Opportunities in the Treatment of Water and Other Wast Streams

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE TREATMENT OF PRODUCED WATER AND OTHER WASTE STREAMS
Water treatment technologies offer opportunities for the oil and gas industry to reuse flowback water from hydraulic fracturing applications. This water reuse by the oil and gas industry offsets fresh water requirements and reduces demand on regional water systems.
Recent advancements in energy production technology, such as horizontal drilling, have greatly increased natural gas production in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing for gas production requires significant quantities of water per well site, making sustainable and available water supplies critical aspects of oil and gas well development. Furthermore, wells from horizontal drilling require more water than traditional vertical wells.
Oil and gas extraction also creates substantial quantities of “produced” waters with varying levels of contamination, which must be disposed through treatment or reinjection. Produced water coexists naturally with oil and gas deposits and is brought to the surface during well production. Produced water is extracted at an average rate of
2.4 billion gallons per day (gpd), and over 80 percent of production occurs in the Western U.S. Produced water represents the largest waste stream associated with oil and gas production with estimates of almost 2.7 million acre feet per year.
Produced water is commonly re-injected for disposal due to its salinity, but in water- stressed areas, this water can be treated and managed for uses such as:
·Well drilling or hydraulic fracturing ·Emergency drought supply ·Livestock water
·Irrigation water
·Surface water augmentation
·Drinking water applications
Most produced water requires treatment to make it suitable for recycling or beneficial use. Produced water varies widely in quantity and quality, depending on the method of extraction, type of oil and gas reservoir, geographical location, and the geochemistry of the producing formation. Therefore, many different types of technologies exist to treat
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