Characterization, Toxicology and Environmental Impact

Browse our research publications.

Characterization, Toxicology and Environmental Impact

Focus: PW quality, toxicity, radionuclides, datasets, environmental risks

A modeling framework for technical, economic, energetic, and environmental assessment of produced water pretreatment from oil and gas industry

Lugo, A., Mejia-Saucedo, C., Senanayake, P. S., Stoll, Z., Sitterley, K., Wang, H., Kota, K., Kuravi, S., Fthenakis, V., Kurup, P., Xu, P.

"This study evaluates pretreatment options for high-salinity produced water using a modeling framework. Electrocoagulation with activated carbon was the most effective method, balancing treatment performance with waste reduction, though at higher cost and emissions. Findings emphasize the critical role of pretreatment in improving water reuse efficiency."

Lugo, A., Mejia-Saucedo, C., Senanayake, P. S., Stoll, Z., Sitterley, K., Wang, H., Kota, K., Kuravi, S., Fthenakis, V., Kurup, P., Xu, P. (12 May 2025). A modeling framework for technical, economic, energetic, and environmental assessment of produced water pretreatment from oil and gas industry. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 13 (2025) 117026 2213-3437/© 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.117026

Tarazona, Y., Hightower, M., Xu, P., Zhang, Y.

This study evaluated the performance of a novel pilot-scale low-temperature thermal distillation system treating hypersline produced water from the Permian Basin. The system showed a robust performance during the operation and effectively reduced salinity (>99%), major ions (95–99%), heavy metals (60–100%), ammonia (93%), and organics (43–60%) in feed PW. However, the distillate still had residual volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, metals, and ammonia, which caused the toxicity. This study provides insight into additional polishing steps that may be coupled with distillation to achieve non-toxic effluents suitable for discharge.

Tarazona, Y., Hightower, M., Xu, P., Zhang, Y. (2024). Treatment of produced water from the Permian Basin: Chemical and toxicological characterization of the effluent from a pilot-scale low-temperature distillation system. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 67, 106146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2024.106146

Tarazona, Y., Wang, H. B., Hightower, M., Xu, P., Zhang, Y.

This study evaluated a treatment train that included a low-temperature thermal distillation pilot system followed by granular activated carbon (GAC) and zeolite post-treatment for processing hypersaline Permian Basin PW. The distillate integrated with GAC and zeolite can reduce the concentration of potential stressors in the final effluent to below detection limits. This resulted in a consistent toxicity reduction across all whole effluent toxicity tests. This study realizes the feasibility of treating PW to non-toxic levels and meeting reuse and discharge requirements.

Tarazona, Y., Wang, H. B., Hightower, M., Xu, P., Zhang, Y. (2024). Benchmarking produced water treatment strategies for non-toxic effluents: integrating thermal distillation with granular activated carbon and zeolite post-treatment. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 478, 135549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.135549

Analysis of regulatory framework for produced water management and reuse in major oil and gas producing regions in the United States.

Jiang, W., Lin, L., Xu, X., Wang, H., Xu, P.

“This study reviews the current regulatory framework for produced water production, management, and reuse in the major oil and gas production areas in the U.S., including Appalachian Basin, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming.”

Jiang, W., Lin, L., Xu, X., Wang, H., Xu, P. (2022) Analysis of regulatory framework for produced water management and reuse in major oil and gas producing regions in the United States. Water 14 (14), 2162. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/14/2162

Characterization of Produced Water and Surrounding Surface Water in the Permian Basin, the United States.

Jiang, W., Xu, X., Hall, R., Zhang, Y., Carroll, K.C., Ramos, F., Engle, M.A., Lin, L., Wang, H., Sayer, M., Xu, P.

“In this research, over 300 analytes for organics, inorganics, and radionuclides were quantitatively analyzed in produced water (PW) samples from the Permian Basin and in surface water samples from the Pecos River in New Mexico. This study provides baseline analytical information to advance PW research for potential reuse and fills the knowledge gap regarding PW quality to support science-based decision making.

Jiang, W., Xu, X., Hall, R., Zhang, Y., Carroll, K.C., Ramos, F., Engle, M.A., Lin, L., Wang, H., Sayer, M., Xu, P. (2022). Characterization of Produced Water and Surrounding Surface Water in the Permian Basin, the United States. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 430, 128409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128409

Toxicological characterization of produced water from the Permian Basin.

Hu, L., Jiang, W., Xu, X., Wang, H., Carroll, K.C., Xu, P., Zhang, Y.

“In this study, an in vitro toxicity assessment was conducted using aquatic microorganisms to explore toxicological characteristics of produced water (PW) from the Permian Basin, New Mexico. It was found that high salinity, organic contaminants, metals, and ammonia present in PW are major toxicity drivers and need to be removed for fit-for-purpose beneficial uses of treated PW.”

Hu, L., Jiang, W., Xu, X., Wang, H., Carroll, K.C., Xu, P., Zhang, Y. (2022). Toxicological characterization of produced water from the Permian Basin. Science of The Total Environment. 815(1), 152943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.152943

Occurrence and behavior of uranium and thorium series radionuclides in the Permian shale hydraulic fracturing wastes.

Thakur, P., Ward, A.L., Schaub, T.M.

“This study explored the risk of releasing radioactive materials during the oil and gas recovery process in the Permian Basin, New Mexico. The results confirmed the presence of radioactive materials (²²⁴Ra, ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra) in addition to dissolved salts, divalent cations, and high total dissolved solids in the hydraulic fracturing wastes.”

Thakur, P., Ward, A.L., Schaub, T.M. (2022). Occurrence and behavior of uranium and thorium series radionuclides in the Permian shale hydraulic fracturing wastes. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 29 (28), 43058-43071. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-021-18022-z

A Critical Review of Analytical Methods for Comprehensive Characterization of Produced Water.

Jiang, W., Lin, L., Xu. X., Cheng, X., Zhang, Y., Hall, R., Xu, P.

“This paper broadly discusses current analytical techniques for produced water characterization, including both standard and research methods. Multi-tiered analytical procedures are proposed including field sampling; sample preservation; pretreatment techniques; basic water quality measurements; organic, inorganic, and radioactive materials analysis; and biological characterization.”

Jiang, W., Lin, L., Xu. X., Cheng, X., Zhang, Y., Hall, R., Xu, P. (2021). A Critical Review of Analytical Methods for Comprehensive Characterization of Produced Water. Water, 2021, 13(2), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13020183

Produced Water Quality Spatial Variability and Alternative-Source Water Analysis Applied to the Permian Basin, USA.

Chaudhary, B.,Sabie, R., Engle, M., Xu, P., Willman, S.,Carroll, K.

“In this research, geochemical variability of produced water from Guadalupian (Middle Permian) to Ordovician formations was statistically and geo-statistically evaluated in the western half of the Permian Basin using the US Geological Survey’s Produced Waters Geochemical Database and the New Mexico Water and Infrastructure Data System.”

Chaudhary, B.,Sabie, R., Engle, M., Xu, P., Willman, S.,Carroll, K. (2019) Produced Water Quality Spatial Variability and Alternative-Source Water Analysis Applied to the Permian Basin, USA. Hydrogeology Journal, 27, 2889-2905. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10040-019-02054-4