Marcellus Shale Gas Wastewater Reuse and Recycle

This webinar provides background on how water is used for drilling and hydraulic fracturing and includes a review of hydraulic fracturing fluid composition and flowback and produced water quantity and composition. It examines flowback and produced water management options--such as discharge to wastewater treatment plants, underground injection, and treatment for reuse or ultimate disposal--and evaluates treatment technologies that improve water quality for reuse and ultimate disposal. The treatment technologies portion of the webinar includes a detailed process description, including how residuals are generated and disposed of and the comparative cost of the technologies.

As of April 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the Marcellus Shale contains 84 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas and 3.4 billion barrels of technically recoverable natural gas liquids. The Marcellus shale covers almost 100,000 square miles extending from New York through West Virginia. Shale gas exploration and development has increased significantly in the Marcellus Shale since the first well was drilled in 2004 with the advancements of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. The increased exploration and development of the Marcellus Shale has resulted in concern over the quantity of water used for drilling and hydraulic fracturing and how the used water (wastewater) is managed and ultimately disposed. Industry has begun to reuse and recycle wastewater, resulting in reduced costs for water acquisition and wastewater disposal.