According to the Groundwater Foundation, fracking is becoming a hazard to the groundwater in the U.S. Fracking is an oil and gas well development process that uses water in high pressure to increase the flow of oil or gas (or both) into bedrock. This is done through a well, and the process is used to find and refine petroleum in rock formations throughout the nation.

While fracking is creating a boom in gas prices, it is having a negative effect on our groundwater supply. Pollutants including oil, gas and other chemicals are mixed into the water existing in wells as well as that being injected into the bedrock. To save the consumable water supply, HYDRASEP uses a low-flow system to move oil and other substances from water. Once those contaminants are removed, the treated water can be reused. In fact, the HYDRASEP system is designed to handle This system is specifically designed to handle extreme changes in the flow rate and water contamination, and it’s exceptionally adept at treating liquids in multi-well fracking systems.

HYDRASEP is an economical resource for separating oil and gas resulting from fracking. The system does not use meshes or filters and has no moving parts that can fail, which makes it a low-maintenance approach resulting in high-performance results.

For more information about HYDRASEP’s groundwater treatment system for the fracking industry, contact HYDRASEP at 662-429-4088 or toll free at 800-646-5439.

The old adage that oil and water don’t mix is somewhat true, but when it comes to fracking, oil and water can – and do – mix, and it can cause environmental pollution and other problems to living beings.

HYDRASEP has developed a system to separate oil and other immiscible liquids from water. This system is based on Stoke’s law, a principle of physics, which has to do with how irregular shapes, like oily liquids, move through fluids like water.

When any solid or liquid object moves through a fluid, it creates drag. Specifically, viscous drag. As this substance falls through the liquid, it creates velocity (the equivalent speed and direction of motion). As the substance’s velocity increases, it will eventually reach its terminal velocity, which is when the drag is balanced by gravitational force exerted upon it and its constant velocity.

Got all that? No worry. The long and short of it is once oil is in water, it’s really hard to separate if there is no motion imposed upon it. That’s where the HYDRASEP system comes in, which is specifically designed to move oily substances and make them cluster together so they can be removed all at once.

HYDRASEP’s bubble spin principle provides motion to water so solid objects will settle and can be accumulated. The second phase of the bubble spin principle is to keep the oil and water from remixing. Once the water has been treated, it can be discharged, recycled or transferred on for other treatment or uses.

Forget acid rain. After flowing across roadways, gutters and ditches, water from storms can be full of pollutants, which can settle in ground water and pollute the environment if not treated. Think about the fluids from vehicles left behind on roads, shoulders and parking areas, or the trash collecting along sidewalks and fields. All of that has to go somewhere, and that somewhere, more often than not, is in our water supply.

Enter the bioswale. A drainage system that works with the environment, bioswales capture water runoff from storms and reduce the amount of water flowing into waterways. By using earth-friendly resources such as plants and mulch, pollutants like hydrocarbons, metals and other sediments are removed before it affects the water in streams, rivers and the ground. The system and the materials of a bioswale work together to protect the overall health of the environment.

A bioswale is just one of the ways HYDRASEP® is able to handle stormwater remediation. In fact, concerns for the country’s water supply have led to more regulations, including the Clean Water Act. HYDRASEP is experienced at handling stormwater and other unique HYDRASEP® design enables superior performance (10 ppm or less) without the use of closely-spaced horizontal or inclined coalescing plates, filters or meshes.

Standard models are designed for intermittent and variable flows from 0 to 2,000 gallons per minute containing up to 50 percent hydrocarbon concentrations. For larger flows, incorporating a patented HYDRAPASS® bypass basin allows for greater flow capabilities and reduced system costs without sacrificing performance. With a HYDRAPASS®, the “first flush” is sent to the HYDRASEP® and, as the storm intensity increases, subsequent clean stormwater is diverted for direct discharge. The HYDRAPASS® also provides additional sediment and floating trash retention.

For more information about a bioswale or other stormwater remediation for power plants, scrap metal yards, pipeline terminals, airports, transformer yards, vehicle maintenance facilities, railroad yards or truck stops, contact HYDRASEP at 662-429-4088 or toll free at 800-646-5439.

Produced water is made up of what is under the layer of oil in a reservoir, which occurs naturally, and the water injected into crevices through fracking. When used to increase the production of oil or natural gas, the naturally-occurring and injection water combine with the oil for the total fluid obtained, and the water portion must be managed. This means treatment before it’s recycled and placed back into the environment.

HYDRASEP uses processes in which the water from fracking is treated and returned to ground or offshore wells. Here’s what happens: this water is composed of both organic and inorganic substances. Some of these substances are dissolved in the fracking water, and others are suspended in it. What happens is the water extracted from the well could be a different composition from the water surrounding it, and returning it could upset the environment. Wells can be on land or offshore. If offshore, it could be deep or shallow sea. All these factors must be considered when treating the produced water and returning it. For example, if the water is from the ocean, it will be too salty to return on land.

HYDRASEP treats the water produced from fracking and injects it back into the environment after it’s treated to encourage better flow of oil. This accomplishes a few things: it filters the water through rock and sand, which removes the tiniest solid particles, and allows for better oil and gas extraction.

Biodiesel is a more environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional fossil fuels. Developed from recycled oil rendered from animals (lard), soybeans and other fats used mostly for cooking, biodiesel is not only approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, but it also has reached a production of a billion gallons to date in the United States along. It’s no small feat to create a fuel that uses readily-available ingredients to power commercial engines, and an even bigger accomplishment to have it designated as an advanced biofuel from the EPA. However, biodiesel production requires filtration and separation much like other traditional fossil fuels. HYDRASEP has separators and processes to isolate wash water, glycerin and other substances from biodiesel. Regardless of the production process, HYDRASEP can customize the separation procedure to meet production needs.

HYDRASEP separators pretreat waste oil, separate water from acid esterification and biodiesel and glycerin from methyl esters. They also can recover solids from dry wash in the process.

Our separators save time, space and energy, making the biodiesel product even more efficient and environmentally-conscious. With no moving parts or parts to replace, our process uses no power, which eliminates any production of heat. This means no operating or maintenance costs, which means more profit margin for the biodiesel producer.

Biodiesel is made with renewable resources, have lower emissions and are less toxic than traditional fuels, and it greatly reduces this country’s dependence on foreign oil. Available across the nation, biodiesel has more potential for a positive impact on transportation, the environment and the economy than any other fuel source available today.

Watch the news interview with our owner Larry Matthews. In the interview, Larry discusses how the HYDRASEP® can help with an oil spill.

HYDRASEP® in the News