Analyzing Water Quality of Produced Water in Kern County through Geochemical Modeling and GIS Mapping
Poster Number
05B
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Mary Kay Camarillo
Faculty Mentor Department
Civil Engineering
Additional Faculty Mentor Name
Daniel Jontof-Hutter
Additional Faculty Mentor Department
Physics
Abstract/Artist Statement
Produced water is a significant environmental problem in the realm of wastewater management; its high mineral content poses challenges for treatment. Chemical speciation modeling can assist in developing appropriate treatment strategies. The goal of this research project was to devise a method to analyze the water quality of produced water in Kern County, California, which contains a major oil and gas producing region, as well as a productive agricultural industry. PHREEQC was used to estimate precipitation potential of produced water originating from eight oil wells in Kern County, California, which were chosen for high alkalinity, iron, calcium, or sulfate content. A dataset containing data on the constituents of produced water samples was obtained from a state agency. Open source software QGIS was used to map the wells and analyze the ion concentration and depth data geographically. One of the major accomplishments of the project was creating a python script, which manages a dataset of produced water constituents and creates 18 input files to automate PHREEQC geochemical modeling. The demonstration of the automated input files is pending based on the availability of a computer cluster within the School of Engineering and Computer Science.
Location
DeRosa University Center Ballroom
Start Date
27-4-2018 12:30 PM
End Date
27-4-2018 2:30 PM
Analyzing Water Quality of Produced Water in Kern County through Geochemical Modeling and GIS Mapping
DeRosa University Center Ballroom
Produced water is a significant environmental problem in the realm of wastewater management; its high mineral content poses challenges for treatment. Chemical speciation modeling can assist in developing appropriate treatment strategies. The goal of this research project was to devise a method to analyze the water quality of produced water in Kern County, California, which contains a major oil and gas producing region, as well as a productive agricultural industry. PHREEQC was used to estimate precipitation potential of produced water originating from eight oil wells in Kern County, California, which were chosen for high alkalinity, iron, calcium, or sulfate content. A dataset containing data on the constituents of produced water samples was obtained from a state agency. Open source software QGIS was used to map the wells and analyze the ion concentration and depth data geographically. One of the major accomplishments of the project was creating a python script, which manages a dataset of produced water constituents and creates 18 input files to automate PHREEQC geochemical modeling. The demonstration of the automated input files is pending based on the availability of a computer cluster within the School of Engineering and Computer Science.