 110 such that the only flow path through the housing 110 from the inlet 116 to the outlet 118 is through the filter elements 112. The flow barrier 114 otherwise obstructs flow in the interior of the housing 110 from the inlet 116 to the outlet. The filter elements 112 pass through the flow barrier 114, defining flow paths through the flow barrier 114 to allow water purified by flow through the filter elements 112 to exit the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 at the outlet 118. The configuration of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 ensures that filtered material is held up in the interior of the housing 110, at the inlet side thereof, while purified water is allowed to exit the housing 110 through the outlet 118. The dead-end ionic filter unit 108 includes an ionic filter material within the housing 110 on the inlet 116 side thereof. The ionic filter material is a powder substance that can acquire a static charge. The ionic filter material can be a metal oxide material, such as aluminum oxide, iron oxide, titanium oxide. The pretreated water flows into the inlet side of the unit 108 and contacts the filter elements 112. Flow of the water to the filter elements 112 holds the filter material on the outer surfaces of the filter element 112, enhancing performance of the filter elements. An example of a dead-end ionic filter unit that can be used herein is the RSL MEMBRANE™ technology available from David Bromley Engineering Ltd. of Vancouver, Canada.

[0011] In the example of Fig. 1 , the flow barrier 114 is a plate-like structure disposed within the housing 110, in contact with an inner wall of the housing along the entire perimeter of the flow barrier 114, and substantially perpendicular to a cylindrical axis of the housing 110. The flow barrier 114 can take any convenient form, and can be configured in any convenient way within the housing 110. The flow barrier 114 prevents unimpeded flow from the inlet 116 to the outlet 118. The filter elements 112 shown in Fig. 1 are cylindrical or tube-shaped members that are spaced uniformly within the housing 110 and extend in directions substantially parallel to the axis of the housing 110, but the filter elements 112 could adopt any convenient shape or configuration. For example, concentric filter elements having the shape of hollow cylinders could be used, or filter elements having the shape of rectangular solids could be used.

[0012] The dead-end ionic filter unit 108 removes organic materials, such as hydrocarbons, along with solids from the pretreated water to form a purified effluent 120 that is discharged from the outlet 118 of the housing 110. The purified effluent 120 conduit couples the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 to a discharge unit 122. The discharge unit 122 can include a tank for holding purified water for analysis and disposition. The discharge unit 122 can also include additional filter units, such as oil filters and/or fines filters. A sensor unit 124, which may be, or include, one sensor or a station comprising more than one temperature, pressure, or composition sensor, can be coupled to the purified effluent 120 or to the discharge unit 122 to provide signals representing condition, such as temperature, pressure, and/or composition, of the purified water in the purified effluent 120. A composition sensor, such as a Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (“TPH”) sensor, a turbidity sensor, a pH sensor, an optical sensor, a conductivity sensor, a spectral sensor, and/or an elemental analysis sensor can provide signals representing composition, in particular content of unwanted materials that were to be removed by the dead-end ionic filter unit 108, in the purified effluent 120. The sensor unit 124 can also include a interface sensor.

[0013] The dead-end ionic filter unit 108 can be operated to reduce TPH of the pretreated water 106 to 15 ppm or below in the purified effluent 120. The filtration mechanism of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 is generally capable of purifying water containing up to 10,000 ppm solids, for example up to 5,000 ppm solids, and up to 5,000 ppm oil, for example up to 3,000 ppm oil. The dead-end ionic filter unit 108 can be operated to reduce solids from 10,000 ppm to less than 10 ppm and oil from 5,000 ppm to less than 15 ppm. The dead-end ionic filter unit 108 can also be operated to remove, additionally, up to 2,000 ppm, for example up to 1 ,000 ppm, of other organic chemicals. Thus, water having very diverse composition can be purified using the filtration mechanism of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108. Because the filter unit 108 is a dead-end filter unit, high pressure is not needed, so energy consumed by operating the filter unit 108 is less than about 0.2 kW/m³ based on the housing volume, depending on duration of treatment and cleaning cycles. The dead-end ionic filter unit 108 can also be cleaned and returned to service quickly and easily by merely rinsing the filter elements 112 with clean water. For this purpose, a clean water conduit 126 can couple clean water from the discharge unit 122 to the dead-end ionic filter unit 108. A volume of water that is about 20% or less of the volume of the housing can be used to clean the filter elements 112 and ready the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 for further processing. Generally speaking, a ratio of volume of water consumed for cleaning to volume of water processed by the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 is 2% or less, for example 1 % or less. Thus, the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 can be utilized to process unreleasable water for an hour or so and then flushed for 30 seconds to rinse the filter elements 112. A rinse conduit 128 couples the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 to a collector 130, which may be a tank or drum, where filter rinse can be held for further processing.

