Comprehensive Planning for Optimal Management of Different Types of Shale Gas Wastewater

To manage wastewater produced by hydraulic fracturing operations in the production of shale gas, this chapter presents a mathematical programming approach for strategic planning. The goal of the presented approach is to choose the best course of action for treatment, storage, and reuse. Along with the long-term produced water, the technique also considers the unpredictability of wastewater properties, such as the short-term flowback and transition water. Wastewater segregation is taken into consideration as a potential solution due to the variations in the pollutant contents found in the different kinds of wastewater. Moreover, seasonal variations in freshwater supply are taken into consideration by the model. Environmental and economic objectives are considered. Finding the lowest possible overall cost—which includes freshwater, treatment, storage, and transportation expenses—is the goal of the economic objective function. Water that is reused is rewarded. The primary goal of the environmental objective is to decrease the amount of freshwater required for the hydraulic fracturing process. The presented model establishes trade-offs between costs and water usage. Results from a case study demonstrated that up to 32.43% less freshwater can be used and up to 12.26% of the total wastewater from wells can be recycled for hydraulic fracturing requirements.