Advances in water treatment technologies paired with potential restrictions on oil and gas (O&G) produced water disposal could incentivize the beneficial reuse of treated produced water in the O&G industry. However, the remote nature of O&G operations limits the applicability of many of these solutions, which may be spatially inefficient, require operator supervision, or are ill-suited for the complex nature of produced water. Furthermore, the responsible, sustainable reuse of produced water as an alternative water source requires standardized analytical techniques for characterizing and determining the toxicity of treated produced water and improving our understanding of the fate and transport of various constituents. In the past decade, we made little progress in economically treating produced water for beneficial reuse outside of oilfield operations; the sole major breakthrough has been in the development of salt-tolerant fracturing chemicals that allow for reuse of produced water for fracking operations. Guided research should assist in the development of fit-for-purpose solutions to maximize the reuse of treated produced water. This is exemplified by the case studies presented here that detail currently operating treatment facilities for reclamation and reuse of produced water.

中文翻译：

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石油和天然气采出水回用：机遇、处理需求和挑战

水处理技术的进步与对石油和天然气 (O&G) 采出水处理的潜在限制相结合，可以激励石油和天然气行业对处理过的采出水进行有益的再利用。然而，O&G 运营的偏远性质限制了其中许多解决方案的适用性，这些解决方案可能在空间上效率低下，需要操作员监督，或者不适合采出水的复杂性质。此外，采出水作为替代水源的负责任、可持续的再利用需要标准化的分析技术来表征和确定处理后的采出水的毒性，并提高我们对各种成分的归宿和运输的理解。在过去的十年里，我们在经济地处理采出水以便在油田作业之外进行有益的再利用方面进展甚微；唯一的重大突破是开发耐盐压裂化学品，允许将采出水再用于压裂作业。指导性研究应有助于开发适合用途的解决方案，以最大限度地重复利用处理过的采出水。此处介绍的案例研究详细说明了当前运营的采出水回收和再利用处理设施。