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Pitt engineers using membrane distillation to recycle water used in fracking and drilling

Green Car Congress

Engineers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering are using membrane distillation technology to enable drillers to filter and reuse the produced water in the oil and gas industry, in agriculture, and other beneficial uses. The method is already being tested in Texas, North Dakota, and most recently in New Stanton, Pa.

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NETL field study of PA fracking site finds no evidence of upward gas and fluid migration into aquifers

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Hydraulic fracturing is a method used to improve gas and oil production from low permeability formations (shale and tight sand reservoirs). During hydraulic fracturing, large volumes of sand and water, with small volumes of chemical additives, are injected into low-permeability subsurface formations.

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CU-Boulder technique finds major class of fracking chemicals no more toxic than common household substances; “fingerprinting”

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Fracking fluid is largely composed of water and sand, but oil and gas companies also add a variety of other chemicals, including anti-bacterial agents, corrosion inhibitors and surfactants. Surfactants reduce the surface tension between water and oil, allowing for more oil to be extracted from porous rock underground.

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