Episode 19 | Hydraulic Hydrocarbons | Select Energy Services
Finally, we're covering my old job.
Fracking has changed international energy dynamics, and it would not be possible without water treatment. In 2010 I was first introduced to the concept of frackwater recycling. In those early years, companies were small, but today several large corporations have emerged.
The industry leader in water services is Select Energy Services, Inc., a Gainesville, Texas-based company. Select's initial public offering (NYSE: WTTR) was made in April, and the following week I was able to talk to their director of water technologies, Clay Maugans, Ph.D.
I first met Clay in 2011, shortly after Select had acquired partial ownership interest in a water treatment startup I was working for. Clay says he "caught the bug" that fracking promised and has been with Select ever since.
Water services are generally broken down into a few groups:
- Transfer—Pumping and storage of water during and after fracks
- Treatment—Preparing water for fracking. This also includes recycling.
- Disposal—Permanent storage of frackwater
Over the years I have been exposed to dozens of water treatment technologies. However no matter how many "magic boxes" there claim to be, these technologies usually fall into the following categories:
- Chemical Oxidation—Using an oxidizing chemicals such as Chlorine Dioxide (ClO2) to change the water chemically to facilitate the removal of iron, oil, and organic material. At one of my companies, we built dozens of mobile ClO2 units to treat frackwater "on the fly," or as it was being piped at a high velocity to be pumped downhole for fracking.
- Filtration—Mechanical removal of suspended solids in water. Some advanced filtration such as Reverse Osmosis, can actually filter salt out of water.
- Chemical Precipitation—A cocktail of chemicals to bind up or "coagulate" impurities, then remove them. Clay calls this "Flock and drop."
- Dissolved Air Flotation—One of my favorite technologies. Combined with chemicals, a DAF uses microscopic air bubbles to lift impurities and remove them from water.
- Electrocoagulation—The first water treatment I was exposed to. Water passes between electrified metal plates, whose ions attach to impurities in the water. Another form of Flock and Drop.
Clay and I discussed the changes we've seen since the "early days" of water treatment (6 years ago). Of course, margins have become tighter and companies have consolidated. But I was surprised to hear Clay muse that he believed small innovative startups are still possible in this field. He, and I, are always on the lookout for the next magic box!
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