MYCELX is expanding produced water treatment tech in the Permian Basin, spotlighting automated systems for oil and solids recovery.
A new wave of produced water treatment technology is arriving in the Permian Basin, and it is built around a simple promise: treat water by chemically locking onto hydrocarbons, not just filtering them.
Misryoum reports that MYCELX. a global water treatment provider. is shifting its strategy toward the Permian after deploying its approach worldwide.. The company’s technology traces back to research sparked by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. when founder Hal Alper developed a polymer designed to permanently and chemically bond with hydrocarbons on contact.
In this context. the focus is on produced water. a byproduct of oil and gas operations that must be managed carefully to support downstream handling.. Misryoum says MYCELX now emphasizes two connected systems for basin operators: the MAC (MYCELX Advanced Coalescer) and REGEN (Regenerative Media Filter).. Together, they are designed to recover oil from produced water while also gathering suspended solids.
Insight: Why does this matter now? Because produced water management sits at the center of how energy operators control costs, meet operational requirements, and reduce the burden on disposal pathways.
Misryoum notes that the company’s approach is positioned for use early in the workflow. potentially before water is routed to saltwater disposal wells.. It can also serve as pretreatment for other systems aimed at beneficial reuse. desalination. or evaporation. reflecting how treatment stacks are increasingly used to optimize overall performance.
On the operational side. REGEN is described as a backwashable media filter that creates recycle-quality water that can be sent to frac ponds or handled by midstream or treatment partners.. The systems are also marketed as automated and not reliant on chemical dosing. with an emphasis on low emissions and reduced labor needs.
Insight: The broader significance is that automation and chemical-free operation are not just technical selling points. They shape day-to-day field decisions, from staffing to the complexity of water handling systems.
Misryoum adds that MYCELX recently secured its first field-scale Permian Basin project using REGEN in November through a major midstream operator. with operations expected to begin in the third or fourth quarter.. The company also ran a pilot study in the Delaware Basin pairing the two-stage MAC and REGEN system. where it says the results aligned with oil-in-water requirements and helped reduce solids while meeting recycle quality targets.
Looking ahead, Misryoum says MYCELX hopes to bring additional treatment capabilities for PFAS to the Permian Basin, signaling that produced water technology is evolving beyond oil and solids as water-quality expectations expand.
Insight: This direction matters because it reflects a shift from single-purpose cleanup toward integrated solutions, where producers and operators increasingly need to address multiple contaminants in one operational strategy.