Coal-bed methane (CBM) is an increasingly important source ofnatural gas. Current production levels within the U.S. exceed 970bcf/year. Disposal of produced water from CBM production can be expectedto be a continuing problem for the foreseeable future. However, the highcost of water disposal and lack of efficient technology for treatment arebarriers to expanded development of CBM reserves. Many of the areas whereCBM is produced are arid or semi-arid and can benefit from creation ofadditional water supplies. If the water from CBM can be economically andefficiently treated to make it acceptable for surface discharge, itbecomes a resource instead of a waste. Benefits can be achieved throughboth agricultural uses and domestic uses depending on the quality of thetreated water which can be achieved. Treatment for surface dischargecurrently requires the application of reverse osmosis (RO) technology.This proposal will demonstrate the effectiveness of capacitivedeionization (CDI) technology for the treatment of CBM produced water.This technology should prove to be more reliable and cost effective thanRO. In addition, CDI uses approximately 1/10 of the energy of RO and hasa significantly smaller secondary waste stream than RO in this application.
