RECOVERY OF WASTE BRINES FOR HIGHWAY APPLICATIONS
William A. Sack, Professor
Ronald W. Eck, Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV 26506
Carmen R. Romano, Engineer
EG and G-WASC, Inc.
Morgantown, WV 26505
INTRODUCTION
Waste liquids arising from oil and gas production may be divided into three categories: drilling
fluids and muds, chemical treatment fluids and produced brines. This paper focuses on the quality
and quantity of produced brines and the potential for recovery of these waste fluids for use in highway
applications. Brines are separated from the oil and/or gas as they reach the surface and are often
placed in temporary storage at the wellhead. For example, in West Virginia above-ground covered
steel or fiberglass tanks designed to hold 100 barrels of brine (4200 gallons) are typically provided.
In some states lined or unlined pits or ponds or buried metal or concrete tanks have been utilized
for brine storage. However, unlined ponds and buried tanks are often a source of ground water
pollution and their use is being discontinued in most states.
CURRENT BRINE DISPOSAL PRACTICES
Brine disposal practices may be divided into the broad categories of surface discharge, subsurface
discharge, evaporation, and roadway application. Approximately 30 states produce some amount of
oil and/or natural gas and brine handling practices vary considerably because of variations in climate,
geology, brine quantity and quality produced and regulatory framework. Surface discharge of brines
to land or surface waters occurs in both an uncontrolled and a controlled manner. Wells are so
numerous in some states that it is extremely difficult for regulatory agencies to cope with the problem,
and a significant amount of brine is discharged in an uncontrolled manner. For example, Templeton
and Associates [1] reported in a survey of brine production and disposal in Ohio that 40,000 barrels
per day (BPD) of salt water were produced in 1979, and that 75% (30,000 BPD) were disposed of
by unknown means. Controlled surface discharge is practiced in some states where brine may be
discharged by simple dilution through an existing municipal or industrial treatment facility. Treatment facilities built solely for oil and gas industry wastes are operational in some states including
Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Treatment includes gravity separation of oils, pH adjustment and
use of lagoons for aeration and sedimentation prior to discharge in proportion to stream flow. Another type of surface discharge is via ocean disposal as practiced in some coastal states such as Louisiana.
Use of subsurface disposal wells for disposal of brine is probably the most widely used controlled
method especially in the western and southern oil and gas producing states. Wells may be drilled
specifically for disposal or may be dry holes or abandoned wells converted to disposal use. Disposal
of brines to subsurface formations to increase reservoir yields via injection wells is also carried out.
This practice may be termed water flooding, secondary recovery, or repressuring [2].
Subsurface disposal is the method of choice in states such as Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and
Texas. For example, there are approximately 4000 disposal wells and 2000 injection wells in Kansas
alone. However, for a number of reasons the use of disposal or injection wells is much less common
east of the Mississippi River in states such as West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.
Successful disposal requires the availability of permeable formations sufficiently thick to accom-
213