The growth of unconventional hydraulic fracturing operations to extract oil and gas from shale formations let the U.S. to greatly increase its oil production over the last decade. In the meantime, the amount of water consumed, the problems with disposal of the wastewater, and risks associated continue to be a great concern. Water demand for fracturing one well may range from 2 to 8 million gallons of water. This study focused on understanding the composition of organics in fresh (FW) and recycled water (RW) (treated to be reused for another fracturing) after simulating fracturing conditions in the lab. This will allow for the understanding the chemical composition of the produced water and investigate the suitability of it to be recycled efficiently. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization was utilized to determine how RW and FW compare after fracturing conditions of high temperature and pressure. Ethylene oxide surfactant and propylated glycols were detected in both RW and FW. Qualitative analysis was performed using the Agilent software B.06.00 and comparing the exact mass of chemical compounds used for hydraulic fracturing in U.S. Ac<u>e</u>tone, aldol, alkoxylated phenol formaldehyde resin, diethylbenzene, dipropylene glycol, d-Limonene, ether salt, ethylbenzene, n-dodecyl-2-pyrrolidone, dodecylbenzenesulfonate isopropanolamine, polyethylene glycol, triethylene glycol were detected in FW and RW. Observing the van Krevelen diagram, FW and RW show a lower degree of oxidation and presence of highly saturated organic compounds. Kendrick mass defect (KMD) analysis was used by selecting propylated glycol and an ethylene oxide unit. KMD analysis with propylated glycol is closed to 1 whereas the one with ethylene oxide is scattered between 0 and 0.1.

Comparison of organic matter in fresh and recycled water after simulation of fracturing conditions

251st National Meeting (2016)

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