February 28, 2010

Drilling companies rushing to withdraw Pennsylvania's natural gas supplies trapped in the Marcellus Shale rock formation face liquidity issues.

The problems: Where to find one million to five million gallons of water needed to fracture shale a mile underground to release gas, and what to do with the 30 percent to 60 percent of the polluted waste water returned to the surface once the process is completed?

One possible answer is operating at a natural gas well located in northern Butler County. Altela Inc. of Albuquerque, N.M., has developed and patented a water treatment system that improves on Mother Nature's process for converting salt water to fresh water, or rain.

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