Tanner Conley
Staff Writer
Water is the very basis of life on this Earth. However, some climate zones, like Wyoming, do not have an endless supply of usable water to sustain itself and its various operations.
Civil and Architectural Engineering Associate Professor Jonathan Brant is leading the movement to do something about the lack of water in Wyoming. Brant recently made headlines by becoming one of only four research projects to receive a Department of Energy grant of one million dollars.
“Wyoming’s an arid state. We are water-poor, if you will. We have ground waters but often they are saline/brackish. We have produced water, which is not really usable for much right now,” Brant said. “So, I think long term we are trying to provide a safety net for Wyoming citizens by giving us other water options.”
The term ‘produced water’ is used to describe any groundwater that is pulled out of the ground alongside oil and gas, according to the American Geosciences Institute. Also known by the term “flow back water,” this composition is the product of any oil and gas extraction and can also occur as a result of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” But too often this water is rendered unusable in today’s society.
“There are lots of different uses for water. And each one of those uses has different requirements. For example, the water that you drink has a set of requirements. The water that you put on your grass has a set of requirements,” Brant said.
Produced water cannot be used for drinking or watering plants due to its high levels or saline, oil and gas residue and even naturally occurring radioactive elements. Removing these harmful contaminants and reusing the water they were formerly apart of is the focus of Brant’s research project.
“We call that ‘treat-to-need’, trying not to waste a lot of money from an energy perspective, just to remove the things that need to be removed just so the water can be re-used for some [other] purpose,” Brant said. “Produced waters are particularly complex. So, the challenge is to try and remove those impurities with the least amount of energy possible. Our little niche area is we focus on membrane technologies, so trying to develop new membrane processes or new membrane materials to get those contaminants out.”
These membranes act as filters through which the water is passed through. The harmful contaminants are often microscopic and potentially radioactive, which makes these filters much more complex than your average water filter. This practice is not yet commonplace in oil and gas refineries, but Brant said he and his team hope to make it so.
“Kind of near-term what we’d like to do, is a spinoff company,” said Brant. “An outcome of this product is an actual working prototype, which is one of many steps of trying to get to commercialization. When I retire, if we were able to do something like that, I’d say it was a success.”
Any assignment, personal or professional, there are lessons to be learned. This government-funded and nationally recognized research study is no different.
“My most important lesson is: nothing is simple. The biggest lesson learned is how to formulate and ask a question. Identifying a knowledge gap and then building the question around that and then to plan and try and answer that question,” Brant said.
Brant and his research team, consisting of both master’s and doctoral graduate students, along with a research technician and sporadic assistance from undergraduate researchers will continue their research as long as necessary to ensure the state’s water future.
