Friday, October 26, 2012: 10:40 a.m.
The method and equipment was originally developed for produced water analysis. Stewart Environmental Consultants designed and operates a produced water treatment facility in Utah. This facility receives produced water from nearby oil and gas wells. Produced water is water that is accompanied by oil and gas following a hydraulic fracture. In order to discriminate between produced water and water used for hydraulic fracturing (frac water), plant operators monitor pH and conductivity. This tool kit offers an innovative monitoring system with the ability to simultaneously monitor up to four parameters. The project described above uses pH, turbidity, and conductivity sensors simultaneously collecting real time data. The same method can be used to monitor ground or surface waters for changes in key indicators and serves as an early alarm for contamination from oil and gas operations.
