Advances in water treatment technologies paired with potential restrictions on oil and gas (O&G) produced water disposal could incentivize the beneficial reuse of treated produced water in the O&G industry. However, the remote nature of O&G operations limits the applicability of many of these solutions, which may be spatially inefficient, require operator supervision, or are ill-suited for the complex nature of produced water. Furthermore, the responsible, sustainable reuse of produced water as an alternative water source requires standardized analytical techniques for characterizing and determining the toxicity of treated produced water and improving our understanding of the fate and transport of various constituents. In the past decade, we made little progress in economically treating produced water for beneficial reuse outside of oilfield operations; the sole major breakthrough has been in the development of salt-tolerant fracturing chemicals that allow for reuse of produced water for fracking operations. Guided research should assist in the development of fit-for-purpose solutions to maximize the reuse of treated produced water. This is exemplified by the case studies presented here that detail currently operating treatment facilities for reclamation and reuse of produced water.
BT - ACS ES&T Engineering DA - 13/12/2021 DO - 10.1021/acsestengg.1c00248 IS - 3 N2 -Advances in water treatment technologies paired with potential restrictions on oil and gas (O&G) produced water disposal could incentivize the beneficial reuse of treated produced water in the O&G industry. However, the remote nature of O&G operations limits the applicability of many of these solutions, which may be spatially inefficient, require operator supervision, or are ill-suited for the complex nature of produced water. Furthermore, the responsible, sustainable reuse of produced water as an alternative water source requires standardized analytical techniques for characterizing and determining the toxicity of treated produced water and improving our understanding of the fate and transport of various constituents. In the past decade, we made little progress in economically treating produced water for beneficial reuse outside of oilfield operations; the sole major breakthrough has been in the development of salt-tolerant fracturing chemicals that allow for reuse of produced water for fracking operations. Guided research should assist in the development of fit-for-purpose solutions to maximize the reuse of treated produced water. This is exemplified by the case studies presented here that detail currently operating treatment facilities for reclamation and reuse of produced water.
PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) PY - 2021 SP - 347 EP - 366 T2 - ACS ES&T Engineering TI - Oil and Gas Produced Water Reuse: Opportunities, Treatment Needs, and Challenges UR - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.1c00248 VL - 2 SN - 2690-0645, 2690-0645 ER -