Many established companies, such as General Electric Co., and startups are introducing new technologies to handle fracking wastewater.
Fracking wastewater is one of the top environmental concerns the oil and gas industry faces amid the shale gas revolution.
Addressing the issue through new technologies could lessen public fears and create another growing industry.
The frack water treatment industry is expected to grow 28% annually by 2020 to $9 billion, Lux Research reported in May.
Many established companies, such as General Electric Co. (IW 500/5), and startups are introducing new technologies to handle fracking wastewater.
Fracking requires between 25,000 and 140,000 barrels of water per well and produces toxin‐laced brine that can be more than six times as salty as the sea, Lux Research reported in the May study. The storage and disposal of this salty solution has attracted the attention of politicians, environmentalists and citizen groups.
Earlier in the year, earthquakes near fracking wastewater injection wells in Youngstown, Ohio, prompted the state to shut down all wells within a five mile radius of the site. Ohio has been examining new technologies that can help clean fracking water, Gov. John Kasich said in May at an energy conference.