[0014] The sensor unit 124 can be, or can include, an optical sensor such as a microscope sensor, a light transmission sensor, a camera sensor, or a combination thereof. For example, a camera may be coupled to a microscope disposed to view the fluid flowing in the purified effluent 120. A light transmission sensor can be configured to transmit light through the fluid flowing in the purified effluent 120 to a receiver located opposite the purified effluent 120 from a light source. Alternately, a light source and receiver can be disposed on the same side of the purified effluent to direct light into the purified effluent 120, reflect from a reflector disposed within the purified effluent 120, and to be received by the receiver after exiting the purified effluent 120 on the same side thereof as the light source. The optical sensor can be configured to output signals based on interaction of light with the fluid in the purified effluent 120.

[0015] A controller 140 can be operatively coupled to the sensor unit 124 and configured to receive and interpret signals from an optical sensor of the sensor unit 124 to infer a condition of the purified effluent 120. For example, the controller 140 can be configured to interpret the signals from the sensor unit 124 to detect solids or gas within the purified effluent 120. Solids present in the purified effluent 120 can be an early indication that the filter elements 112 are reaching an end point and will soon need rinsing, flushing, cleaning, or replacement. Gas present in the purified effluent 120 can be an indication of gas leakage into the process 100 that might need repair. An optical sensor, or combination of different types of optical sensors, can be configured to produce signals responsive to presence of solids, gas, and oil in the purified effluent 120. The controller 140 can be configured, for example by using statistical methods tuned and re-tuned using historical data (/.e. “artificial intelligence”), to interpret the signals from the sensor unit 124 to respond to signal patterns indicating presence of such materials by taking control actions to prevent such materials from reaching the discharge unit 122. [0016] The discharge unit 122 generally holds dischargeable water having less than 15 ppm TPH. This water can be returned to the environment, and some can be used for filter rinsing, as described above. The sensor unit 124 can provide signals representing TPH of the purified water, optionally along with other chemical composition, solids content, turbidity, pH, and other characteristics. If signals from the sensor unit 124 indicate that the purified water has TPH greater than 15 ppm, the purified water can be diverted from the discharge unit 122 to an oil filtration unit 132 for finishing. Alternately, or additionally, the purified water having TPH greater than 15 ppm can be returned to the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 for further processing. The controller 140 can be operatively coupled to a flow controller 142, in turn coupled to the purified effluent 120, to control the flow controller 142 to divert the purified effluent 120 from the discharge unit 122 based on the signals from the sensor unit 124. A second flow controller 144 can also be operatively coupled to the controller 140 such that the controller 140 can control whether, and to what extent, the purified water is routed to the oil filtration unit 132 or returned to the dead-end ionic filter unit 108. In such cases, the flow controller 142 is a first flow controller. Thus, for example, using the two flow controllers 142 and 144, the controller 140 could divert the purified water from the discharge unit 122 to the oil filtration unit 132 if the controller 140 receives signals from the sensor unit 124 indicating that TPH of the purified water is between 15 ppm and a first upper threshold, and could return all or part of the purified water to the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 if TPH of the purified water is greater than a second upper threshold. The first and second upper thresholds can be the same or different. Examples of the first and second upper thresholds are 29 ppm and 31 ppm. As noted above, such signals can be output signals of one or more optical sensors of the sensor unit 124. The sensor unit 124 can also include other water quality sensors, such as conductivity sensors and spectral sensors, which can output signals that the controller 140 can use to correlate with signals from optical sensors to improve the accuracy of predictions about the process 100 and to control the process 100.

