A review of the development in shale oil and gas wastewater desalination

Simin Zhou; Likun Huang; Guangzhi Wang; Wei Wang; Rui Zhao; Xiyu Sun; Dongdong Wang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162376

A review of the development in shale oil and gas wastewater desalination

Sci Total Environ. 2023 May 15:873:162376. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162376. Epub 2023 Feb 23.

Authors

Simin Zhou¹, Likun Huang², Guangzhi Wang³, Wei Wang¹, Rui Zhao¹, Xiyu Sun¹, Dongdong Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China.
² School of Food Engineering, Harbin University of Commerce, Harbin 150076, China.
³ School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, 73 Huanghe Road, Harbin 150090, China. Electronic address: hitwgz@126.com.

PMID: 36828060
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162376

Abstract

The development of the shale oil and gas extraction industry has heightened concerns about shale oil and gas wastewater (SOGW). This review comprehensively summarizes, analyzes, and evaluates multiple issues in SOGW desalination. The detailed analysis of SOGW water quality and various disposal strategies with different water quality standards reveals the water quality characteristics and disposal status of SOGW, clarifying the necessity of desalination for the rational management of SOGW. Subsequently, potential and implemented technologies for SOGW desalination are reviewed, mainly including membrane-based, thermal-based, and adsorption-based desalination technologies, as well as bioelectrochemical desalination systems, and the research progress of these technologies in desalinating SOGW are highlighted. In addition, various pretreatment methods for SOGW desalination are comprehensively reviewed, and the synergistic effects on SOGW desalination that can be achieved by combining different desalination technologies are summarized. Renewable energy sources and waste heat are also discussed, which can be used to replace traditional fossil energy to drive SOGW desalination and reduce the negative impact of shale oil and gas exploitation on the environment. Moreover, real project cases for SOGW desalination are presented, and the full-scale or pilot-scale on-site treatment devices for SOGW desalination are summarized. In order to compare different desalination processes clearly, operational parameters and performance data of varying desalination processes, including feed salinity, water flux, salt removal rate, water recovery, energy consumption, and cost, are collected and analyzed, and the applicability of different desalination technologies in desalinating SOGW is qualitatively evaluated. Finally, the recovery of valuable inorganic resources in SOGW is discussed, which is a meaningful research direction for SOGW desalination. At present, the development of SOGW desalination has not reached a satisfactory level, and investing enough energy in SOGW desalination in the future is still necessary to achieve the optimal management of SOGW.

Keywords: Alternative energy; Desalination technology; Hybrid process; Inorganic resource recovery; Project case; Shale oil and gas wastewater.

Publication types

Review