Produced Water

Produced water can be found in oil or gas wells naturally.  This is known as formation water.  During procedures such as fraccing, water is injected from an outside source at high pressure into the reservoir.  Eventually the water that was injected and the natural formation water will be produced with the oil or gas.  The issue arises and companies must decide what to do with the water.  Some companies choose to reuse the produced water in other jobs or convert the brine water into fresh water.  Many companies dump the water into streams, ponds or rivers.  Environmental regulations prevent this unless the water meets certain standards.

Currently, the Texas A&M Marcellus Shale Project is focusing on the development of a mobile, multifunctional field water treatment facility, used specifically for treating brine water.  Their goal is to have field demonstrations of different purifications techniques.  Techniques include: thermal desalination and membrane.