The unconventional oil and gas (UOG) production not only consumes substantial amounts of freshwater but also generates large quantities of hazardous wastewater, creating a dual challenge of water scarcity and pollution at the water-energy nexus. Membrane distillation (MD), a hybrid thermal-membrane desalination technology, has emerged as a promising means for UOG wastewater treatment due to its high tolerance to salinity and the capability of leveraging low-grade thermal energy. However, MD is constrained by membrane wetting caused by low surface tension contaminants (e.g., surfactants) in the UOG wastewater, and the availability of low-grade thermal energy near the well sites has not been understood. In this presentation, we will first present a particle-free approach that enables rapid fabrication of monolithic omniphobic membranes, which demonstrated exceptional wetting resistance in MD desalination. A trade-off between wetting resistance and water vapor permeability was discovered, which requires further development of novel membrane materials tailored to MD treatment of UOG wastewater. Second, we quantitatively compare the viability of using waste heat and well-pad natural gas to power on-site wastewater treatment by MD for 20 randomly selected wells located in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin. Our results indicate that waste heat only meets partial demand of UOG wastewater treatment, while natural gas provides sufficient thermal energy for on-site MD treatment of all the wastewater for the wells investigated. Also, on-site MD treatment powered by well-pad natural gas is competitive relative to mechanical vapor compression and deep-well injection. In addition, we argue that treatment technology is not the only barrier to the shift of the wastewater management paradigm towards treatment and reuse in the UOG industry. Other aspects beyond treatment technology, including regulation and policy, economics, as well as system logistics, play equally or more important roles collectively in the selection and deployment of wastewater management practices. Accordingly, we suggest a system engineering approach across multiple disciplines, which will help translate the innovation of treatment technology (including MD) into solutions that truly improve the water sustainability of the UOG industry.

Treatment and reuse of unconventional oil and gas wastewater by membrane distillation: Membranes, energy sources, and system engineering approach

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.