Filter Fracturing Water with Zeolite

Fracturing Wastewater

It is well known the fracturing industry produces billions of gallons of wastewater each year. Several processing plants exist that allow for oil to be separated from water and water to be re-used for additional fracturing or cleaned and entered back into the ecosystem. Zeolite has the ability to properly filter fracturing water of heavy metals, radiation, and hydrocarbons. Possibilities exist for filtration chambers that use Zeolite as part of the process to filter down to acceptable release into streams. Natural Zeolites, in the treatment of mixed metal contaminated effluents, showed through the conditioning or Clinoptilolite, that 90% of heavy metals could be removed within a 15 minute contact time. The selectivity sequence for Clinoptilolite was shown to be:

Pb > Cu > Cd > Zn > Cr > Co > Ni

The volumes of Wastewater Treatments with Zeolite that are being produced are creating value-added means of disposal. The Oil and Gas Research Council approved a study for Dust Control by identifying oil wells that produce salt water that is high in calcium and low in sodium for the counties to use as a dust control method on gravel roads. Zeolite is already used as a water conservation tool in dust control. If NORMs are present at all in this wastewater, bio-accumulation can easily occur in roadside ditches. Spreading 7+ mesh Zeolite on roads prior to treatment dust treatment will have a two-fold advantage both with increased water utilization and capturing of NORMs.