Project Overview
A large Permian Basin operator faced escalating produced water disposal costs as nearby injection well capacity approached its limit. The produced water (TDS ~85,000 mg/L with high Ba²⁺, strontium, iron, and NORM) required desalination for beneficial reuse in hydraulic fracturing — saving both disposal and freshwater sourcing costs.
The Challenge
Injection capacity was filling up and disposal pricing was climbing toward $1.20/bbl. Untreated, the produced water was unusable for frac reuse because of scale-forming ions, NORM, and total dissolved solids well above the operator's blending limits. Freshwater sourcing added an additional $1.80/bbl in trucking costs.
WFS Solution
WFS deployed a centralized treatment hub combining 3-phase separation, DAF clarification, multimedia and ultrafiltration polishing, ion-exchange softening for Ba²⁺/Sr²⁺ removal, and a two-stage RO desalination skid with energy recovery. Brine concentrate was routed to a small ZLD evaporator for further recovery, leaving only crystallized solids for disposal.
Technologies Applied
- ▸3-Phase Separation
- ▸Dissolved Air Flotation
- ▸Multimedia + UF Filtration
- ▸Ion Exchange Softening
- ▸Two-stage RO Desalination
- ▸ZLD Brine Concentration
Results Achieved
Performance Outcomes
- ✓94% of produced water reused in frac operations
- ✓TDS reduced from 85,000 mg/L to <210 mg/L (RO permeate)
- ✓$18M/year saved in disposal costs
- ✓68,000 BPD of freshwater sourcing eliminated
- ✓Injection well dependency cut by 90%
Your Project Could Be Next
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