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Technical Development Document for the Coalbed Methane (CBM) Extraction Industry

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Technical Development Document for the Coalbed Methane (CBM) Extraction Industry United States Office of Water EPA-820-R-13-009 Environmental Protection Washington, DC 20460 April 2013 Agency Technical Development Document for the Coalbed Methane (CBM) Extraction Industry Technical Development Document for the Coalbed Methane (CBM) Extraction Industry EPA-820-R-13-009 April 2013 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water (4303T) Washington, DC 20460 Acknowledgements and Disclaimer This document was prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency. Neither the United States Government nor any of its employees, contractors, subcontractors, or their employees make any warrant, expressed or implied, or assume any legal liability or responsibility for any third party’s use of or the results of such use of any information, apparatus, product, or process discussed in this report, or represents that its use by such party would not infringe on privately owned rights. Questions regarding this document should be directed to: U.S. EPA Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T) 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20460 (202) 566-1000 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Page SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1-1 1.1 References ............................................................................................................ 1-2 SECTION 2 DATA COLLECTION ACTIVITIES ................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 EPA’s Stakeholder Outreach Program................................................................. 2-1 2.2 EPA’s Site Visit Program .................................................................................... 2-1 2.3 Questionnaires...................................................................................................... 2-2 2.4 Existing Data Collection ...................................................................................... 2-2 2.5 References ............................................................................................................ 2-4 SECTION 3 INDUSTRY PROFILE ...................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Overview of Coalbed Methane Industry .............................................................. 3-1 3.2 CBM Production and the Lifespan of CBM Wells .............................................. 3-1 3.3 Identifying Coal Basins With CBM Development .............................................. 3-2 3.4 Gas Production ..................................................................................................... 3-6 3.5 Water Production and Management ..................................................................... 3-8 3.6 Produced Water Characteristics ......................................................................... 3-10 3.7 References .......................................................................................................... 3-12 SECTION 4 PRODUCED WATER MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES ........................ 4-1 4.1 Treatment Technologies....................................................................................... 4-1 4.1.1 Settling Ponds .......................................................................................... 4-1 4.1.2 Chemical Precipitation ............................................................................. 4-3 4.1.3 Ion Exchange ........................................................................................... 4-7 4.1.4 Reverse Osmosis .................................................................................... 4-11 4.1.5 Other Desalination Technologies ........................................................... 4-16 4.2 Zero Discharge Management Methods .............................................................. 4-19 4.2.1 Underground Injection ........................................................................... 4-20 4.2.2 Evaporation/Infiltration Ponds ............................................................... 4-24 4.2.3 Land Application ................................................................................... 4-26 4.2.4 Livestock or Wildlife Watering ............................................................. 4-28 4.2.5 Downhole Gas Water Separators ........................................................... 4-29 4.3 References .......................................................................................................... 4-32 SECTION 5 PRODUCED WATER MANAGEMENT COSTS .................................................................. 5-1 5.1 Identify Discharging Projects and Discharge Volume ......................................... 5-2 5.2 Determine Costs for New Water Management Method ...................................... 5-3 5.3 Compute Costs of Operating Ion Exchange or Using Underground Injection ............................................................................................................... 5-4 5.4 References ............................................................................................................ 5-5 i List of Tables List of Tables Page 3-1 CBM Basins and Locations, 2008 ................................................................................... 3-3 3-2 CBM Basins With Potential for CBM Gas Development ............................................... 3-5 3-3 Total CBM Gas Production (Million Cubic Feet), 2007–2011 ....................................... 3-7 3-4 Detailed Summary of CBM Gas Production, by Basin in 2008 and 2011 ...................... 3-7 3-5 Produced Water Discharge Practices in Use by Basin ..................................................... 3-9 3-6 2008 CBM Production and Produced Water Discharge Volumes for Discharging Projects ...................................................................................................... 3-10 3-7 Produced Water Effluent TDS Concentrations for the Discharging Basins .................. 3-10 3-8 Pollutant Data Summary for Produced Water Discharges ............................................. 3-11 4-1 Considerations for Using Settling Ponds at CBM Operations ......................................... 4-2 4-2 Capital and O&M Costs for Settling Ponds ..................................................................... 4-3 4-3 Common Additive Chemicals and Targeted Pollutants ................................................... 4-4 4-4 Considerations for Using Chemical Precipitation at CBM Operations ........................... 4-6 4-5 Capital and O&M Costs for Chemical Precipitation ....................................................... 4-6 4-6 Considerations for Using Ion Exchange at CBM Operations .......................................... 4-9 4-7 Summary of Known Ion Exchange Vendors in the CBM Industry ................................. 4-9 4-8 Capital and O&M Costs for Ion Exchange .................................................................... 4-10 4-9 Effectiveness of Membrane Filtration Technologies ..................................................... 4-12 4-10 Considerations for Using RO at CBM Operations ........................................................ 4-13 4-11 Capital and O&M Costs for RO .................................................................................... 4-14 4-12 Summary of Known RO Technologies Applicable in the CBM Industry ..................... 4-15 4-13 Summary of Known Distillation/Evaporation Vendors in the Oil and Gas Industry .... 4-17 4-14 Summary of Underground Injection by Basin ............................................................... 4-22 4-15 Considerations for Using Underground Injection at CBM Operations ......................... 4-23 4-16 Capital and O&M Costs for Underground Injection...................................................... 4-24 4-17 Considerations for Using Evaporation/Infiltration Ponds at CBM Operations ............. 4-25 4-18 Capital and O&M Costs for Evaporation/ Infiltration Ponds ........................................ 4-26 4-19 Considerations for Using Land Application at CBM Operations .................................. 4-27 4-20 Capital and O&M Costs for Land Application .............................................................. 4-27 4-21 Considerations for Using Livestock Watering at CBM Operations .............................. 4-28 4-22 Capital and O&M Costs for Livestock Watering .......................................................... 4-28 ii List of Tables List of Tables (Continued) Page 4-23 DGWS Technologies Design Criteria ............................................................................ 4-29 4-24 Considerations for Using DGWS at CBM Operations .................................................. 4-31 4-25 Capital and O&M Costs for DGWS .............................................................................. 4-31 iii List of Figures List of Figures Page 3-1 Generalized Gas and Water Production Curves for CBM Wells ..................................... 3-2 3-2 Map of CBM Basins with Location of 98th Meridian ...................................................... 3-4 3-3 U.S. Natural Gas Production, 1990–2035 ........................................................................ 3-8 4-1 pH versus Concentration of Pollutants ............................................................................ 4-5 4-2 Spiral-Wound Membrane Flow Diagram ...................................................................... 4-11 4-3 Schematic of the CDI Treatment Process
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