Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) operations are integral to meeting the nation’s energy needs. As UOG development continues to expand, so will the need for environmental stewardship, especially in handling increasing amounts of waste. Produced water (PW) is the primary by-product of oil and gas operations. Currently, the majority of PW is disposed using salt water disposal wells. PW is a complex matrix of varying salinity, and includes a wide range of metals, scaling compounds, bacteria, biocides, and organics, including residual oil and gas hydrocarbons and various man-made chemicals, such as surfactants.  Cost effective treatment options that increase recycling and reuse of PW are needed to maintain responsible environmental practices. Forward osmosis (FO) is one such innovative desalination technology that is effective at extracting water from PW with high TDS levels greater than 40, 000 mg/L.  Trials were conducted using PW from the Permian Basin.  Due to fouling of the membrane pretreatment options were evaluated to determine the optimal treatment option.  Polyaluminium chloride has been shown to be an effective pretreatment approach that eliminates the decrease in flux over time.  Turbidity was found to be sufficient characterization of influent to predict the influence on flux.<br/>

Forward osmosis as an effective treatment technology for high salinity produced water from unconventional oil and gas development

255th National Meeting (2018)

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