Aqua-Pure is the premier recycler of industrial wastewater in North America.

MARCELLUS SHALE (Pennsylvania/New York)

The Marcellus Shale – a largely untapped formation extending throughout much of the Appalachian Basin from central New York, through Pennsylvania and West Virginia into Virginia and Tennessee, and as far west as Ohio – is estimated to contain 262 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas (or roughly ten times the volume of the Barnett Shale).

Unlike in Texas, the area offers very limited wastewater disposal options, often involving long-haul transportation over difficult terrain to disposal wells in Ohio or metals-precip plants.

In June 2010, Eureka Resources opened its expanded 60,000-square-foot water treatment facility in downtown Williamsport, PA, in partnership with Aqua-Pure. Initially operating with two NOMAD evaporator units, the plant recycled up to 200,000 gallons of wastewater every day from large Marcellus Shale producers including Range Resources, XTO Energy and Chesapeake Energy.

Also in June, the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) enacted stringent new regulations mandating a maximum of 500 ppm total dissolved solids (TDS) and 250 ppm chlorides in “end of pipe” discharges. Aqua-Pure is recovering an average of 75-80 percent of pure distilled water from the Marcellus Shale wastewater it receives, with TDS measuring well below 150 ppm, and only trace chlorides.

Aqua-Pure is the only company currently operating in Pennsylvania that is exceeding the state’s mandates.

Driven by surging demand for its wastewater treatment processes spurred by the IRRC’s regulations, Aqua-Pure added a third NOMAD evaporator unit at the Williamsport facility in September 2010, boosting the plant’s capacity by 50 percent.