Fracking Waste Water Has Found a Use

Opponents of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, criticize the practice partially because the process creates toxic byproducts. Fracking wastewater may seep into drinking water, wells and aquifers, leading to possible contamination.

The leftover water, called brine, can leak into water supplies if the substance is not contained properly. One case in North Dakota saw 3 million gallons of brine leak into two creeks. New technology developed by the University of Colorado takes fracking wastewater and cleans it, while producing even more energy at the same time.

Engineers call the process microbial capacitive desalination. Microbes feed on organic contaminants in fracking wastewater and create electricity. Microbes that eat hydrocarbons create a positively charged electrode within the container, and a negative electrode sits on the other side of the special battery. An electrical current passes between the electrodes. This current then cleanses the water because the salt ions dissolved in water serve as good conductors of electricity, and these ions migrate towards the electrodes. The remaining water comes out clean, while extra electricity can be used to power various machines at fracking sites.

Oil companies must spend energy to extract dissolved substances from fracking wastewater. This new technology saves money by creating energy instead of using more of it. The recycled water can be harnessed in tanks to be re-used at another fracking site, thereby saving even more water taken from the environment. Oil companies typically use natural water sources near fracking sites, but that process can take away drinking water from more arid regions such as the western United States.

This win-win scenario helps satisfy environmentalists, oil companies, job seekers and American consumers. Hydraulic fracturing extracts shale oil from reserves in the United States that were once seen as unreachable due to technological limitations. This new source of oil has lowered gasoline prices in America. The boom has also created many manufacturing jobs, since oil companies need high-grade equipment to reach these underground resources. As energy costs come down, more manufacturers may start production in the United States rather than overseas.

Companies produce approximately 21 billion barrels of fracking wastewater per year. This new technology has implications that could change the way oil companies save money, reduce expenses and help the American economy all at once. The only barrier to commercial-level use is the cost of this new technology versus buying water for use at fracking sites. Researchers received grants from the National Science Foundation to try to reduce the production expenses of the wastewater cell.

When this new fracking wastewater treatment process becomes cost-effective, oil companies stand to gain more than just reduced expenses. The marketing capital earned by companies perceived as environmentally friendly could go a long way to shore up the oil industry in America for decades to come.

Photo courtesy of anankkml at FreeDigitalPhotos.net