Clean TeQ Holdings has provided an update on the commercialisation of its proprietary licensed CIF technology in the coal seam gas industry.
The license was provided to Associated Water, a Joint Venture Company with Tokyo based Nippon Gas to provide water desalination in the Australian coal seam gas industry. The aim of the Joint Venture is to provide sustainable water treatment to the coal seam gas industry using Clean TeQ’s Continuous Ionic Filtration (CIF) technology as a basis for the desalination process.
The coal seam gas water market has the potential to be one of the biggest emerging water treatment markets globally.
The rapid expansion in exploration and development of coal seam gas fields has led to an urgent need for new and cost effective water treatment solutions with an emphasis on the minimization of the environmental legacy of by-product brine streams.
Associated Water will commence commissioning a dual-stage CIF plant, known as DeSALx, at the WAMBO Cattle Company operation, west of Dalby, Queensland in September 2012. The plant will accept coal seam gas associated feed water with a TDS (total dissolved solids) of about 5,000 mg/L and produce water with a TDS of around 1,500 mg/L, a level suitable for a wide range of irrigation and livestock needs.
The plant will showcase a 0.5MLD (500m3/day) semi-portable modular CIF plant and a 0.5MLD containerised mobile CIF plant operated together to perform the desalination process (the DeSALx process).
Shown above is a schematic of a typical CIF operation (Image courtesy Clean TeQ).
Associated Water will supply WAMBO Cattle Company with desalinated water, highlighting the opportunities available for the CSG industry and agriculture to co-exist through the efficient and economical processing of associated waters for beneficial reuse by local landholders and communities.
WAMBO plans to use this desalinated water for cattle watering, irrigation and augmentation of its stored water supplies.
Peter Voigt, CEO Clean TeQ and Associated Water said; “The coal seam gas industry is heading towards the bulk transportation of produced water to centralised holding ponds and subsequent treatment by large reverse osmosis treatment plants.
"This approach has a number of limitations including the transportation costs, the increasing volumes of water involved in the industry and the relocation of the water from its origin.
"The benefit of the Associated Water approach is to treat the water and make it available locally for the landholders and farmers. We are investing in this project, independent of the CSG companies, to demonstrate and highlight the benefits that the desalinated water from the CSG Industry can bring to local communities and to showcase an innovative holistic solution to integrated associated water management.”
“Our technology is specifically designed to provide a high recovery of “fit for purpose” water, in this case water for agricultural purposes, delivered in an economical way. We believe CIF has the potential to be the most appropriate treatment technology for the responsible management of coal seam waters, and when partnering with local communities provide viable localised beneficial re-use opportunities.”
This demonstration follows the sale of a 4MLD CIFTM water treatment plant to QGC, by Clean TeQ, which is yet to be commissioned. The Associated Water desalination demonstration with Wambo will be independently verified to confirm the potential opportunities available for the deployment of the technology in the coal seam gas industry.