[0017] A disposal conduit 146 couples the collector 130 to a disposal unit 148, which can be a packaging unit to package unwanted materials, a loading unit to load unwanted materials into a vehicle for transportation, or another suitable unit to dispose of unwanted materials extracted from the unreleasable water. A pretreatment conduit 150 also routes unwanted materials removed in the pretreatment unit 104 to the disposal unit 148. A recycle conduit 152 can optionally couple the collector 130 to the pretreatment unit 104 to allow reprocessing of unwanted materials collected in the collector 130. A sensor unit 154, which may be a single sensor or a sensor station comprising a plurality of sensors, can be coupled to the collector 130 to sense one or more conditions of the collector 130. The sensor unit 154 can be, or can include, a level sensor, an interface sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a composition sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the sensor unit 154 can sense a quantity of rinse material in the collector 130 and can control a flow controller 156 coupled to the disposal conduit 146, based on the received signals, to start and stop flow of effluent from the collector 130 into the disposal conduit 146, and/or route flow of the rinse collector effluent to the disposal unit 148, the pretreatment unit 104, or both in any proportion.

[0018] The controller 140 can be configured to control disposition of effluent of the collector 130, based on the conditions sensed by the sensor unit 154, by manipulating the flow controller 156. For example, based on a composition of the rinse material in the collector 130, signaled to the controller 140 by output signals from the sensor unit 154, the controller 140 can control the flow controller 156 to route effluent of the collector 130 to the pretreatment unit 104 for reprocessing, for example if a component of the rinse material is too high or too low. For example, if the rinse material has high water content, the controller 140 can control the flow controller 156 to route effluent of the collector 130 to the pretreatment unit 104 to recover the water. Similarly, if the rinse material has low water content, the controller 140 can control the flow controller 156 to route effluent of the collector 130 to the disposal unit 148. If the inventory of rinse material in the collector 130 is too low, the controller 140 can control the flow controller 156 to stop, or decrease, flow of effluent from the collector 130, and if the inventor of rinse material in the collector 130 is not too low, or is too high, the controller 140 can control the flow controller 156 to start, or increase, flow of effluent from the collector 130.

[0019] A purge 158 can couple the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 to a recovery unit 160 to allow the fluid contents of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 to be partially or completely emptied to the recovery unit 160. The purge 158 can be used to control accumulation of free light organic materials inside the housing 110, which can optimize operation of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108. The recovery unit 160 is a unit that can separate water from other species provided to the recovery unit 160. For example, the recovery unit 160 may be an oil-water separator configured to separate oil and water into two bulk liquid phases and to discharge the two bulk phases separately to suitable dispositions.

[0020] A sensor unit 162 can be coupled to the dead-end ionic filter unit 108, for example coupled to the housing or located within the interior of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108, to sense a condition within the dead-end ionic filter unit 108. The controller 140 can be operatively coupled to the sensor unit 162 and to a flow controller 164 coupled to the purge 158 to control flow of the purge 158. The sensor unit 162 can be, or can include, any number of sensors that can indicate a condition within the filter unit 108 upon which flow of the purge 158 can be started, stopped, or changed by manipulating the flow controller 164.

[0021] In one example, the sensor unit 162 is, or includes, an oil level indicator that provides signals indicating an inventory of oil in the dead-end ionic filter unit 108. The sensor unit 162 may include a plurality of such level indicators to detect material interfaces at different locations within the unit 108. As the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 is operated to filter unwanted materials from the pretreated water 106, oil and/or sludge can collect within the housing 110. As inventory of the oil/sludge increases, volume of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 available for purifying water decreases, reducing the effectiveness of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108. The sensor unit 162 can provide signals to the controller 140 indicating the oil/sludge inventory within the housing 110, and the controller 140 can be configured to control the flow controller 164 based on the signals from the sensor unit 162, to remove oil and/or oily water from the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 and route the fluid to the recovery unit 160 via the purge 158 to separate and recover the oil and water. In some cases, the sensor unit 162 can be, or can include, a maximum level sensor and a minimum level sensor. The maximum level sensor can signal the controller 140 to start flow of the purge 158 and the minimum level sensor can signal the controller 140 to stop flow of the purge 158. In this way, operable volume of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 can be maintained within a useful range.

[0022] In another example, the sensor unit 162 is, or includes, a differential pressure sensor that provides signals indicating a difference in pressure in the interior of the filter unit 108 between the inlet and outlet ends 116 and 118 thereof. Such a sensor can provide signals to the control 140, which can be configured to interpret the signals as indicating pressure drop at the filter elements 112. An increase in the pressure drop at the filter elements 112 can indicate reduced flow due to accumulation of filtered material on the filter elements 112. The controller can be configured to perform a rinse, cleaning, flushing, or emptying on the unit 108 based on an increase in differential pressure at the filter elements 112 or based on differential pressure at the filter elements 112 reaching a threshold, or both. Such signals from a differential pressure sensor can also be correlated with signals from other sensors that can indicate approach of an end point. For example, signals representing differential pressure at the filter elements 112 can be correlated with signals from an optical sensor, and/or other sensors, of the sensor unit 124 to determine a condition of the process 100, such as an end point of the filter elements 112, needing a control action.

