Desalination of Shale Gas Wastewater: Thermal and Membrane Applications for Zero-Liquid Discharge

Natural gas exploration from unconventional shale formations, known as “shale gas,” has recently arisen as an appealing energy supply to meet the increasing worldwide demand. During the last decade, development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) technologies have allowed the cost-effective gas exploration from previously inaccessible shale deposits. In spite of optimistic expansion projections, natural gas production from tight shale formations has social and environmental implications mainly associated with the depletion of freshwater resources and polluting wastewater generation. In this context, the capability of desalination technologies to allow water recycling and/or water reuse is crucial for the shale gas industry. Advances in zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) desalination processes for treating hypersaline shale gas wastewater can play a key role in the mitigation of public health and environmental impacts, and in the improvement of overall process sustainability. This chapter outlines the most promising thermal- and membrane-based alternatives for ZLD desalination of shale gas wastewater.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 640979

Electrofacies in gas shale from well log data via cluster analysis: A case study of the Perth Basin, Western Australia

Identifying reservoir electrofacies has an important role in determining hydrocarbon bearing intervals. In this study, electrofacies of the Kockatea Formation in the Perth Basin were determined via cluster analysis. In this method, distance data were initially calculated and then connected spatially by using a linkage function. The dendrogram function was used to extract the cluster tree for formations over the study area. Input logs were sonic log (DT), gamma ray log (GR), resistivity log (IND), and spontaneous potential (SP). A total of 30 reservoir electrofacies were identified within this formation. Integrated geochemical and petrophysics data showed that zones with electrofacies 3, 4, 9, and 10 have potential for shale gas production. In addition, the results showed that cluster analysis is a precise, rapid, and cost-effective method for zoning reservoirs and determining electrofacies in hydrocarbon reservoirs