Risk prediction for hydrogen sulfide emission based on sulfate-reducing bacteria in the water flooding oilfield

The water quality of the injection–production systems deteriorates as the water flooding oilfields are developed more deeply, and the content of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) increases. Accordingly, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emission related to SRB is intensified, which will arise safety and health problems. In order to investigate the effect of SRB on H2S emission in the water flooding oilfield, the contents of SRB and sulfide of the different nodes of a typical injection–production system of Daqing Oilfield were measured first, and then, H2S emission from water was simulated under different conditions. Consequently, a H2S emission prediction model was established based on Henry coefficient and the correlation between sulfide content and SRB content in the water. The measured sulfide contents were ranging from 0.25 to 6.34 mg/l, and the SRB contents were from 2.5 to 25 000 pcs/ml, and the highest SRB and sulfide contents were found in the settling tank. The correlation between sulfide content and SRB content was much remarkable, and the R2 value of the correlation analysis was 0.94. Henry coefficient of H2S emission was obtained from the simulated experiments under varied conditions such as sulfate content, oil content, and temperature. The established H2S emission prediction model was much reliable for predicting H2S emission for water flooding injection–production system, and the accuracy of the predicted H2S emission of four nodes of the injection–production system was larger than 95% compared to the measured results. This study provides theoretical guidance for predicting H2S emission risks in water flooding injection–production systems.