Polymer flooding produced water treatment

1. A process for treating produced water comprising one or more water soluble polymers, said process comprising: degrading at least a portion of the one or more water soluble polymers by adding to the produced water at least one iron complex that comprises an iron compound and a complexing agent, wherein:

(a) said one or more water soluble polymers comprise at least one acrylamide (co)polymer;

(b) said iron compound comprises iron sulfate, ferrous sulfate heptahydrate, or iron (II) chloride; and

(c) said complexing agent comprises citric acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), or nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA).

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein said produced water is generated during any part of an enhanced oil recovery process or polymer flooding process.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein said produced water:

i. is at least partially aerobic or

ii. is anaerobic.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein:

i. the treated produced water has a viscosity of less than about 2.5 cP;

ii. the treated produced water has a viscosity that is at least about 64% less than the viscosity of the untreated produced water;

iii. the treated produced water has a viscosity that is at least about 3 cP less than the viscosity of the untreated produced water;

iv. the process results in a significant reduction in viscosity of the produced water within in 10 minutes or less;

v. degrading at least a portion of the one or more water soluble polymers results in a 50% reduction in the molecular weight of said one or more water soluble polymers;

vi. the process increases the biodegradability of said produced water and/or said one or more water soluble polymers;

vii. the process results in about a 20% or more increase in biodegradation of the one or more water soluble polymers after 28 days of incubation;

viii. the treated produced water is recycled or reused in the same or other industrial processes, or released into the environment (e.g., into the sea);

ix. the process does not result in the formation of any precipitates;

x. the process further comprises treating the produced water in one or more of: mechanical treatments (e.g., membrane filtration), chemical treatments (e.g., oxidizing agents), and/or biological treatments (e.g., microbiological processes);

xi. said at least one iron complex comprises: iron sulfate and citric acid; ferrous sulfate heptahydrate and citric acid; iron (II) chloride and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA); or iron (II) chloride and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA);

xii. the ratio of iron to complexing agent is from about 100:1 to about 1:5;

xiii. the addition of said at least one iron complex provides an iron concentration of 10,000 ppm or less in the treated produced water;

xiv. the treated produced water has a pH that is equal to or less than the pH of the untreated produced water;

xv. the process occurs at a temperature ranging from room temperature to about 80° C.;

xvi. the process occurs at least partially on-site, at an onshore oil field, at an offshore oil field, at a treatment facility, at a disposal well, or at any other location where treatment of produced water occurs;

xvii. an increase in the dosage of the iron complex results in a decrease in the viscosity of the produced water; and/or

xviii. an increase in the dosage of the iron compound results in an increase in the degradation of said one or more water soluble polymers.

5. The process of claim 1 , further comprising: adding at least one quenching agent to the produced water.

6. The process of claim 5 wherein:

i. adding the at least one quenching agent results in slowing, decreasing, preventing, inhibiting and/or stopping the degradation of the one or more water soluble polymers;

ii. adding the at least one quenching agent results in stabilizing or increasing the viscosity of the produced water;

iii. said process further comprises adding at least one additional water soluble polymer to the produced water simultaneously with or after the addition of the at least one quenching agent;

iv. said process further comprises adding at least one additional water soluble polymer to the produced water simultaneously with or after the addition of the at least one quenching agent, further wherein the additional water soluble polymer degrades 50% or less after adding it to the treated produced water;

v. said quenching agent comprises sodium sulfite, sodium thiosulfate, ammonium bisulfate, hydroquinone, or a combination or mixture thereof; and/or

vi. the molar ratio of said quenching agent to said iron complex is from about 1:1 to about 500:1.