STILLWATER, Okla. (May 18, 2026) —
Oklahoma researchers have developed new ways to clean and reuse water produced during oil and gas drilling. This breakthrough could help protect the state’s water supply and reduce waste from energy production.
The research was part of a five‑year project called Socially Sustainable Solutions for Water, Carbon, and Infrastructure Resilience in Oklahoma (S3OK). Researchers worked in with D&B Operating LLC. They are sharing their findings in a new study titled “Enhancing Water Availability for Agricultural and Oilfield Applications.”
As Oklahoma grows, need for water is expected to rise 33 percent by 2060. Water use for oil and gas companies is expected to nearly triple by 2060, according to the “2012 Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan.”
One major challenge is produced water, which is a byproduct (wastewater) that comes out of the well during oil and gas production. This water can contain salt, chemicals and other pollutants.
“For every barrel of oil produced, nearly 9-10 barrels of PW [produced water]… are generated, totaling approximately 25 billion barrels per year in the US and 70 billion barrels globally,” says the study, “Oklahoma is a leading U.S. oil and gas producer, resulting in large amounts of water brought to the surface alongside oil and natural gas production.”
The S3OK team tested new methods that could make treatment easier and more affordable:
— Reduced-chemical treatment — New methods to treat produced water using fewer chemicals, lowering cost and environmental impact
— Rare earth element recovery — Techniques to extract lanthanum, a rare earth element, from produced water. This material is used in electronics and could turn waste into a valuable resource.
— Bioremediation — Methods to remove dissolved hydrocarbons using microbes to break down pollutants naturally
— Next-generation desalination — Showed that membrane distillation can handle produced water at virtually any salinity level when organic materials are removed beforehand
These advances bring produced-water reuse closer to reality. A pilot program focused on agricultural applications and rare-earth element recovery is now being planned.
Researchers are also working to create a Produced Water Consortium in Oklahoma. The group would help continue research and share solutions statewide.
The S3OK project is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Langston University, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, the University of Tulsa, East Central University and the Noble Research Institute. Funding was provided by a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation and generous $4 million support from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, administered through the Oklahoma Established Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research (OK EPSCoR).
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The “Enhancing Water Availability for Agricultural and Oilfield Applications” chapter is available at https://shareok.org//handle/11244/342358
This material is based on work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. OIA-1946093. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation or Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.