Assessment of UV Disinfection and Advanced Oxidation Processes for Treatment and Reuse of Hydraulic Fracturing Produced Water

Sydney L. Vinge, James S. Rosenblum, Yarrow S. Linden, Adrian Saenz, Natalie M. Hull, Karl G. Linden

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

This research assessed the efficacy of UV and UV advanced oxidation processes (UV/AOPs) to reduce dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), and microorganisms in hydraulic fracturing produced water. To improve water quality conditions before UV treatment with and without added hydrogen peroxide (UV/H2O2), produced water was treated with coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation (CFS) and biologically activated carbon filtration (BACF). BACF was more effective than CFS as a pre-UV and UV/AOP treatment strategy and reduced DOC, TPH, and absorbing species by over 70% which, subsequently, resulted in the highest hydroxyl radical steady-state concentrations during UV and UV/H2O2 experiments. UV alone minimally degraded DOC, while UV/H2O2 improved DOC and TPH degradation by 9% to 36%. Interestingly, UV without added H2O2 created an in situ AOP by generating hydroxyl radicals with similar steady-state concentrations to that of UV/H2O2. UV was found to be highly effective for the inactivation of microorganisms that were cultured in produced water by reducing microbial communities dominated by Citrobacter by 4 logs after only 30 mJ/cm2. Together, these results demonstrate UV/AOP as a potential strategy to not only improve the treatment and reuse of produced water but also reduce biocide use in fracturing fluids.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)490-500
Number of pages11
JournalACS ES and T Engineering
Volume1
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 12 Mar 2021

Keywords

  • advanced oxidation
  • disinfection
  • hydraulic fracturing
  • Produced water
  • water reuse

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