Investigation on Problems of Wastewater from Hydraulic Fracturing and Their Solutions
2018
Mao, Jincheng | Zhang, Chong | Yang, Xiaojiang | Zhang, Zhaoyang
The global energy landscape has significantly changed in the past several years because horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing enable unconventional oil and gas extraction from previously inaccessible shale formations. However, opportunities and challenges coexist. Large volumes of freshwater consumed and wastewater discharge increasingly affect the environment and ecosystem. Much freshwater is pumped into deep formations during hydraulic fracturing process, and flowback with high-salinity brines, producing large volumes of wastewater. Such wastewater contains not only many toxic chemicals and high levels of total dissolved solids, but also abundant stratigraphic minerals and radioactive substances, which may pose a serious risk to the surrounding environment and public health. One of the greatest challenges for current oil and gas extraction is handling those wastewaters in a reasonable and efficient way. This paper described the current methods for dealing with these challenges and put forward some suggestions and expectations for future management of water resources in hydraulic fracturing. Graphical Abstract
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