Produced Water - Produced as by-product along with oil and gas
Q. What is ‘Produced Water’?- Published on 09 Sep 16a. It is leached out of nuclear waste
b. It is generated during nuclear reaction
c. It is related to oil and gas
d. It is leached out of organic wastes.
ANSWER: It is related to oil and gas
- Produced water is a term used in the oil industry to describe water that is produced as a byproduct along with the oil and gas.
- Oil and gas reservoirs often have water as well as hydrocarbons, sometimes in a zone that lies under the hydrocarbons, and sometimes in the same zone with the oil and gas.
- Oil wells sometimes produce large volumes of water with the oil, while gas wells tend to produce water in smaller proportion.
- To achieve maximum oil recovery, water flooding is often implemented, in which water is injected into the reservoirs to help force the oil to the production wells.
- Much produced water is brine, and has total dissolved solids too high for use as drinking water or in agriculture.
- Some produced water contains heavy metals and traces of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), which over time deposits radioactive scale in the piping at the well.
- Metals found in produced water include zinc, lead, manganese, iron, and barium.
