Method for recovering hydrocarbon fluids using a hydraulic fracturing process

A method for recovering and treating hydrocarbon fluids using a hydraulic fracturing process comprising the steps of:

• i) recovering a fluid stream from a well, where the fluid stream comprises liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon species or both, produced water, suspended solids, and dissolved contaminants;
• ii) separating the hydrocarbon species from the fluid stream to produce a second fluid stream comprising liquid water;
• iii) directing the second fluid stream to a first filtration medium;
• iv) passing essentially all of the second fluid stream through the medium to produce a permeate stream and a filter cake;
• v) reusing, recycling or disposing of the treated fluid stream
• wherein the medium is a nonwoven sheet and has an efficiency of 60% or greater for particles of 1 micrometer size or greater and a water flow per unit area of the sheet, per unit pressure drop across the sheet of at least 20 milliliters per minute per centimeter squared of medium per kilopascal pressure of the liquid (ml/min/cm2/kPa), and a life expectancy of at least 150 minutes, and wherein filtering the produced water with the medium produces a filter cake upstream of, and in contact with, the medium and concentrated with suspended solids and other precipitated particles, and wherein the filter cake is allowed to build to a pre-determined level and after having reached said level, the filter cake is dewatered, separated from the filter medium, and disposed of separately from the filter medium.