[0023] Other sensors and/or sensor units can be used to provide enhanced control of the process 100. A sensor unit 166, which can be a single sensor or can comprise a plurality of sensors, can be coupled to the unreleasable water source 102 to sense a condition of the unreleasable water source 102, such as temperature, pressure, and/or composition, to generate signals representing the condition of the unreleasable water source 102. The controller 140 can be operatively coupled to the sensor unit 166, and can be configured to control the process 100 based on the condition of the unreleasable water source 102 represented by the signals of the sensor unit 166. For example, the sensor unit 166 can include a composition sensor that outputs signals representing a composition of the unreleasable water source 102. The controller 140 can use the signals to control operation of the pretreatment unit 104, the dead-end ionic filter unit 108, rinsing, cleaning, flushing, or emptying, and disposal of material in the collector 130 based on the composition of the unreleasable water source 102.

[0024] A sensor unit 168, which can be a single sensor or can comprise a plurality of sensors, can be coupled to the pretreated water 106 to sense a condition of the pretreated water 106, such as temperature, pressure, and/or composition, to generate signals representing the conditions of the pretreated water 106. The controller 140 can be operatively coupled to the sensor unit 168, and can be configured to control the process 100 based on the condition of the pretreated water 106 represented by the signals of the sensor unit 168. For example, the sensor unit 168 can include a composition sensor that outputs signals representing a composition of the pretreated water 106. The controller 140 can use the signals to control operation of the pretreatment unit 104, for example by comparing signals received from the sensor unit 166 and the sensor unit 168 to ascertain a change in composition of material flowing through the pretreatment unit 104. The controller 140 can also use the signals to control operation of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108, for example by adjusting an operating parameter, such as flow rate, rinse time, and/or rinse cycle time, based on the composition of the pretreated water.

[0025] A sensor unit 170, which can be a single sensor or can comprise a plurality of sensors, can be coupled to the inlet 116 of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 to sense a condition of the feed to the unit 108, such as temperature, pressure, and/or composition, to generate signals representing the conditions of the feed. The controller 140 can be operatively coupled to the sensor unit 170, and can be configured to control the process 100 based on the condition of the feed at the inlet 116 represented by the signals of the sensor unit 170. For example, the sensor unit 170 can include a composition sensor that outputs signals representing a composition at the inlet 116. The sensor unit 170 can include a pressure sensor that can be used to sense increasing pressure at the inlet 116 of the unit 118, which the controller 140 can use as an indicator of material accumulating on the filter elements 112, and can correlate with other signals from other sensor units that may show similar conditions. The controller 140 can use the signals to control recycle of purified water to the inlet 116, for example by comparing signals received from the sensor units 168 and 170. The controller 140 can be configured to control recycle of purified water to the inlet 116 to achieve a target composition using the sensor unit 170 or to achieve a target composition change by comparing signals of the sensor units 168 and 170. The controller 140 can also compare signals from the sensor units 168 and/or 170 and the sensor unit 124 to ascertain and control performance of the dead-end ionic filter unit 108, for example by adjusting flow rate through the unit 108, rinse frequency or cycle time, and/or rinse time. The controller 140 can also use any of the sensors 168, 170, and/or 124 to control operation of the pretreatment unit 104.

