Efficacy of oil and gas produced water as a dust suppressant

Audrey M Stallworth; Eric H Chase; Bonnie McDevitt; Katherine K Marak; Miriam Arak Freedman; Robin Taylor Wilson; William D Burgos; Nathaniel R Warner

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149347

Efficacy of oil and gas produced water as a dust suppressant

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Dec 10:799:149347. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149347. Epub 2021 Aug 2.

Authors

Audrey M Stallworth¹, Eric H Chase², Bonnie McDevitt³, Katherine K Marak⁴, Miriam Arak Freedman⁵, Robin Taylor Wilson⁶, William D Burgos⁷, Nathaniel R Warner⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States. Electronic address: ams1095@psu.edu.
² Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies, Larson Transportation Institute, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States. Electronic address: ehc111@psu.edu.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States. Electronic address: bum49@psu.edu.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States. Electronic address: kem92@psu.edu.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States; Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States. Electronic address: maf43@psu.edu.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Temple University College of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA 19122, United States. Electronic address: robin.taylor.wilson@temple.edu.
⁷ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States. Electronic address: wdb3@psu.edu.
⁸ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States. Electronic address: nrw6@psu.edu.

Abstract

The effectiveness of oil and gas produced water (OGPW) applied to unpaved roads to reduce particulate matter (PM₁₀) generation has not been well-characterized. Here we quantify the efficacy of OGPW compared to commercial and alternative byproducts as dust suppressants applied to unpaved roads and estimate efficacy of a dust suppressant extrapolated from both lab experiments and published data for OGPW across U.S. states. Both treated and untreated OGPW, simulated brines, and commercial dust suppressants were characterized by major and trace element composition and then applied to road aggregate in the laboratory. PM₁₀ generation after treatment was quantified, both before and after simulated rain events to assess the need for multiple applications. We found the dust suppression efficacy of all OGPW to be less than commercial products and alternative byproducts such as waste soybean oil. In addition, OGPW lost efficacy following simulated rain events, which would require repeated applications of OGPW to maintain dust suppression. The dust suppression efficacy of OGPW can be estimated based on two chemical measurements, the sodium absorption ratio (SAR) and the total dissolved solids (TDS). OGPW with the lowest SAR and highest TDS performed best as dust suppressants while high SAR and lower TDS led to greater dust generation.

Keywords: Brine; Gravel; Roads.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Dust* / analysis
Environmental Monitoring
Particulate Matter / analysis
Water

Substances

Air Pollutants
Dust
Particulate Matter
Water

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

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