Ecosphere signs Oklahoma water-recycling deal

Stuart, Fla.-based Ecosphere Technologies said today it signed an agreement with Houston, Texas-based Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX), an oil and natural gas exploration company, to provide water-recycling technology designed to reduce well costs and environmental contaminants.

This is the third water-recycling deal Ecosphere has signed in three months based on the company’s mobile water technology and its first in Oklahoma (see Ecosphere shows mobile water purification system to FEMA).

Water is used to extract natural gas from the ground but is contaminated in the process with hydrocarbons, salts and dissolved solids. Engineers estimate that a well can use as much as two-to-four million gallons of fresh water for drilling (see New all-in-one disaster relief system).

Wastewater is typically disposed of by injecting it deep into wells.

Because it's critical for natural gas extraction, researchers and private companies have been focused on new technologies to recycle the contaminated water. The company said recycling fresh water at the site of a well is a breakthrough for the natural gas industry. 

By recycling water at a natural gas site, the company said, drilling companies can reduce costs, traffic and CO² truck emissions carrying water to and from the drilling location.

Cleantech developments making news in the past 24 hours

• AES raises $1.58B with China Investment
• Patently unobvious

View the last week of cleantech developments here | Subscribe to full feed