Produced water (PW) is a hypersaline waste stream generated from the shale oil and gas industry. The constituents of PW pose a significant impact on public health and the environment. Here, a suite of toxicity assays using various aquatic organisms were developed to investigate the toxicological characterizations of PW from the Permian Basin. We also rely on whole effluent toxicity (WET) testing and toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) protocols to assess the physical/chemical nature of the residual constituents causing toxicity in treated PW. Air stripping, zeolite ion exchange, and granular activated carbon adsorption are used as post-treatment of treated PW to identify and measure the toxicity contribution of ammonia and organics. Overall, the current work is expected to enhance our understanding of the potential toxicological impacts of raw and treated PW to aquatic ecosystems, which could assist with the establishment of monitoring, remediation, treatment, and reuse protocols for PW.

Toxicology assessment of produced water in the Permian Basin

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