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Generation, transport, and disposal of wastewater associated with Marcellus Shale gas development

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lutz, BD; Lewis, AN; Doyle, MW
Published in: Water Resources Research
February 1, 2013

Hydraulic fracturing has made vast quantities of natural gas from shale available, reshaping the energy landscape of the United States. Extracting shale gas, however, generates large, unavoidable volumes of wastewater, which to date lacks accurate quantification. For the Marcellus shale, by far the largest shale gas resource in the United States, we quantify gas and wastewater production using data from 2189 wells located throughout Pennsylvania. Contrary to current perceptions, Marcellus wells produce significantly less wastewater per unit gas recovered (approximately 35%) compared to conventional natural gas wells. Further, well operators classified only 32.3% of wastewater from Marcellus wells as flowback from hydraulic fracturing; most wastewater was classified as brine, generated over multiple years. Despite producing less wastewater per unit gas, developing the Marcellus shale has increased the total wastewater generated in the region by approximately 570% since 2004, overwhelming current wastewater disposal infrastructure capacity. © 2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

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Published In

Water Resources Research

DOI

EISSN

1944-7973

ISSN

0043-1397

Publication Date

February 1, 2013

Volume

49

Issue

2

Start / End Page

647 / 656

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Engineering
  • 4011 Environmental engineering
  • 4005 Civil engineering
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
  • 0905 Civil Engineering
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
 

Citation

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Lutz, B. D., Lewis, A. N., & Doyle, M. W. (2013). Generation, transport, and disposal of wastewater associated with Marcellus Shale gas development. Water Resources Research, 49(2), 647–656. https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20096
Lutz, B. D., A. N. Lewis, and M. W. Doyle. “Generation, transport, and disposal of wastewater associated with Marcellus Shale gas development.” Water Resources Research 49, no. 2 (February 1, 2013): 647–56. https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20096.
Lutz BD, Lewis AN, Doyle MW. Generation, transport, and disposal of wastewater associated with Marcellus Shale gas development. Water Resources Research. 2013 Feb 1;49(2):647–56.
Lutz, B. D., et al. “Generation, transport, and disposal of wastewater associated with Marcellus Shale gas development.” Water Resources Research, vol. 49, no. 2, Feb. 2013, pp. 647–56. Scopus, doi:10.1002/wrcr.20096.
Lutz BD, Lewis AN, Doyle MW. Generation, transport, and disposal of wastewater associated with Marcellus Shale gas development. Water Resources Research. 2013 Feb 1;49(2):647–656.
Journal cover image

Published In

Water Resources Research

DOI

EISSN

1944-7973

ISSN

0043-1397

Publication Date

February 1, 2013

Volume

49

Issue

2

Start / End Page

647 / 656

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Engineering
  • 4011 Environmental engineering
  • 4005 Civil engineering
  • 3707 Hydrology
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
  • 0905 Civil Engineering
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience