$OOIL Electrolysis & UF treatment recycles produced water for cyclic steam stimulation & irrigation
California is enduring its worst drought in decades. The Central Valley is the agricultural hub of the Golden State, and without access to sufficient water for irrigation, its major industry is under threat. Recently, growers lost about $2.2 billion in revenue and more than 17,000 jobs. Farmers in the San Joaquin Valley are thirsty for water resources and also are facing increasing competition from other water-intensive industries, like oil and gas and manufacturing. Today, agriculture accounts for 80% of the state’s water use, but water consumption in the oil and gas industry is on the rise. Oil and gas operations use 280 billion barrels of water and produce more than 3.3 billion barrels of wastewater per year.
The wastewater left contaminated by oil and gas operations must be disposed of as hazardous waste, and this represents a significant line item in oil and gas operators’ budgets—as much as $26 per barrel of water disposed. With water-intensive industries paying a premium for water, new methods for treatment and recycling are becoming economic. Due to these conditions, there is a substantial market for treating and recycling polluted water instead of using “new” freshwater. By recycling, operators benefit twofold. First, they reduce the cost of sourcing freshwater, and second, they eliminate the logistical costs of water management, such as storage, trucking and disposal.
Cleaned & Reused
What if produced water from oil and gas operations could be cleaned and reused for other major California industries like agriculture? Treating and recycling water could open a new water source for farmers currently battling extreme drought. Putting their technology to the test, OriginClear and membrane provider TriSep started applying their combined solutions in oil fields in California. Their goal was to efficiently and effectively tackle the water management inefficiencies compounding the drought’s impact in the Central Valley.
The companies saw an opportunity to combine their electrolysis and ultrafiltration (UF) membrane technologies to treat California’s produced water for reuse in crop irrigation and other industries. Produced water is notoriously
California is enduring its worst drought in decades. The Central Valley is the agricultural hub of the Golden State, and without access to sufficient water for irrigation, its major industry is under threat. Recently, growers lost about $2.2 billion in revenue and more than 17,000 jobs. Farmers in the San Joaquin Valley are thirsty for water resources and also are facing increasing competition from other water-intensive industries, like oil and gas and manufacturing. Today, agriculture accounts for 80% of the state’s water use, but water consumption in the oil and gas industry is on the rise. Oil and gas operations use 280 billion barrels of water and produce more than 3.3 billion barrels of wastewater per year.
The wastewater left contaminated by oil and gas operations must be disposed of as hazardous waste, and this represents a significant line item in oil and gas operators’ budgets—as much as $26 per barrel of water disposed. With water-intensive industries paying a premium for water, new methods for treatment and recycling are becoming economic. Due to these conditions, there is a substantial market for treating and recycling polluted water instead of using “new” freshwater. By recycling, operators benefit twofold. First, they reduce the cost of sourcing freshwater, and second, they eliminate the logistical costs of water management, such as storage, trucking and disposal.
Cleaned & Reused
What if produced water from oil and gas operations could be cleaned and reused for other major California industries like agriculture? Treating and recycling water could open a new water source for farmers currently battling extreme drought. Putting their technology to the test, OriginClear and membrane provider TriSep started applying their combined solutions in oil fields in California. Their goal was to efficiently and effectively tackle the water management inefficiencies compounding the drought’s impact in the Central Valley.
The companies saw an opportunity to combine their electrolysis and ultrafiltration (UF) membrane technologies to treat California’s produced water for reuse in crop irrigation and other industries. Produced water is notoriously
