A critical review of risks, characteristics, and treatment strategies for potentially toxic elements in wastewater from shale gas extraction
Shale gas extraction via horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (HF) has enhanced gas production worldwide, which has altered global energy markets and reduced the prices of natural gas and oil. Water management has become the most challenging issue of HF, as it demands vast amounts of freshwa...
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doaj-6886b042b52c4afaabdfee481ffd9ad92020-11-25T01:18:41ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202019-04-01125452469A critical review of risks, characteristics, and treatment strategies for potentially toxic elements in wastewater from shale gas extractionYuqing Sun0Di Wang1Daniel C.W. Tsang2Linling Wang3Yong Sik Ok4Yujie Feng5Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, ChinaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, ChinaDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Corresponding author.School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, ChinaKorea Biochar Research Center, O-Jeong Eco-Resilience Institute (OJERI) & Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of KoreaState Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, ChinaShale gas extraction via horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (HF) has enhanced gas production worldwide, which has altered global energy markets and reduced the prices of natural gas and oil. Water management has become the most challenging issue of HF, as it demands vast amounts of freshwater and generates high volumes of complex liquid wastes contaminated by diverse potentially toxic elements at variable rates. This critical review focuses on characterizing HF wastewater and establishing strategies to mitigate environmental impacts. High prioritization was given to the constituents with mean concentrations over 10 times greater than the maximum contamination level (MCL) guidelines for drinking water. A number of potentially harmful organic compounds in HF wastewaters were identified via the risk quotient approach to predict the associated toxicity for freshwater organisms in recipient surface waters. Currently, two options for HF wastewater treatment are preferred, i.e., disposal by deep well injection or on-site re-use as a fracturing fluid. Supplementary treatment will be enforced by increasingly rigorous regulations. Partial treatment and reuse remain the preferred method for managing HF wastewater where feasible. Otherwise, advanced technologies such as membrane separation/distillation, forward osmosis, mechanical vapor compression, electrocoagulation, advanced oxidation, and adsorption-biological treatment will be required to satisfy the sustainable requirements for reuse or surface discharge. Keywords: Unconventional energy, Hydraulic fracturing, Environmental pollution, Metals/metalloids, Wastewater treatment, Sustainable remediationhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018322487 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Yuqing Sun Di Wang Daniel C.W. Tsang Linling Wang Yong Sik Ok Yujie Feng |
spellingShingle |
Yuqing Sun Di Wang Daniel C.W. Tsang Linling Wang Yong Sik Ok Yujie Feng A critical review of risks, characteristics, and treatment strategies for potentially toxic elements in wastewater from shale gas extraction Environment International |
author_facet |
Yuqing Sun Di Wang Daniel C.W. Tsang Linling Wang Yong Sik Ok Yujie Feng |
author_sort |
Yuqing Sun |
title |
A critical review of risks, characteristics, and treatment strategies for potentially toxic elements in wastewater from shale gas extraction |
title_short |
A critical review of risks, characteristics, and treatment strategies for potentially toxic elements in wastewater from shale gas extraction |
title_full |
A critical review of risks, characteristics, and treatment strategies for potentially toxic elements in wastewater from shale gas extraction |
title_fullStr |
A critical review of risks, characteristics, and treatment strategies for potentially toxic elements in wastewater from shale gas extraction |
title_full_unstemmed |
A critical review of risks, characteristics, and treatment strategies for potentially toxic elements in wastewater from shale gas extraction |
title_sort |
critical review of risks, characteristics, and treatment strategies for potentially toxic elements in wastewater from shale gas extraction |
publisher |
Elsevier |
series |
Environment International |
issn |
0160-4120 |
publishDate |
2019-04-01 |
description |
Shale gas extraction via horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (HF) has enhanced gas production worldwide, which has altered global energy markets and reduced the prices of natural gas and oil. Water management has become the most challenging issue of HF, as it demands vast amounts of freshwater and generates high volumes of complex liquid wastes contaminated by diverse potentially toxic elements at variable rates. This critical review focuses on characterizing HF wastewater and establishing strategies to mitigate environmental impacts. High prioritization was given to the constituents with mean concentrations over 10 times greater than the maximum contamination level (MCL) guidelines for drinking water. A number of potentially harmful organic compounds in HF wastewaters were identified via the risk quotient approach to predict the associated toxicity for freshwater organisms in recipient surface waters. Currently, two options for HF wastewater treatment are preferred, i.e., disposal by deep well injection or on-site re-use as a fracturing fluid. Supplementary treatment will be enforced by increasingly rigorous regulations. Partial treatment and reuse remain the preferred method for managing HF wastewater where feasible. Otherwise, advanced technologies such as membrane separation/distillation, forward osmosis, mechanical vapor compression, electrocoagulation, advanced oxidation, and adsorption-biological treatment will be required to satisfy the sustainable requirements for reuse or surface discharge. Keywords: Unconventional energy, Hydraulic fracturing, Environmental pollution, Metals/metalloids, Wastewater treatment, Sustainable remediation |
url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018322487 |
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