Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2018ND346B

Treatment of Produced Water for Discharge to Surface Waters and Non-potable Uses

Institute: North Dakota
Year Established: 2018 Start Date: 2018-03-01 End Date: 2019-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $7,500 Total Non-Federal Funds: $15,000

Principal Investigators: Feng Xiao

Project Summary: North Dakota is this nation’s second largest crude oil-producing state and accounts for ~12% of total U.S. crude oil production. Our preliminary data show that the produced water from North Dakota oil industry contains metal ions at significantly high concentrations. Produced water also contains other unwanted elements including radium (Ra) that can be threatening to local water quality if released to the environment. The over goal of project is to treat produced water so that the water can be discharged to surface waters or non-potable uses (e.g., car washing and crop irrigation). We aim to develop a cost-effective system for removing unwanted contaminants from produced water. The results of this study may help reduce toxic substances released to the local environment, balance the water use by the oil and gas industry, and 3) provide critical insights to future studies on the extraction of rare, expensive elements from produced water.