GRAD Alumni Research Award 2017 Recipient: Bingjie Ouyang, Earth Sciences
In the process of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for oil and gas extraction directly from black shale, large volumes of wastewater, that includes fracturing fluids and natural brines from the underground rock formation, return to the surface within weeks after fracking. The total volume of wastewater production in Pennsylvania alone has exceeded 40 million barrels per year since 2012, and the number has been increasing. The wastewaters are often highly saline and contain elevated concentrations of radium (Ra) (up to 7000 pCi/L) and barium (Ba) (up to 10000 ppm).
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