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Treatment process for waste water disposal of the Morcinek Mine using coalbed methane

Conference ·
OSTI ID:145560
This paper describes a process that converts the waste water stream from coal mining and/or coalbed methane production into clean water for local use, combustion products and water vapor that can be released into the atmosphere and dry solids that can be recycled for industrial consumption. The process uses a reverse osmosis (RO) unit, a submerged combustion evaporator and a pulse combustion dryer. Pretreatment of the waste water is necessary to prevent fouling and damage to the reverse osmosis membranes. Without pretreatment, mineral phases become supersaturated and could precipitate in the RO unit as the waste water becomes concentrated during removal of product water. The pretreatment process consists of first adding sodium carbonate to increase both the pH and carbonate concentration of the fluid. This addition causes precipitation of carbonate solids containing Ca, Mg, Sr and Ba. Iron oxides and clays also precipitate. After filtration of these precipitates, the solution is then acidified with HCl to prevent later precipitation in the RO unit as the fluid increases in salinity. A chemical modeling code is used to calculate the mineral saturation states during the pretreatment process and during RO treatment. The brine from the RO unit is then passed into a submerged combustion evaporator and subsequently into a pulse combustion dryer thereby transforming the brine into water vapor and dry salt for industrial consumption. The product water from the RO unit is used directly for agricultural or other applications.
Research Organization:
West Virginia Coll., Beckley, WV (United States); AQUATECH Services, Inc., Fair Oaks, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC21-89MC26026
OSTI ID:
145560
Report Number(s):
DOE/MC/26026--94/C0396; UCRL-JC--118409; CONF-9410262--2; ON: DE95000659
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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