Moderation of oil extraction waste environments

Abstract

An environment is moderated against microbial buildup, and especially bacterial buildup in an area where residual liquid wastes are collected or retained or added into natural ground formations. Water wastes are created, collected in storage areas or retained in natural land formations after the use of fluids to extract hydrocarbons contained in oil sand or oil shale or other hydrocarbon rich formations. The residual water wastes are of the type that generate or provide or promote in or above the fluid at least one waste selected from the group consisting of bacteria, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, mercaptans and organic acids. A combination is provided of at least one of i) a friction reducing polymer for oil extraction and/or a polymer capable of absorbing at least ten times its weight in water (preferably a super-absorbing polymer) and ii) a combination of salts that react to liberate I. At least one liquid waste may flocculated with liberated I(and any cations from the reactive salts) to form a flocculent that has reduced odor and reduced microbial content. By injecting the iodine-generating composition into the hydrocarbon-rich or hydrocarbon providing composition (e.g., the oil sand or shale in its natural underground formation), some of the iodine or iodine producing materials will be present in both the residual water pumped from the source and water retained in the underground formation to reduce microbial growth.