Hydraulic fracturing operations for natural gas production from Devonian-aged black shale produce wastewater that is impounded at the surface. During impoundment, microbial communities evolve that alter the geochemistry and influence the fate of metals and organic compounds. In order to better understand the source of microorganisms that arise in impoundments, we characterized microbial communities in fracturing fluids and wellhead samples of flowback water from a hydraulic fracturing operation in the Marcellus shale using 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. The microbial community and geochemistry of flowback was significantly different from the fracturing fluid and changed over the course of flowback period. Quantitative PCR based enumeration indicated uniform microbial concentrations in the fracturing fluid and flowback samples. Understanding the geochemistry and microbial ecology of flowback water will enable oil and gas producers to develop more sustainable water management strategies.

Microbial ecology and geochemistry of hydraulic fracturing fluid and flowback water from Devonian-aged shale

244th National Meeting (2012)

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