[0026] The controller 140 can be configured to use any or all of the sensors described herein to control the process 100. The controller 140 can be configured to use statistical methods, tuned and re-tuned using historical data from any of the sensor units described herein, to determine when the dead-end ionic filter unit 108 needs to be rinsed, cleaned, flushed, or emptied, or when any of the filter elements 112 need to be replaced. Thus, the controller 140 can be configured to determine an end point of one or more of the filter elements 112 prior to a condition of the purified effluent 120 reaching an unacceptable state. The controller 140 can, for example, be configured to track cycle time of the unit 108, for example time between rinses, as an indication of effectiveness of the filter elements 112. If a decrease in cycle time is detected, the controller 140 can perform a control action, such as rinsing, cleaning, flushing, or emptying to restore function of the filter elements 112, or the controller 140 can determine that one or more of the filter elements 112 needs replacing. The controller 140 can also respond to a decrease in cycle time of the unit 108 by increasing severity of operation in the pretreatment unit 104 to reduce load on the filter elements 112. The controller 140 can also be configured to use any or all of the sensors herein, or other sensors, to monitor performance of the process 100 and perform control actions. For example, the controller 140 can monitor signals from a pump providing the pretreated water 106 to the unit 108 to detect, for example, an increase in power consumption, which can indicate, or be correlated with other sensor signals to indicate, increased pressure drop at the filter elements 112. The controller 140 can also be configured to control the process 100 based on signals from the pretreatment unit 104. For example, where the pretreatment unit 104 includes a hydrocyclone, a pump providing material to the hydrocyclone may consume power in a recognizable pattern correlated with composition, for example water content, oil content, or solids content, of the material flowing through the pump.

[0027] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.

Claims

CLAIMS We claim:

1 . A method of treating water having unwanted materials, the method comprising: pretreating a water stream having unwanted liquid and solid materials to form pretreated water; routing the pretreated water to a dead-end ionic filter unit comprising a housing, a flow barrier disposed in an interior of the housing between an inlet and an outlet of the housing, a plurality of filter elements coupled to the flow barrier in the interior of the housing to define flow pathways within the housing through the flow barrier from an inlet side of the housing to an outlet side of the housing, and an ionic filter material disposed in the interior of the housing at the inlet side; and removing the unwanted liquid and solid materials from the pretreated water using the dead-end ionic filter unit.

2. A method of treating water having unwanted materials, the method comprising: pretreating a water stream having unwanted liquid and solid materials to form pretreated water; routing the pretreated water to a dead-end ionic filter unit comprising a housing, a flow barrier disposed in an interior of the housing between an inlet and an outlet of the housing, a plurality of filter elements coupled to the flow barrier in the interior of the housing to define flow pathways within the housing through the flow barrier from an inlet side of the housing to an outlet side of the housing, and an ionic filter material disposed in the interior of the housing at the inlet side; removing the unwanted liquid and solid materials from the pretreated water using the dead-end ionic filter unit; recovering purified water at the outlet of the housing; and using a portion of the purified water to rinse the filter elements.

3. A method of treating water having unwanted materials, the method comprising: pretreating a water stream having unwanted liquid and solid materials in a pretreatment unit to form pretreated water; routing the pretreated water to a dead-end ionic filter unit comprising a housing, a flow barrier disposed in an interior of the housing between an inlet and an outlet of the housing, a plurality of filter elements coupled to the flow barrier in the interior of the housing to define flow pathways within the housing through the flow barrier from an inlet side of the housing to an outlet side of the housing, and an ionic filter material disposed in the interior of the housing at the inlet side; removing the unwanted liquid and solid materials from the pretreated water using the dead-end ionic filter unit to form a purified effluent; recovering purified water at the outlet of the housing; using a portion of the purified water to rinse the filter elements; and using an optical sensor to determine a condition of the purified effluent.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising using a level sensor to sense oil in the dead-end ionic filter unit.

5. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the optical sensor is a microscope sensor.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, further comprising collecting a rinse material in a collector and using a sensor unit to sense a condition of the rinse material.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising routing the rinse material to the pretreatment unit or to a disposal unit based on signals from the sensor unit.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the pretreatment unit comprises a hydrocyclone.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, further comprising determining an end point of one or more of the filter elements using a differential pressure sensor.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining an end point of one or more of the filter elements using an optical sensor.

11 . The method of any of claims 3 to 9, further comprising using the optical sensor to sense gas in the purified effluent.

12. The method of any of claims 3 to 10, further comprising routing the purified effluent to a discharge unit 122 or to an oil filtration unit 132 based on a signal from the optical sensor.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising routing the purified effluent to the pretreatment unit or the dead-end ionic filter unit based on the signals from the optical sensor.

14. The method of any of claims 1 to 13, further comprising correlating a plurality of signals from a plurality of sensors to determine an end point of one or more of the filter elements prior to a condition of the purified effluent reaching an unacceptable state.

15. The method of any of claims 1 to 14, further comprising adjusting an operation of the pretreatment unit based on a cycle time of the dead-end ionic filter unit.