Water Management and Treatment Hurdles Kelvin B. Gregory, PhD On the banks of the Youghigheny River, Versailles, PA, Photo Courtesy McKeesport Historical Society. Located and Digitized by Joel Tarr, Carnegie Mellon.
Oil/Gas Extraction: PA 2007
300m 700m 1100m 1500m Fracturing Fluid Contains 7-18 million liters of water mixed with sand and other chemical modifiers well stimulation Fracturing Fluid Pumped at high pressure into well to introduce fractures and carry proppant into the fissures. Water Returns to the surface as “Flowback” Flowback water stored prior to treatment and/or disposal. Small volumes of water are coproduced over lifetime of well is “Produced Water” and is managed independently. Hydraulic Fracture Overview
minimummaximumaverage number of samples TDS (mg/L) ,000106, TSS (mg/L) 47, oil and grease (mg/L) COD (mg/L) 19536,60015,35889 TOC (mg/L) pH alkalinity (mg/L as CaCO 3 ) SO 4 (mg/L) Cl (mg/L) ,00057, Br (mg/L) 0.21, Na (mg/L) ,00024, Ca (mg/L) ,0007, Mg (mg/L) 17.32, Ba (mg/L) ,8002, Sr (mg/L) 0.598,4601, Fe dissolved (mg/L) Fe total (mg/L) gross alpha a (pCi/L) a 37.79,5511,50932 gross beta a (pCi/L) a ,60043,41532 Ra 228 (pCi/L) 01, Ra 226 (pCi/L) 2.759, U 235 (pCi/L) U 238 (pCi/L) Produced/Flowback Water Constituents Gregory et al, Elements 2011; Barbot et al, ES&T 2013
Disposal Deep-Well (Re)injection Few in PA Ag Reuse Too salty Dilution to WWTP 500 mg/L limit Treatment Membrane Technology $$$ Thermal Distillation $$$$ Freeze Thaw Evaporation Bad Climate Artificial Wetlands Too salty Water Management Hurdles in Pennsylvania CRISIS
Characteristics of Crises Seeger, et al (1998). "Communication, organization, and crisis". Communication Yearbook 21: 231–275. Lebow, RN (1981) “Between Peace and War: The Nature of International Crisis Unexpected Event High-levels of uncertainty Threaten high-priority needs Heighten Anxiety Belief that any action will have far- reaching consequences “I’ve got a wife, kids, a career— Jesus! I’m only twelve hours old! How did this happen to me?”
Deep Water Horizon Crisis: No question
DWH Crisis? What Crisis?
Crises: Two Perceptions related to Shale Energy o Energy Availability o Energy Costs o Energy Security o Municipal Economic o Unemployment o GHG Emissions 1) Solution to Crises 2) Cause of Crises o Air, Water, Soil Pollution o GHG Emissions o Infrastructure Degradation o Societal Degradation o Future Unemployment
Public Information is Confusing
Role of Media in Crisis
Disposal Deep-Well (Re)injection Few in PA Ag Reuse Too salty Dilution to WWTP 500 mg/L limit Treatment Membrane Technology $$$ Thermal Distillation $$$$ Freeze Thaw Evaporation Bad Climate Artificial Wetlands Too salty Water Management Hurdles in Pennsylvania Local Challenges Innovation & Local Solutions
Hydraulic Fracturing With Recycled Flowback Pretreatment Precipitation, Settling. Local Solutions: Reuse of Produced Water for HF Produced Water to Impoundment Produced Water to New Well
Recycling Leads to Large and Lengthy Impoundment Times What is happening in the impoundments w.r.t. metals and NORM ? Mixed flowback and produced fluids Large Impoundments Lengthy Impoundment time Evolving biogeochemistry
Microbial communities drive the evolution of impoundment chemistry, impact management Malodorous Compounds Volatile Sulfur Compounds Volatile Fermentation Products Degradation of toxic Hydrocarbon Determine Fate of Metals Fate and Naturally Occurring Radionuclides
Global Shale Plays in Water Stressed Regions Cambay Basin Water management problems are local Solutions arise locally but have have global impacts.
Graphical Relative Abundance of Important Orders at the Wellheads
Fate of NORM
Impoundments: Fate of NORM Linked to Microbiology