TY - JOUR
T1 - Succession of toxicity and microbiota in hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water in the Denver–Julesburg Basin
AU - Hull, Natalie M.
AU - Rosenblum, James S.
AU - Robertson, Charles E.
AU - Harris, J. Kirk
AU - Linden, Karl G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2018/12/10
Y1 - 2018/12/10
N2 - Hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water (FPW) samples were analyzed for toxicity and microbiome characterization over 220 days for a horizontally drilled well in the Denver-Julesberg (DJ) Basin in Colorado. Cytotoxicity, mutagenicity, and estrogenicity of FPW were measured via the BioLuminescence Inhibition Assay (BLIA), Ames II mutagenicity assay (AMES), and Yeast Estrogen Screen (YES). Raw FPW stimulated bacteria in BLIA, but were cytotoxic to yeast in YES. Filtered FPW stimulated cell growth in both BLIA and YES. Concentrating 25× by solid phase extraction (SPE) revealed significant toxicity throughout well production by BLIA, toxicity during the first 55 days of flowback by YES, and mutagenicity by AMES. The selective pressures of fracturing conditions (including toxicity) affected bacterial and archaeal communities, which were characterized by 16S rRNA gene V4V5 region sequencing. Conditions selected for thermophilic, anaerobic, halophilic bacteria and methanogenic archaea from the groundwater used for fracturing fluid, and from the native shale community. Trends in toxicity echoed the microbial community, which indicated distinct stages of early flowback water, a transition stage, and produced water. Biota in another sampled DJ Basin horizontal well resembled similarly aged samples from this well. However, microbial signatures were unique compared to samples from DJ Basin vertical wells, and wells from other basins. These data can inform treatability, reuse, and management decisions specific to the DJ Basin to minimize adverse environmental health and well production outcomes.
AB - Hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water (FPW) samples were analyzed for toxicity and microbiome characterization over 220 days for a horizontally drilled well in the Denver-Julesberg (DJ) Basin in Colorado. Cytotoxicity, mutagenicity, and estrogenicity of FPW were measured via the BioLuminescence Inhibition Assay (BLIA), Ames II mutagenicity assay (AMES), and Yeast Estrogen Screen (YES). Raw FPW stimulated bacteria in BLIA, but were cytotoxic to yeast in YES. Filtered FPW stimulated cell growth in both BLIA and YES. Concentrating 25× by solid phase extraction (SPE) revealed significant toxicity throughout well production by BLIA, toxicity during the first 55 days of flowback by YES, and mutagenicity by AMES. The selective pressures of fracturing conditions (including toxicity) affected bacterial and archaeal communities, which were characterized by 16S rRNA gene V4V5 region sequencing. Conditions selected for thermophilic, anaerobic, halophilic bacteria and methanogenic archaea from the groundwater used for fracturing fluid, and from the native shale community. Trends in toxicity echoed the microbial community, which indicated distinct stages of early flowback water, a transition stage, and produced water. Biota in another sampled DJ Basin horizontal well resembled similarly aged samples from this well. However, microbial signatures were unique compared to samples from DJ Basin vertical wells, and wells from other basins. These data can inform treatability, reuse, and management decisions specific to the DJ Basin to minimize adverse environmental health and well production outcomes.
KW - 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing
KW - Flowback
KW - Fracking
KW - In vitro bioassay
KW - Produced water
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85049423123&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.067
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.067
M3 - Article
C2 - 29981518
AN - SCOPUS:85049423123
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 644
SP - 183
EP - 192
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
ER -