Ironically, the treasure trove of essential minerals is thrown away along with water that is considered too dirty and expensive to clean. Texas A&M University researcher Dr. Hamidreza Samouei studies the components of produced water and says that this waste byproduct from oil and gas operations contains almost every element in the periodic table, including those important to the national economy.

Its purpose is to purify water by removing unwanted carbon dioxide (CO).₂) to recover these valuable elements step by step and produce fresh water for agricultural use once the processes are completed.

“Realizing the hidden value of produced water can offer concrete solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental problems from CO2. ₂ “It leads to increasing scarcity of certain minerals and water,” said Samuei, the Harold Vance Associate Professor. Petroleum Engineering.

Samui’s research into “brine mining” was described in a paper published in January 2024. Association of Petroleum Engineers Petroleum Technologies Magazine Titled: Liquid Gold Mine: Unlocking the Critical Mineral Potential of Produced Water Using Carbon Dioxide. He presented the topic at the December 2023 Middle East Water Week Conference and Exhibition in Saudi Arabia and presented his latest findings at the Produced Water Association’s annual conference in February 2024 in Houston, Texas.

Why is the extracted water thrown away?

Water accumulates in underground areas where geological functions such as hydrocarbon reservoirs occur and dissolves and stores large amounts of minerals and other elements. During oil and gas operations, an average of six 42-gallon barrels of this “produced” water are extracted for every barrel of oil, and in rare cases the ratio can be as high as a staggering 500 to 1. It is 10 times saltier than sea water. and contains approximately 6,000 times more mineral substances

In 2020, the annual global amount of water from oil and gas operations exceeded 240 billion barrels; Texas alone produces 33 million barrels per day. The Permian Basin oil fields in Texas produce more produced water than all other shale oil fields in the United States combined. Because this huge volume is extremely expensive to treat, the extracted water is mostly treated as waste and pumped into underground areas for safe containment.

Hidden values ​​in brine

Since everything the extracted water contains has never been catalogued, Samui’s research started from the ground up. He collected samples of water produced in the United States and created a standardized method for analyzing water content. He later learned that it contained almost everything listed in the periodic table of elements.

Samui’s finds included important minerals such as lithium, rubidium, cesium, gallium and platinum group metals; These were the substances that formed the basis of today’s and future technologies that drive the computer, energy and transportation industries. More importantly, like other brines, the resulting water contained cheaper but high amounts of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium, which are used in manufacturing processes, fertilizer production and other industries.

All of these minerals can be much more profitable than oil produced from extracted water, so the cost of recovering the water can easily be offset by selling the extracted minerals.

better treatment

Samuei explained that while desalination of extracted water is being considered, the approach of removing all salts and minerals before purifying the water has not yet been explored.

Much of his current research is focused on developing the best methods to extract valuable minerals from brine during purification stages using CO desalination. ₂ it says it is “an innovative approach to the targeted recovery of minerals from extracted water.” The process involves various filtration techniques such as ultrafiltration and nanofiltration, and even uses reverse osmosis.

Commercialization potential

The research provides a basis for brine production, whether using aquifers or other brackish sources, but Samuei said a source of funding would be needed for further development. Government sponsors are focusing on extracting the most important minerals from places like the seabed and even asteroids, rather than from anywhere as close as extracted water.

Samuei said he hopes to change the oil and gas industry’s perspective on water production, first as a profitable means of making money and then, perhaps within 10 years, as a resource for its own mining operations.

“If we treat extracted water as waste, it may not be nice,” he said, “but if we treat it as a resource, it will have an impact on future generations of the world.”

Reference: “Liquid Gold Mine: Unlocking the Critical Mineral Potential of Produced Water Using Carbon Dioxide,” Jennifer Presley, January 1, 2024, Petroleum Technology Magazine.