Wastewater from fractionated drilling in oil and natural gas exploration has the potential to impact the environment in numerous ways. Components of waste fractured drilling fluids, i.e. fracking water, are not well characterized due to the variability of compounds that go into making fracking water (and their proprietary blend of chemicals), and the variable chemistry of the components after being injected and retrieved from oil or gas wells. Once components of fracking waste water can be identified, the proper methods for disposal, reuse, or processing can be applied to mitigate the impact that the wasted fluid has on the environment. Preliminary work on a sample of fracking waste water has identified several components that need to be further characterized. This work plans to identify the components of fracking waste water using analytical techniques, and characterize its potential environmental impact if released to the environment.

Wasted fracking water: An examination of components by instrumental methods to assess potential environmental impact

255th National Meeting (2018)

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