Paper released on converting Marcellus gas shale wastewater into chemical products
July 31, 2014 -- ProChemTech International has reported that its Chief Chemist, Timothy Keister, CWT, presented a paper, "Conversion of Marcellus Production Wastewater into Salable Products" at the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2014 Shale Engineering Conference, held July 21-23, 2014, in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The technical paper described the chemical and process technology needed to convert Marcellus gas shale wastewaters into salable commodity chemical products: barite, strontium sulfate, chemical-grade sodium chloride (common salt), and calcium chloride solution. Converting Marcellus wastewaters into chemical products eliminates a major environmental wastewater disposal problem confronting continued development of the Marcellus gas play: disposal of production wastewater.
Also discussed was the current proposal to construct a facility based on this technology at the Jefferson County, Pa., industrial park for an estimated cost of $25 million. This proposed facility would have 30 employees producing 8 tons of barite, 14 tons strontium sulfate, 170 tons sodium chloride, and 365 tons calcium chloride -- 30-percent solution per day from 250,000 gallons of Marcellus wastewater.
The technical paper described the chemical and process technology needed to convert Marcellus gas shale wastewaters into salable commodity chemical products: barite, strontium sulfate, chemical-grade sodium chloride (common salt), and calcium chloride solution. Converting Marcellus wastewaters into chemical products eliminates a major environmental wastewater disposal problem confronting continued development of the Marcellus gas play: disposal of production wastewater.
Also discussed was the current proposal to construct a facility based on this technology at the Jefferson County, Pa., industrial park for an estimated cost of $25 million. This proposed facility would have 30 employees producing 8 tons of barite, 14 tons strontium sulfate, 170 tons sodium chloride, and 365 tons calcium chloride -- 30-percent solution per day from 250,000 gallons of Marcellus wastewater.
The facility would be "zero discharge" as to process wastewater with a minimal amount of solid waste production to be landfilled. This is in marked contrast to current disposal technology, which is limited to deep well injection. The facility would have a positive cash flow from sale of chemical products and show a substantial profit with a "tipping fee" of just $0.20/gallon for accepting wastewater for disposal.
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