Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2020KS325B

Experimental and Modeling Investigation of Fluid-Fluid and Rock-Fluid Compatibility between Arbuckle and Lansing Kansas City Formations with the Purpose of Produced Water-Exchange Between the Two Formations to Reduce both Fresh Water Usage and Water Dispo

Institute: Kansas
Year Established: 2020 Start Date: 2020-03-01 End Date: 2021-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $20,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $50,000

Principal Investigators:

Project Summary: To demonstrate the potential of brine exchange between geological formations as a method for reusing oil and gas industry wastewater (produced water) in Kansas for further oil production. Increasing produced water reuse simultaneously addresses two issues of importance to state water resources by reducing the necessity for produced water disposal, which has known environmental and seismic impacts, and by reducing the need for freshwater use in oil production. This study will generate laboratory-scale data and an economic feasibility model that will guide the development of a pilot-scale test study of brine exchange by KS oil and gas producers. The scientific merit of this proposal is a determination of the stability of the Lansing-Kansas City (LKC) brine in the presence of brine from the Arbuckle formation, the development of geochemical models to predict scale-formation potential in the mixed systems, and a preliminary economic and environmental analysis of the exchange process. The broader impacts of this research include the training of a graduate student in Environmental Engineering, the incorporation of new educational materials in a Water Management and Reuse course, and the support of an early career faculty member (Dr. Hutchison).