Author: C. J. Vavra

Oil and gas production consumes staggering amounts of water — more than 5 million gallons per day in fracturing operations alone. What comes back up is brine: saline wastewater laced with drilling byproducts. Engineers have explored desalination as a solution, but the chemistry is stubborn and costly. As shale wastewater volumes surged, the question became practical: can treatment technology keep pace with what the wells produce?