Treatment of Flowback Water from Hydraulic Fracturing with Biochar

Shale gas development is limited by the high volumes of difficult-to-treat wastewater produced during hydraulic fracturing.  The reuse of flowback water generated in shale gas production will reduce the amount of freshwater needed, and minimize the disposal liability and costs associated with new well drilling.  The current technologies are not cost-effective, and difficult to handle dissolved solids and organics in flowback water.  This paper presents a sustainable and cost-effective method for flowback water treatment by biochar. A brief economic analysis of the method is also provided.