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Due to its high salinity and substantial production volume, flowback and produced water (FPW) from hydraulic fracturing operations of unconventional hydrocarbon plays has raised significant concerns regarding its proper disposal and treatment. In this study, fabricated polypyrrole (PPy) /cellulose-based composite aerogels were investigated for the treatment of practical FPW from the Montney Formation in Western Canada through interfacial solar evaporation. Through freeze-casting and in-situ growth of PPy on the aerogels, the fabricated PPy/cellulose aerogel evaporators demonstrated competitive FPW treatment capability as indicated by a freshwater collection rate of over 1. 1 kg·m −2 ·h −1 using a purpose-made collector with different FPW samples. The purity of water collected from the condensed vapor was dramatically enhanced in comparison with original FPW samples. Meanwhile, collection experiments were conducted under various conditions to investigate the impact of different environmental factors, and a series of long-term test were performed to evaluate the durability of the fabricated evaporators. Based on experimental results, multiple technical and economic analyses with various scenarios were conducted in this study, with the lowest levelized cost of US9 per m 3 of FPW. The promising results from these investigations revealed the technical and economic potential of high-salinity wastewater treatment through interfacial solar evaporation in practical applications. • PPy/CA evaporator was studied for interfacial solar FPW treatment. • Condensed water from FPW treatment with PPy/CA showed improved purity. • PPy/CA showed great durability in long-term stability tests with practical FPW. • Techno-economic analysis revealed great potential for FPW treatment with PPy/CA. • Salt collection could be integrated into the process for zero-liquid discharge.
Zhou et al. (Tue,) studied this question.