Purifying Salt Water Disposal Well Water for Green Hydrogen Production

The treatment system detailed in this report treats produced water from fracking to deionized-quality (DI-quality) standards for hydrogen energy production. Hydrogen has been determined to be a promising clean energy source due to its high energy density. Produced water has been determined as a possible source of DI-quality water because of its high energy potential. It exits the wellhead at a high temperature and pressure which allows for innovative treatment options utilizing these unique conditions. The bench-scale system implements biochar adsorption, membrane distillation (MD), and capacitive deionization (CDI) to remove TrueSyn oil, Sodium Bentonite Drilling Clay, Arizona Test Dust, and Sodium Chloride from the inlet stream. The full-scale design utilizes turbines for power generation, oil/water separation, biochar filtration, MD, and CDI to remove colloidal matter, oil, dust, and salt from the solution. Preliminary data from the bench-scale model supports process applicability with a final turbidity of 0.40 ppm and a final measurable conductivity of 6 μS/cm.