Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID OK_2023_Krzmarzick

Recovering Water and Metals From Produced Water

Institute: Oklahoma
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $25,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $48,438

Principal Investigators: Mark Krzmarzick

Project Summary: Large volumes of water are co-extracted with the hydrocarbons during oil and gas production. This water is often referred to as oil and gas produced water, and is typically disposed of through deep well injections. The project will advance technology for the treatment of oil and gas produced water, and advance knowledge of the social acceptability of these wastewaters for reuse. The project will investigate the use of membrane distillation, a developing technology, for the separation of salt and water in ambient (field) conditions. Furthermore, membrane-based technologies will be developed and tested for the selective recovery of valuable heavy metals from oil and gas produced waters which may make treatment more economically viable. Additionally, through the use of statewide public surveys, this project will probe the social acceptability and concerns of water treatment technologies and the reuse of oil and gas produced waters.