TOC/Conductivity: Surrogate Measurements Potentially Guiding Greater Utilization of Treated Produced Water

Zacariah L. Hildenbrand (), Ramon Sanchez-Rosario, Alexis Klima, Tiffany Liden and Kevin A. Schug ()
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Zacariah L. Hildenbrand: Affiliate of the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Ramon Sanchez-Rosario: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
Alexis Klima: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
Tiffany Liden: Affiliate of the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Kevin A. Schug: Affiliate of the Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA

Energies, 2022, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Hydraulic fracturing utilizes pressurized liquid typically consisting of water, proppants, and a multitude of chemical additives, in order to fracture petroliferous strata to extract natural gas and oil. In this process, a vast amount of wastewater is produced. This water is heavily contaminated, which renders it unusable outside of direct reuse, without extensive treatment being performed. Typically, various sophisticated analytical techniques are involved in the characterization of both waste and treated waters, increasing the cost and the complexity of the management efforts. The article discusses the constituents found in oilfield wastewater, the methods used to identify and quantify these constituents, and the present management methods. Additionally, we introduce total organic carbon and conductivity analyses as surrogate measurements of overall water quality. Total organic carbon and conductivity are established bulk measurements, which can be used to facilitate rapid decisions regarding the treatment and greater utilization of flowback and produced oilfield wastes. The application of the proposed surrogates could be used to streamline the current myriad of complex and expensive measurements. This would improve operational efficiency with respect to wastewater management in the energy sector.

Keywords: produced water; flowback water; water treatment; untargeted environmental analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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