Calcium Acetate: An Alternative to Gypsum for Brine Impacted Soils

Abstract

With North Dakota being ranked as a leading producer of oil and natural gas in the United States, the possibility of accidental produced water (aka “brine” or “salt water”) spills is a continuous concern. Brine water poses numerous threats to soil properties as it has the potential of causing soil dispersion by increased concentrations of sodium. The goal of this research was to compare the effectiveness of several calcium amendments: calcium acetate, flue gas desulphurization gypsum and pelletized gypsum, on improving the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and removing sodium of three brine impacted soils. Ultimately, increasing rates of calcium acetate had the greatest effect on increasing the Ks but, in general, increasing rates of any amendment increased the Ks and removed sodium. A secondary goal was to produce a resource about the origin of brine water in the Williston basin for those affected by or interested in this topic.