Browsing by Author "Echchelh, Alban"

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    Assessing the environmental sustainability of irrigation with oil and gas produced water in drylands
    (Elsevier, 2019-07-06) Echchelh, Alban; Hess, Tim; Sakrabani, Ruben; de Paz, José Miguel; Visconti, Fernando
    Produced water (PW) is the largest by-product of the oil and gas industry. Its management is both economically and environmentally costly. PW reuse for irrigation offers an alternative to current disposal practices while providing water to irrigators in drylands. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the environmental effects of irrigation with PW. The SALTIRSOIL_M model was used to simulate the irrigation of sugar beet with 15 PWs of a wide range of qualities in four climates of different aridity and on four contrasting soil types. The impacts on soil salinity, sodicity and pH as well as on crop yield and drainage water salinity were estimated. Well-drained soils with low water content at field capacity (Arenosol) are less sensitive to salinisation while a relatively high gypsum content (Gypsisol) makes the soil less vulnerable to both sodification and salinisation. On the contrary, clayey soils with higher water content at field capacity and lower gypsum content must be avoided as the soil structural stability as well as a tolerable soil electrical conductivity for the crop cannot be maintained on the long-term. Soil pH was not found to be sensitive to PW quality. Drainage water quality was found to be closely linked to PW quality although it is also influenced by the soil type. The impact of drainage water on the aquifer must be considered and reuse or disposal implemented accordingly for achieving sustainable irrigation. Finally, increasing aridity intensifies soil and drainage water salinity and sodicity. This investigation highlights the importance of adapting the existing irrigation water quality guidelines through the use of models to include relevant parameters related to soil type and aridity. Indeed, it will support the petroleum industry and irrigators, to estimate the risks due to watering crops with PW and will encourage its sustainable reuse in water-scarce areas.
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    Reusing oil and gas produced water for irrigation of food crops in drylands
    (Elsevier, 2018-05-16) Echchelh, Alban; Hess, Tim; Sakrabani, Ruben
    Water scarcity severely affects drylands threatening their food security, whereas, the oil and gas industry produces significant and increasing volumes of produced water that could be partly reused for agricultural irrigation in these regions. In this review, we summarise recent research and provide a broad overview of the potential for oil and gas produced water to irrigate food crops in drylands. The quality of produced water is often a limiting factor for the reuse in irrigation as it can lead to soil salinisation and sodification. Although the inappropriate use of produced water in irrigation could be damaging for the soil, the agricultural sector in dry areas is often prone to challenges in soil salinity. There is a lack of knowledge about the main environmental and economic conditions that could encourage or limit the development of irrigation with oil and gas effluents at the scale of drylands in the world. Cheaper treatment technologies in combination with farm-based salinity management techniques could make the reuse of produced water relevant to irrigate high value-crops in hyper-arid areas. This review paper approaches an aspect of the energy-water-food nexus: the opportunities and challenges behind the reuse of abundant oil and gas effluents for irrigation in hydrocarbon-rich but water-scarce and food-unsecured drylands.
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    Sustainable reuse of oil wastewater for irrigation in drylands
    (Cranfield University, 2018-10-22 10:11) Echchelh, Alban
    3 Minute Thesis presented at the Cranfield Doctoral Network Annual Event 2018.The oil and gas industry generates significant volumes of wastewater termed 'produced water'. Produced water is usually managed through disposal and discharging techniques which are environmentally and economically costly. A significant share of oil and gas production takes place in water-scarce drylands. Produced water reuse for irrigation offers an alternative to current disposal practices while providing water to farming in drylands. However, the quality of produced water is a limiting factor for the reuse in irrigation as it can lead to soil degradation. The aim of this research is to find out the environmental conditions that determine the level of sustainability of irrigation with produced water in dry areas. A modelling framework combining irrigation simulations with a cost analysis was developed. A soil-water model is used to simulate irrigation in different environments occurring in drylands to assess the impact of irrigation with produced water. Mitigation techniques improving the level of sustainability are also simulated and their costs calculated and compared to conventional disposal techniques. Finally, the framework was applied in a case study to find out the most sustainable irrigation strategies for long-term produced water reuse in a hyper-arid desert. The research revealed that irrigation sustainability mainly depends on produced water quality, soil type and climate aridity. Mitigation strategies such as produced water blending, desalination and soil amendments improve irrigation sustainability at a competitive cost compared to conventional disposal practices. This research identified the boundaries of irrigation sustainability. The modelling framework developed could be used as a decision support tool for stakeholders involved in projects of produced water reuse in irrigation.
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    The sustainability of reusing oil and gas produced water for agricultural irrigation in drylands
    (Cranfield University, 2019-06) Echchelh, Alban; Hess, Tim M.; Sakrabani, Ruben
    Produced water (PW) is the largest waste stream generated from oil and gas (O&G) extraction. Half of global PW (~8.5 km3 /year) is injected into deep disposal wells or discharged on the surface. These practices are controversial due to their environmental impacts causing increased regulation and cost. Meanwhile, water- scarce drylands host significant O&G resources. Reusing PW in irrigation provides an alternative to disposal options and could strengthen agriculture and food security in drylands. However, uncertainties exist regarding the sustainability of this practice. This research addresses these knowledge gaps by evaluating the agro-environmental sustainability and the financial cost of reusing PW in irrigation. First, the existing knowledge about PW irrigation is reviewed to identify the agro-environmental risks posed by this practice and the uncertainties regarding its sustainability. Second, irrigation with PW is simulated using a soil- water model to identify the parameters related to the environment and to the irrigation management which determine the sustainability of irrigation. Finally, a framework combining irrigation modelling and a cost analysis is applied in both regional and industrial case studies to identify agro-environmentally sustainable irrigation strategies with PW and estimate their operating costs. This research demonstrates that irrigation with PW can be agro-environmentally sustainable if natural conditions are favourable such as on gypsum-rich draining soils in the least arid climates. Furthermore, adapted management combining irrigation at a little over the crop water needs (100–110% of the crop water needs) and PW blending in a 1:1 up to 1:4 ratio with treated sewage effluent or desalinated PW can achieve agro-environmentally sustainable irrigation by preserving soil fertility, crop yield and groundwater quality. The cost of managing PW in irrigation estimated between $0.19–$1.09/m³ , is higher or within the cost range of surface PW discharge and lower or within the cost range of injecting PW into deep disposal wells. Further research is needed to test and validate the modelling results in field conditions. A case-by-case approach is recommended to assess the broader economic and social impacts of reusing PW in irrigation.
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    Towards agro-environmentally sustainable irrigation with treated produced water in hyper-arid environments
    (Elsevier, 2020-08-24) Echchelh, Alban; Hess, Tim; Sakrabani, Ruben; Prigent, Stephane; Stefanakis, Alexandros I.
    1. Introduction The extraction of oil and gas (O&G) is accompanied by massive volumes of produced water (PW), which is composed of formation water initially present in the hydrocarbon reservoir and also water that has been injected during O&G operations and comes back to the surface (such as water injected for enhanced oil recovery and hydraulic fracturing) (Engle et al., 2014). By volume, PW is the main by-product associated with the O&G industry (Veil, 2011) and its volume is increasing (Hedar and Budiyono, 2018; Nasiri et al., 2017). In the southeast Arabian Peninsula, for instance, the volume of PW generated by the O&G industry was estimated at 330,000 m3/day in 1997 (Al-Muscati et al., 1997), but is predicted to exceed 1 million m3/day in 2019 (Prabhu, 2018).