Coaxing natural gas out of shale rock takes water, a precious resource for Texas where droughts are frequent, and cities’ and businesses’ need for waters seems ever increasing.
This makes recycling frac water for reuse more important than ever, says Dr. Michael Wetz, associate professor of Life Sciences at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and a water-quality expert. This is the goal of one company receiving valuable research and business assistance from the university.
ARANA Water Technologies manufactures water treatment technologies for municipal, industrial, mining, oilfield and residential applications.
“Our patented technologies greatly improve the methodology of removing contaminants from oilfield wastewater, and compared with current methods, it is more cost-effective, and can be done on site,” says Jeff Soward, president of ARANA Water Technologies.
In the latest round of tests with Wetz, ARANA collected frac water from the Eagle Ford field at Briscoe ranch to be analyzed.
“I watched Mr. Soward’s group inject raw frac water into the system, which processed the samples for 26 minutes,” Wetz says. “The total petroleum hydrocarbons were reduced by greater than 99 percent.”
Wetz says he also saw a reduction of other metals in the water, including arsenic, aluminum, iron and selenium by as much as 90 percent.
ARANA has operated for two years at the university’s Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center (CBBIC) receiving support from the university’s business students and water-quality researchers. Soward says the company’s connection to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has propelled his company to success.
“Having the research of a skilled and knowledgeable professor validating the results of our work is making a big difference in how ARANA’s frac water recycling technologies performance has been viewed by the industry,” he says. “With the CBBIC providing support on the business end, Corpus Christi will be where the future of clean water is.”
As more oil and gas companies come under scrutiny for water use, more attention is being given to frac water recovery and reuse.
ARANA holds four patents related to water sterilization, treatment and recycling. Wetz served as an independent and neutral participant in recording the effectiveness of ARANA’s advanced oxidation treatment system.
“These same technologies also have tremendous potential for drinking water treatment, as they also kill all microorganisms,” Soward says. “We can sterilize and treat drinking water much less expensively than traditional technologies and chemical-free.”
The ARANA process has been at work at frac sites since March, including one near McAllen, Texas.
“The water started out pitch black and smelling atrocious and ended up looking crystal clear and having no smell,” he says.
About ARANA
ARANA Water Technologies, LLC is a Texas company established to develop and market patented water treatment technologies for municipal, industrial, mining, oilfield and residential applications. For more information, visit www.aranatec.com.
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