1. Bioenergy from Oilfield Produced Water
Ben Peterson1, Jay Barlow1, Jason C. Quinn2, Ron C. Sims1
Utah State University Logan, UT
1Biological Engineering
2Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
peterson.b1993@gmail.com
jay.barlow@aggiemail.usu.edu
jason.quinn@usu.edu
ron.sims@usu.edu
Background
• Algal biomass is cultivated with
a rotating algal biofilm reactor
(RABR) developed at USU.
• Reactor materials include
polystyrene (above), cotton
rope (below left), and cloth pads
(below right).
• Alternative reactor designs and
materials are under
investigation to improve
biomass productivity with
greater attachment and
expanded surface area.
Produced Water
• Industry in the Uintah Basin
generated approximately 93
million barrels of produced
water in 2013 alone.
• The water has high salinity
levels and is contaminated with
hydrocarbons and numerous
other compounds.
• The experimental water sample
was obtained from produced
water evaporation ponds in La
Pointe, Utah.
• The water was collected in two
distinct seasons to diversify
water contamination
concentrations.
• A 500-gallon sample was
gathered for algal biomass
cultivation.
Uintah Basin petroleum resources (image: ShaleExperts) Utah produced water lagoon (image: Marc Silver)
Biofilm Reactors Hydrothermal LiquefactionBiomass Harvest Biocrude
Objectives
• Provide an alternative product for the hydraulic fracturing industry to
offset the high costs of produced water treatment
• Cultivate algal biomass in produced water with a rotating algal biofilm
reactor (RABR) growth system
• Demonstrate remediation of produced water with algae cultivation
• Convert algal biomass to renewable fuels via hydrothermal liquefaction
• Algal biomass is mechanically
harvested from the RABR by
direct scraping.
• The biomass can be converted
into bioproducts including fuels
and feeds.
• Algal biomass is composed of a
robust biofilm polyculture.
• The biofilm polyculture consists
of several species of algae, one
of which was isolated from the
Great Salt Lake (below).
• Wet algal biomass is converted at
high temperature and high
pressure in a hydrothermal
liquefaction reaction (HTL).
• HTL operating conditions:
 Temperature: 325 °C
 Pressure: 14 MPa (2000 psi)
 Retention time: 60 min
• HTL produces four products:
 Biocrude (energy product)
 Gas (energy product)
 Aqueous (fertilizer product)
 Solids
• Biocrude chemical composition
and energy content are
comparable to petroleum crude.
• A yield of 35% afdw was
obtained in laboratory HTL tests
and 58% of feedstock energy
was recovered in the biocrude.
• Biocrude can be refined into an
array of drop-in renewable
fuels:
BIOCRUDE
RENEWABLE DIESEL
RENEWABLE GASOLINE
The extraction of oil and gas results in large quantities of wastewater, or
produced water, with nutrients and residual organic chemicals that
represent a significant resource for producing energy-related and value
added products. The goal of this project is to demonstrate the
production of these products and the simultaneous treatment of the
produced water using algae cultivation in a unique engineered system
to stimulate economic growth and to enhance human health and the
environment in Utah’s Uintah Basin. This poster presents the USU part
of the project; BYU (Dr. Hansen) tests biogas production from algae, and
the UofU (Dr. Hong) treats produced water with ozone and filtration.