Using glass to recycle production and frac waters

Friday, June 22, 2012

Produced Water Absorbents (PWA), a company based in Wooster, Ohio, has won a $500,000 grant from the US National Science Foundation, to develop technology for recycling production and frac waters, using an absorbent glass material.

The system can remove nearly all dispersed and soluble hydrocarbons from the water streams, so the water can be used again.

The company will use the funding to develop the materials so the pore structures are the ideal size for oil industry use.

The development follows demonstration projects in 2011 and early 2012.

The company is a subsidiary of ABSMaterials, and has venture capital investment from Energy Ventures of Norway, and Harris and Harris Group, Inc. of New York City.

ABSMaterials develops materials under the "Osorb" name for water treatment.

"Our firm works in an increasingly integrated ecosystem of academic, government and industrial innovators working to bring novel solutions to global water problems," said Stephen Spoonamore, CEO of ABS.
"Water is unfortunately still taken for granted far too often.'