Issue 2, 2019

Degradation of polyethylene glycols and polypropylene glycols in microcosms simulating a spill of produced water in shallow groundwater

Abstract

Polyethylene glycols (PEGs) and polypropylene glycols (PPGs) are frequently used in hydraulic fracturing fluids and have been detected in water returning to the surface from hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells in multiple basins. We identified degradation pathways and kinetics for PEGs and PPGs under conditions simulating a spill of produced water to shallow groundwater. Sediment-groundwater microcosm experiments were conducted using four produced water samples from two Denver-Julesburg Basin wells at early and late production. High-resolution mass spectrometry was used to identify the formation of mono- and di-carboxylated PEGs and mono-carboxylated PPGs, which are products of PEG and PPG biodegradation, respectively. Under oxic conditions, first-order half-lives were more rapid for PEGs (<0.4–1.1 d) compared to PPGs (2.5–14 d). PEG and PPG degradation corresponded to increased relative abundance of primary alcohol dehydrogenase genes predicted from metagenome analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. Further degradation was not observed under anoxic conditions. Our results provide insight into the differences between the degradation rates and pathways of PEGs and PPGs, which may be utilized to better characterize shallow groundwater contamination following a release of produced water.

Graphical abstract: Degradation of polyethylene glycols and polypropylene glycols in microcosms simulating a spill of produced water in shallow groundwater

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 jun 2018
Accepted
08 sep 2018
First published
11 sep 2018

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2019,21, 256-268

Author version available

Degradation of polyethylene glycols and polypropylene glycols in microcosms simulating a spill of produced water in shallow groundwater

J. D. Rogers, E. M. Thurman, I. Ferrer, J. S. Rosenblum, M. V. Evans, P. J. Mouser and J. N. Ryan, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2019, 21, 256 DOI: 10.1039/C8EM00291F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements