ABSTRACT
High-salinity brine is a common byproduct of extracting oil and gas resources. While the treatment steps can vary depending on both the brine composition and the end-use application, some amount of treatment is required before the water is used in any of the following end-use applications: (1) enhanced oil and gas recovery, (2) salt water disposal, (3) discharge to surface waters, or (4) resource recovery from the brine. Roughly 4 trillion liters of produced brine are managed in the United States each year. The two most common methods for managing produced brine in the United States are currently (1) injection for water flooding and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and (2) injection of the brine into salt water disposal (SWD) wells. In the future, there will likely be an increased focus on resource recovery from the brines sent to SWD wells. This includes both extracting fresh water and extracting critical resources from these brines. The goals of this chapter are (1) to analyze a few case studies of produced brine generated across the United States, (2) to review standard techniques for treating wastewaters, and (3) to discuss which techniques are most relevant to treating produced brines for reinjection and/or for resource recovery.
