Patent ID: 8168068
Filing Date: 2012-05-01
Classification: B01J,C02F

Abstract:
1. A method for treating a contaminated water stream contaminated with sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or both, resulting from the production of coal-bed-methane, which method comprising: a) providing at least one reaction vessel containing a bed of weak acid cation ion exchange resin beads of substantially uniform spherical size wherein the volume of said bed of weak acid cation ion exchange resin occupies about half the volume of the reaction vessel between a top header-lateral distributor and a bottom header-lateral distributor and encompassed by surrounding walls of said vessel, and wherein the space between the resin beads is the void volume; b) introducing said contaminated water stream, from a contaminated water holding area, into the bottom of said reaction vessel wherein it flows upward through said bottom header-lateral distributor and contacts said ion exchange resin beads at an effective upflow rate sufficient to lift and pack the resin bed against the top header-lateral distributor, and sufficient to result in the exchange of hydrogen ions of the exchange resin for sodium ions of the contaminated water stream, thereby resulting in an ion exchanged treated water stream having a reduced level of sodium ions; c) conducting said ion exchanged treated water stream from said reaction vessel to a treated water holding area; d) stopping the flow of the contaminated water stream to said reaction vessel when the ion exchange resin becomes substantially exhausted, thereby resulting in said bed of ion exchange resin containing untreated contaminated water within the void volume of the resin bed; e) regenerating said bed of weak cation exchange resin by: