Reuse of Flowback Water from Hydraulic Fracturing for Drilling Mud Preparation and Secondary Hydrocarbon Recovery
Flowback water after completion of hydraulic fracturing is one of major waste streams generated during the lifespan of a well so its beneficial reuse is crucial. The application of treated flowback is not limited to stimulation processes but also may include drilling operations and secondary oil rec...
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/18/5921 |
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| author | Ewa Knapik Katarzyna Chruszcz-Lipska Łukasz Łukańko Sławomir Wysocki |
| author_facet | Ewa Knapik Katarzyna Chruszcz-Lipska Łukasz Łukańko Sławomir Wysocki |
| author_sort | Ewa Knapik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Flowback water after completion of hydraulic fracturing is one of major waste streams generated during the lifespan of a well so its beneficial reuse is crucial. The application of treated flowback is not limited to stimulation processes but also may include drilling operations and secondary oil recovery. The flowback water used in this work is characterized by high salinity reaching up to ~295 g/L caused mainly by NaCl. The presence of suspended solids, mainly corrosion products, prompts the use of coagulation and filtration as treatment methods. Among tested coagulants the most effective one was the SAX18 (NaAlO<sub>2</sub>) commercial coagulant applied at concentration of 12 mL/L which reduces the water turbidity from over 400 FTU to 23 FTU. The applied treatment greatly reduces the concentration of scaling ions and so the concentration of SiO<sub>2</sub> is reduced by 64%, Ba<sup>2+</sup>–66%, Fe<sup>2</sup>–36%, Mn<sup>2+</sup>–65%, SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>–66%. The treated flowback fluid can be reused in surfactant flooding for enhanced oil recovery where achieves 7% higher displacing efficiency than fresh water. The drilling muds which were prepared using the untreated flowback water exhibit good rheological properties. The obtained results show that recycling of flowback water in future drilling and exploitation operations is technically feasible. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:42:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2b650c29773d445e8de68854bb5a4e86 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:42:18Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-2b650c29773d445e8de68854bb5a4e862023-11-22T12:55:05ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-09-011418592110.3390/en14185921Reuse of Flowback Water from Hydraulic Fracturing for Drilling Mud Preparation and Secondary Hydrocarbon RecoveryEwa Knapik0Katarzyna Chruszcz-Lipska1Łukasz Łukańko2Sławomir Wysocki3Faculty of Drilling, Oil and Gas, AGH University of Science and Technology, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, PolandFaculty of Drilling, Oil and Gas, AGH University of Science and Technology, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, PolandFaculty of Drilling, Oil and Gas, AGH University of Science and Technology, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, PolandFaculty of Drilling, Oil and Gas, AGH University of Science and Technology, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, PolandFlowback water after completion of hydraulic fracturing is one of major waste streams generated during the lifespan of a well so its beneficial reuse is crucial. The application of treated flowback is not limited to stimulation processes but also may include drilling operations and secondary oil recovery. The flowback water used in this work is characterized by high salinity reaching up to ~295 g/L caused mainly by NaCl. The presence of suspended solids, mainly corrosion products, prompts the use of coagulation and filtration as treatment methods. Among tested coagulants the most effective one was the SAX18 (NaAlO<sub>2</sub>) commercial coagulant applied at concentration of 12 mL/L which reduces the water turbidity from over 400 FTU to 23 FTU. The applied treatment greatly reduces the concentration of scaling ions and so the concentration of SiO<sub>2</sub> is reduced by 64%, Ba<sup>2+</sup>–66%, Fe<sup>2</sup>–36%, Mn<sup>2+</sup>–65%, SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>–66%. The treated flowback fluid can be reused in surfactant flooding for enhanced oil recovery where achieves 7% higher displacing efficiency than fresh water. The drilling muds which were prepared using the untreated flowback water exhibit good rheological properties. The obtained results show that recycling of flowback water in future drilling and exploitation operations is technically feasible.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/18/5921flowback waterreusecoagulationfiltrationdrilling mud |
| spellingShingle | Ewa Knapik Katarzyna Chruszcz-Lipska Łukasz Łukańko Sławomir Wysocki Reuse of Flowback Water from Hydraulic Fracturing for Drilling Mud Preparation and Secondary Hydrocarbon Recovery Energies flowback water reuse coagulation filtration drilling mud |
| title | Reuse of Flowback Water from Hydraulic Fracturing for Drilling Mud Preparation and Secondary Hydrocarbon Recovery |
| title_full | Reuse of Flowback Water from Hydraulic Fracturing for Drilling Mud Preparation and Secondary Hydrocarbon Recovery |
| title_fullStr | Reuse of Flowback Water from Hydraulic Fracturing for Drilling Mud Preparation and Secondary Hydrocarbon Recovery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reuse of Flowback Water from Hydraulic Fracturing for Drilling Mud Preparation and Secondary Hydrocarbon Recovery |
| title_short | Reuse of Flowback Water from Hydraulic Fracturing for Drilling Mud Preparation and Secondary Hydrocarbon Recovery |
| title_sort | reuse of flowback water from hydraulic fracturing for drilling mud preparation and secondary hydrocarbon recovery |
| topic | flowback water reuse coagulation filtration drilling mud |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/18/5921 |
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