By the Star-Tribune staff

October 6, 2010 -- RAWLINS - A unique new reclamation facility in southern Wyoming's Red Desert that aims to make millions of gallons of water produced from oil and gas drilling reusable will begin production today.

The grand opening of the Red Desert Water Reclamation facility is set for 11:30 this morning at the project site just off Riner Road.

The plant in Carbon County will be able to accept and treat about 20,000 barrels of produced water daily, company officials said in a media release. Oil and gas operators within a 100-mile radius are expected to make use of the facility.

Oil and gas drilling produces large amounts of water, much of which is contaminated with mineral solids, oils and hydrofracturing chemicals.

Produced water is generally not reused in the industry. Currently, most of the water is either injected deep into well sites or left in evaporation ponds.

Company officials said the approximately $8 million reclamation plant located on a 100-acre site about 15 miles west of Rawlins will render the water clean enough for agricultural use.

The Portsmouth, N.H.-based investment company Cate Street Capital owns the Red Desert project.

Clean Runner, which developed the plant's technology, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cate Street Capital. Officials said the technology -- which has not been deployed before in this configuration -- was developed by a former Wyoming resident.

The 24-hour facility will be the first in the country to employ Clean Runner's proprietary PetroCleanse processing equipment, officials said.

The process involves the use of chemical-free, low-cost technology to clean large quantities of produced water to meet Environmental Protection Agency and Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality regulatory standards.

Water from exploration and production wells will be trucked into the facility and processed to separate the oil, water and rocks, according to the Red Desert website.

Under the process, the raw water goes through an electro-coagulation system, which separates oils and metals from the water. A reverse-osmosis process then removes residual organics from the water.

The plant will be able to reclaim about 270 million gallons of water annually from the oil and gas industry, according to plans.

Officials said the company plans to open additional facilities in Wyoming over the next 18 months.

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