OIL AND NATURAL GAS EXPLORATION/OPEN PIT MINING
HIGH EFFICIENCY WASTE WATER RECYCLING
ABOUT HYDRO-FRACKING(FRACTURING) :
Briefly, the hydro-fracking process involves injecting high pressure water into the shale formation to increase the size and extent of existing fractures and to create new fractures. Hence the formation permeability and well yield are increased. The components used for this technique are; a specialized truck with a crane to lower and raise the packers. A source of clean water. A system of pumps adequate enough to handle the volume of pressure needed, which can pump at an adequate rate. Assorted valves, gauges and fittings for controlling fluid injection delivery. Two inflatable packers with high pressure tubing and a supply unit for inflation.
Oil shale reserves, where hydro-fracking can be used effectively, are found throughout the US as well as a wide variety of areas overseas.
THE PROBLEM:
The problems with the existing water based hydro-fracking process:
(1) environmental concerns about disposing of high TDS water recovered from the wellhead after the fracking process:
(2) environmental(aquafier water quality) concerns about re-injecting high TDS water into the wellhead or into specialized "disposal" wells;
(3) costs of trucking and disposal of the high TDS water to remote disposal sites;
(4) costs and availability of clean water in the initial(and continuing) hydro-fracking activity.
Finally, the government is looking to stick its fingers further into the oil and gas industry now that it appears that domestic oil and natural gas sources provide an increasingly attractive alternative to imported fuels.
HERE IS THE LATEST PROPOSED GOVERNMENTAL REGULATION OF THE FUTURE GROWTH OF GAS AND OIL EXPLORATION AND EXTRACTION.
DEC to shield water in gas boom
Agency chief tells panel rules to control hydrofracking technique will be effective
By BRIAN NEARING, Staff writer(TIMESUNION.COM)
First published in print: Thursday, October 16, 2008
ALBANY, NY — Anticipating an energy boom, the state Department of Environmental Conservation wants more authority over water to control a controversial natural gas drilling technique called hydrofracking.
The process, which critics contend threatens clean water, is poised to sweep the Catskills, the Southern Tier and the western region of the state.At a packed Assembly hearing Wednesday, DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis assured lawmakers his office won't allow drilling without being satisfied that the water-intensive method is environmentally safe.
The agency will seek authority to regulate the massive water withdrawals needed by drilling companies, Grannis said. For the past year, many of the companies have been buying up mineral rights in the Marcellus Shale, a formation that stretches from the Catskills to Buffalo.
The drillers intend to tap what could be the largest natural gas deposits in the Northeast through the process in which up to 3 million gallons of water are pumped into deep wells to crack underground rock formations and force trapped natural gas to the surface.
DEC wants power to control water withdrawals in parts of the state not covered by either the Delaware or Susquehanna river basin commissions, which already have power over the water needed by drillers, Grannis said.
"We will be seeking clear regulatory authority," Grannis told members of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee. It was not immediately clear how much of the state is not regulated.
A handful of well permits already received by the state will be acted upon only after DEC rewrites its rules for hydrofracking, which is expected to be done early next year, Grannis said. The rules will address how and where water is taken out, and what is done with it after the water is used during drilling, when it will contain a blend of sand and drilling chemicals.
Grannis, who testified for more than two hours, was one of 24 witnesses scheduled for a marathon hearing. Only nine witnesses had appeared by 4 p.m., at which point half of the 10-member Assembly committee had already drifted away.
A panel of representatives from the drilling industry said hydrofracking posed little environmental risk.
"These are surgical operations with a minimal environmental footprint," said Thomas Price, senior vice president for corporate development for Chesapeake Energy Corp. He called drilling an "economic surge" for the state.
Grannis said that DEC also will require that companies disclose the drilling chemicals used, something has not be required in other states.
Small-scale hydrofracking has been done since the 1940s in the state without a single documented instance of water contamination, said Rick Kessy, manager of operations and engineering for Fortuna Energy of Horseheads, Chemung County.
Several environmental groups at the hearing said more needs to be known about what will be done with the used drilling water. "I have serious doubts about the health of any stream or river that will be taking this fluid over time and slowly releasing it into the environment," said Wes Gillingham, program director of Catskill Mountainkeeper.
Brian Nearing can be reached by email at bnearing@timesunion.com.
POLITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUE:
A future Democratic administration would continue to restrain the development of indigenous natural resources by way of broad environmental restrictions, including those applicable to hydro-fracking activities and waste material disposal.
We view this possibility as both highly restrictive to the development of natural resources as well as imposing additional financial burdens on both existing and new oil and gas development activities. Recent Democratic administrations(and Congress) have tended to side heavily with environmentalists who may or may not provide evenhanded testimony on this critical issue.
A future Republican administration would continue to promote the development of indigenous natural resourcs with less restrictive actions which would thus encourage more rapid and thorough expansion of such resources to meet our nation's growing energy needs.
Incentives in both leasing and financial areas for individual oil and gas ventures who employ waste water recycling technologies are far more likely with this type of administration.
A wide variety of liberal news media, including university newspapers, continue to take issue with the hydro-fracking activity. Most college students and editors wouldn't know hydro-fracking from a banana peel but that does not stop the college media from using their First Amendment rights to expound on issues that appeal to "environment only" readership.
