New Treatment Method for Acid Mine Drainage

Mine drainage treatment system shows promise with fracking waste in Clinton Twp.

The success of a new treatment method for acid mine drainage is evident in a clear stream of water running into a holding pond in Clinton Township just a few feet from the red-orange runoff of traditionally treated mine water.

The site off Lardintown Road is one of two in the state where Sharon, Pa.-based Winner Water Services set up pilot operations to show its process can treat mine drainage for use in hydraulic fracturing, the process used to extract natural gas from Marcellus shale.

The company received a $495,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development and $1.2 million from the federal Environmental Protection Agency for the pilot ventures.

The other site is at the Clearfield-Jefferson County border.

The Clinton Township site operated sporadically since August and has been in 16-hour daily operation since March 23. The facility treats 100 gallons of water per minute.

"This is the first demonstration on a full scale," said Carolyn Guju Kotsol, Winner Water CEO. Winner Water is part of Battelle Memorial Institute, a large nonprofit research and development organization that developed the treatment technology.

Winner Water is ramping up to begin collecting data to submit to the state Department of Environmental Protection and various stakeholders involved.

Once the company demonstrates its technology is successful, the company will begin looking for a commercial application. The Clinton site will close at the end of the year.

Ion-based treatment

Winner Water's treatment process uses an ion-based system to extract sulfates and metals such as iron from the acid mine drainage after the existing remediation process removes some metals and the acidity.

The initial treatment, by mine owner Arcelor Mittal Pristine Resources, cleans the water so it meets state requirements to be discharged into Bull Creek.

Winner Water pumps the water from two large outdoor storage ponds to a treatment tank where it is mixed with an "extractant." It's then pumped into a rectangular metal container where the sulfates and metals separate from the water and are drawn to the top.

The ion-based process works like a magnet with the extractant attracting ions of an opposite charge.

The key is to use elements that will bind to one another and form a compound separate from the water, said Todd Beers, Winner Water's chief operating officer.

It took nine years of research to develop what ultimately is a simple process.

"The chemical we feed in has to exchange to make something new," Beers said.

For every 100 gallons treated, between 95 and 99 gallons of clean water is returned.

The extractant is pumped to another tank, where it is treated to be recycled using a similar ion-based process that separates it from the contaminants.

The process can be used for treatment of a variety of contaminants. For example, nitrogen and phosphates, which contribute to the unwanted growth of algae and other aquatic plants.

Industry buy-in

Although many fracking companies draw their water for free from creeks and rivers, there are advantages to using treated water.

"The project will reduce the demand and/or consumption of freshwater for hydraulic fracturing by using a nonpotable water supply and thereby preventing or reducing the pollution load on freshwater resources," Heidi Havens, spokeswoman for the state Department of Community and Economic Development, said via email.

It takes about 4 million gallons of water to frack a well.

State law prohibits drawing from public waterways, particularly creeks, if the water is below a certain level.

"By taking nonpotable water and treating it for this use, from an overall perspective, it's preserving a natural resource," Kotsol said.

Additionally, the treatment process could eliminate the cost of trucking the water to the well pad by pumping it from the mine water treatment site to the well.

Source: Bakken.com

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Taxonomy

• Drainage
• Treatment
• Technology
• Fracking