Fast Oil In Water Analysis Would Help Fracking

Relatively small quantities of hydrocarbon have the potential to contaminate enormous volumes of water resources, so fast onsite oil in water analysis is an important protective measure in a wide variety of applications such as fracking and those involving the production, handling, storage and distribution of oils and fuels. Quantitech (UK) Managing Director Keith Golding says "If fracking is to become popular in the UK, onsite analysis will be necessary to appease the environmental concerns of those that oppose the technique.”

A US report, published 15th February 2012, highlights the important potential of 'fracking' to protect energy security, but warns that the technique has been mired in controversy after claims that fracking causes damage to health and the environment. Fracking uses high pressure water mixed with particles and chemicals to break gas-rich shale rocks apart more than a kilometre underground. The amount of water used in and produced by hydraulic fracturing of shale gas wells is in the millions of gallons per well. Whether the water is going to be taken off site for disposal or reused for re-injection, the flowback or produced water needs pre-treatment to remove any residual oil from the water.

Portable, lightweight and battery powered, the InfraCal TOG/TPH Analysers enable oil in water testing at the well site in less than 10 minutes. Testing requires a few simple steps that can be performed by non-technical personnel; the water is simply mixed with the extraction solvent, shaken, and then presented to the InfraCal Analyser for measurement.

The same InfraCal TOG/TPH Analyser can also be used for TPH in soil if a spill or pond leak occurs, to determine the area of contamination.