PRIOR SOLUTIONS CANNOT PROVIDE NEEDED PERFORMANCE
Waste water from gas and oil wells can easily produce dissolved solids levels in excess of 60,000 parts per million(ppm). In some cases the number will much higher. Prior solutions(i.e. reverse osmosis) fail badly when TDS levels occur above 25,000 to 30,000 mg/liter(ppm) concentrations.
Even below 30,000 parts per million TDS, reverse osmosis recovery rates many times are inadequate and oil and gas developers must revert to expensive disposal costs(trucking, injection wells, etc.). We regularly receive calls from companies whose reverse osmosis systems are failing in the field - with these companies searching for more effective and efficient technologies.
A COMPLETE NEW AND COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION TO THE ABOVE PROBLEMS NOW EXISTS
ANNOUNCING THE MOST ADVANCED STEAM DISTILLATION, DESALINATION, WASTE AND CHEMICAL RECOVERY TECHNOLOGY ON THE PLANET!
Approximately three(3) years ago, engineering work began on a new generation of high efficiency vapor compression distillation systems.
The goal was to produce a vapor compression technology suitable for a wide variety of difficult waste recycling and management problems.
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Fully Integrated System: complete turnkey package ready to run, with design-matched preconditioner(in many cases Electro-Coagulation(click here)) and in some cases a post-rpcessing sanitization system as illustrated below.
Packaging: units can be housed in standard or custom containers together with turnkey diesel or propane generators or on free-standing customized skids for operation inside of a facility.
Automatic Control and Monitoring: using discrete and "fuzzy" logic, state-of-the-art all-digital Programmable Logic Controllers(PLC).
"Fuzzy" logic provides the capability for the system to automatically determine, based on the interaction of a wide variety of inter-related operating parameters, when the "clean-in-place" function or other periodic activities need to take place.
Additional control and monitoring options include:
(1) Flash card data recording for hard/soft-copy review and documentation of operating conditions
(2) Full-duplex, wireless communication with a remote data collection and analysis center for real-time analysis of system operation, thruput, failure mode analysis, command and control of the system as well as scheduling of downtime and maintenance.
Convenient, easy-to-use touch screen for complete system operational programming, transparency, diagnostics and monitoring.
High Production Rates: from 1000 to 96,000 US GPD configurations
High Efficiency Operation: as low as 20 watts/US gallon(power requirement is dependent on source water TDS)
Advanced Clean-in-Place(CIP) Design: digital(fuzzy logic) technology provides accurate and efficient operation and temely, automatic self-cleaning in all source water and dissolved solids environments.
Custom Design: Each unit custom designed and manufactured for your specific needs - production volume, operational environment(i.e container or skid), input water conditions(fresh, brackish, sea water or worse), and product water quality(drinking or utility grade).
Energy Source Options: conventional electrical(your shore power or our fully-integrated diesel/propane power plant)
High Product Recovery Rates: far exceeds conventional reverse osmosis(50-85% depending on source water conditions and desired product quality.
Difficult Source Water Conditions: up to 100,000 PPM total dissolved solids. Pre-conditioning(Electro-Coagulation) providing particle prefiltration or electro-coagulation may be required to eliminate suspended materials; also stripping of organics.
Lower Maintenance and downtime : fully-automatic, digitally controlled clean-in-place(CIP) operation and maintenance with no membranes to change or clean
Higher Purity: exceeds reverse osmosis under all water source conditions(including seawater and beyond)
Small System Footprint: 15' x 8' or less(20' container for smaller units; standard 40' container for larger systems).
OVERVIEW OF HOW THE WASTE RECYCLING SYSTEM OPERATES
The diagram below illustrates the role of the high volume, high TDS vapor compression distillation system in recycling high TDS hydrofracking waster water into high purity water.
Recovery rates will depend on the TDS level of the brackish water obtained from the wellhead during the fracking process. Separate waste and pure water holding ponds are required.
(1) Fresh water is injected into the wellhead for hydro-fracking activiites
(2) Contaminated, high TDS water is extracted from the wellhead after hydro-fracking
(3) Contaminated water can be trucked off-site or placed in high volume on-site holding pond for recycling
(4) Contaminated water is stripped of organic material and particulates by pre-conditioner/electro-coagulation system
(5) Contaminated water is then distilled by high efficiency vapor compression distiller yielding pure distilled water and reject water .
(6) Purified water placed in second holding pond for reuse in hydro-fracking activities
(7) Distiller reject water is fed back into contaminated holding pond
(8) Distiller monitors contaminated water TDS and at some point requires that high concentrate be trucked from site.
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- HIGH EFFICIENCY
- HIGH VOLUME PRODUCTION
- LOW MAINTENANCE
- TURNKEY, DIGITAL OPERATION, MONITORING AND CONTROL(wireless connection and/or flash card memory)
- COMPLETE, FRONT END WATER PRECONDITIONING AND BACK END PRODUCT SANITATION(IF NEEDED)
Full lab report on source water required prior to final design and accurate pricing.
Call for pricing and delivery schedule:
Gene Shaparenko, CEO : 1-805-773-4502.
