System and method for removal of scale forming components

Abstract

A method includes supplying a supersaturated brine stream having a plurality of minerals and anti-scalant from a water treatment system to a gypsum removal system disposed within a mineral removal system. The gypsum removal system includes a gypsum reactor that may receive the supersaturated brine, may deactivate the anti-scalant such that gypsum precipitates from the supersaturated brine, and may generate a gypsum slurry having a mixture of desupersaturated brine, precipitated gypsum, and the anti-scalant in solution with the desupersaturated brine. The method also includes supplying gypsum seed crystals to the gypsum reactor. The gypsum seed crystals may precipitate the gypsum from the supersaturated brine to generate the gypsum slurry. The method also includes directing a first portion of the gypsum slurry from the gypsum reactor to a gypsum settler. The gypsum settler may reactivate the anti-scalant such that the anti-scalant absorbs onto the precipitated gypsum to remove the anti-scalant from the desupersaturated brine and may generate anti-scalant-gypsum crystals and a desupersaturated overflow having at least a portion of the plurality of minerals. The method further includes generating the gypsum seed crystals supplied to the gypsum reactor using the anti-scalant-gypsum crystals.