Fort Washington, Pa., Feb. 5, 2004 -- EMIT Water Discharge Technology, LLC (EMIT) (Sheridan, Wyo.) has selected Severn Trent Services' Higgins Loop(tm) Continuous Countercurrent Ion EXchange (CCIX) system to provide oil and gas producers with water purification services.
The patented system will purify byproduct water created in the production of Coal Bed Natural Gas (CBNG), making the water suitable for discharge into the environment.
During the production of CBNG, water pumped with methane gas contains high levels of sodium (Na) and bicarbonate (HC03) and, in some cases, chlorides (Cl) and sulfates (SO4). Federal and state water regulations prohibit the discharge of this water into the environment or for irrigation, due to its high salt content.
With Severn Trent Services' Higgins Loop CCIX technology, EMIT can economically and efficiently treat water used during the production of CBNG for environmental reintroduction and reuse.
The Higgins Loop system utilizes I-X resins in a highly efficient resin-contacting system to remove sodium from the water and concentrate it into a dense brine solution byproduct that may even be useful within the oil and gas industry. Removing sodium from the water lowers its pH balance and reduces bicarbonate levels by extracting carbon dioxide gas from the water.
"Severn Trent Services' expertise in CCIX applications in a variety of industries, plus its patented technology for the application, made them an ideal partner for our launch of CBM water purification services," said Casey Osborn, principle of EMIT. "The system is cost-effective and simple to use, and Severn Trent Services provides the customer support we need to optimize our offering. One of the customers already using this new treatment solution, the Williams Company of Tulsa, Okla., signed a CBM water treatment contract with us in August 2003."
Rich Dennis, separation product manager for Severn Trent Services, said, "The Higgins Loop system has been used in many industries over the past five decades to purify water and remediate wastes. It's one of the most proven and cost-effective I-X systems on the market, and is a perfect fit for EMIT's CBNG service needs."
About EMIT Water Discharge Technology, LLC
EMIT Water Discharge Technology, LLC, based in Sheridan Wyo., is dedicated to providing cost-effective, environmentally responsible alternatives to the current methods of managing the water produced from Coal Bed Natural Gas recovery wells. The CCIX technology combined with EMIT's full service concept is proving to be the best available technology for sodium reduction to control Sodium Adsorption Ratio and Specific Conductance in produced water. EMIT Water Discharge Technology is poised to offer CBNG producers a turnkey operation to safely outsource their production water at a constant price, allowing them to concentrate their resources on natural gas production. Produced water that was once considered a liability is transformed to a beneficial resource that meets or exceeds water quality standards for irrigation or discharge to the watershed.
About Severn Trent Services
Severn Trent Services (www.severntrentservices.com), based in Fort Washington, Pa., is a supplier of water and wastewater treatment solutions. The company's broad range of products and services is concentrated around disinfection and filtration technologies, pipeline analysis, rehabilitation and repair services, contract operating services, and state-of-the-art residential metering products. The company is part of the Severn Trent Group (London: SVT.L), Birmingham, England, an international environmental services leader. Severn Trent is a FTSE 100 company.
