Management and Effects of Coalbed Methane Produced Water ...
National Research Council / Division on Earth and Life Studies / Water Science and Technology Board / Board on Earth Sciences and Resources / Committee on Earth Resources / Committee on Management and Effects of Coalbed Methane Development and Produced Water in the Western United States
In some coalbeds, naturally occurring water pressure holds methane--the main component of natural gas--fixed to coal surfaces and within the coal. In a coalbed methane (CBM) well, pumping water from the coalbeds lowers this pressure, facilitating the release of methane from the coal for extraction and use as an energy source. Water pumped from coalbeds during this process--CBM 'produced water'--is managed through some combination of treatment,...