1. Shale gas extraction via horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (HF) has enhanced gas production worldwide, but poses risks to water quality and quantity.
2. Wastewater from HF contains potentially toxic elements at variable rates, and current treatment strategies are inadequate for reuse or surface discharge.
3. This review focuses on characterizing HF wastewater and establishing strategies to mitigate environmental impacts, such as advanced technologies for membrane separation/distillation, forward osmosis, mechanical vapor compression, electrocoagulation, advanced oxidation, and adsorption-biological treatment.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of the risks associated with shale gas extraction via hydraulic fracturing (HF), as well as potential strategies for mitigating these risks. The article is well-researched and provides a thorough analysis of the potential risks posed by HF wastewater, including organic compounds, metals/metalloids, suspended solids (SS), high salinity and hardness, naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs), etc. The article also provides an in-depth discussion of the various options available for treating HF wastewater, such as deep well injection or on-site re-use as a fracturing fluid.
The article is generally reliable and trustworthy; however there are some areas where it could be improved upon. For example, while the article does provide an overview of the potential risks associated with HF wastewater management, it does not provide any information on how these risks can be mitigated or avoided altogether. Additionally, while the article does discuss various treatment options available for treating HF wastewater, it does not provide any information on how these treatments can be implemented in practice or what their costs may be. Furthermore, while the article does mention some potential environmental impacts of shale gas exploration such as air releases and quality issues related to climate change and GHG emissions, it does not provide any detailed information on how these impacts can be addressed or minimized. Finally, while the article mentions that public health concerns are often contradictory with no clear trend when it comes to land use issues related to shale gas exploration, it fails to provide any further details on this issue or explore possible solutions that could address these concerns.
In conclusion, this article provides a comprehensive overview of the risks associated with shale gas extraction via hydraulic fracturing (HF) as well as potential strategies for mitigating these risks; however there are some areas where it could be improved upon in order to make it more reliable and trustworthy.