I-Corps: Microbial Energy Systems for Sustainable Oil/Gas Hydraulic Fracturing Wastewater Management

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The unprecedented oil and natural gas development through hydraulic fracturing greatly improves U.S. economy and made it the world?s biggest energy producer in 2013. However, the numerous barrels of wastewater produced every year during fracking are considered the single greatest environmental impediment, costing the industry $5 billion per year to dispose. Due to increasing public health and environmental concerns about deep well injection and long distance transportation, on site treatment and reuse of such wastewater becomes an emerging need. This proposal aims to develop and apply a new microbial desalination technology with energy production for produced water management. In this proposal, the team will develop a trailer prototype demonstration system that treats wastewater at 100 bbl/day (4,200 gallon/day), which is industry's expectation on functioning and investable prototypes. This system will have much lower cost per barrel water treated, and will significantly reduce the manufacturing and monitoring cost through the integration of low-cost 3D printing technique and microcontroller based automation system. The system will also be adaptable to different water conditions through the real-time monitoring and control of operational parameters, such as retention time, loading rates, and supplemental pre/post treatment units.