Water and Desalination

Research

Randy Shaw, PE

BGNDRF Facility Manager

Water

AquaDyn Technologies (2016). Water Molecule – The Water Molecule and its Properties. Retrieved

from http://www.aquadyntech.com/watermolecule.html.

97.5% Saline

2% Fresh; Unavailable

0.5% Fresh; Available

Looming Global Water Crisis

The National Intelligence Council issued a “partially

declassified, report with the provocative conclusion

that the world is entering into a prolonged water

crisis.”

• Projected Consequences

• Countries important to the U.S. and global security will be at

risk of “state failure” within 10 years.

• “‘The ability of key countries to produce food and generate

energy’ will transform the world as we know it, ‘posing a risk

to global food markets and hobbling economic growth.’”

Siegel, S. (2015). Let There Be Water: Israel’s Solution for a Water-

Starved World. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books

Looming Global Water Crisis

• Main Drivers

• Population - +7 Billion to 9.5 Billion in 2050

• Rising Middle Class – 2009 to 2020 Increase of 1.4

Billion

• Climate Change – Drought, Faster Evaporation,

Hardening of Surface Soil

• Tainted Water – Chemicals Seeping into Water

Supply

• Leaks – London 30% Loss, Chicago 25% Loss

Siegel, S. (2015). Let There Be Water: Israel’s Solution for a Water-

Starved World. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books

WWAP (United Nations World Water Assessment Programme). 2015. The United Nations

World Water Development Report 2015: Water for a Sustainable World. Paris, UNESCO.

>50%

Water Outlook in the United States

Water Outlook in the United States

United States Government Accountability Office (2014). Freshwater: Supply Concerns Continue, and

Uncertainties Complicate Planning. Retrieved from http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/663343.pdf.

• Wastewater - Direct and Indirect Potable

Reuse

• Saline Water - Desalination

• Seawater

• Brackish Groundwater

• Produced Water

Non-Traditional Water

• EPA advisory standards: ≤ 500 mg/L

• Brackish Water at BGNDRF: 1,300 to 5,600 mg/L

• Seawater: 35,000 mg/L

• Dead Sea: ~337,000 mg/L

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

Desalination Plants

• 1,660 Plants

Worldwide;

≥ 1mgd

• Largest Plant:

Shoaiba 3;

232.5 mgd

Global Water Intelligence DesalData.com (2016). Retrieved from https://www.desaldata.com/projects/search.

Desalination Plants

• 363 Plants in the U.S.

• Largest Plant in the

U.S.: Carlsbad, CA;

50 mgd

• Largest Brackish

Groundwater Plant in

the U.S.; El Paso, TX;

27.5 mgd

Global Water Intelligence DesalData.com (2016). Retrieved from https://www.desaldata.com/projects/search.

Desalination Plants

• 1 Plant in NM;

Rio Rancho: 1.4 mgd

• Plant Planned for

Alamogordo, NM;

1 mgd expandable to

6 mgd

Global Water Intelligence DesalData.com (2016). Retrieved from https://www.desaldata.com/projects/search.

Bureau of Reclamation

• Established 1902

• Dams, Power Plants

and Canals

• Bring Water to Over

31 Million People

• 1 out of 5 Western

Farmers

• 10 million acres

(~4 million hectares)

• 60% of Nation’s

Vegetables

• 25% of Nation’s Fruits

and Nuts

Bureau of Reclamation Mission

“to manage, develop, and protect water and related

resources in an environmentally and economically

sound manner in the interest of the American public.”

BGNDRF Grand Opening 2007

BGNDRF’s Focus

1. Concentrate Management

2. Renewable Energy/Desalination Hybrids

3. Produced Water Desalination Technologies

4. Small Scale Systems

5. Public Outreach and Education

BGNDRF’s Niche in Technology

Progression

Experiment-

ation

Concept

Develop-

ment

Maturation

Usage

Siz

e

Time

Desk Laboratory

Proof/Pilot

Test Demonstration

Water

Plant

BGNDRF’s Niche in Technology

Progression

Experiment-

ation

Concept

Develop-

ment

Maturation

Usage

Siz

e

Time

Desk Laboratory

Proof/Pilot

Test Demonstration

Water

Plant

BGNDRF

Who Works There?

• Government Agencies

• Universities

• Private Sector

The BGNDRF Complex

Agricultural

Research

Area

Central

Research

Building Large

Scale Test

Area

Evaporation

Ponds

Renewable

Energy

Applications

Area

Well 1

Outdoor Test Pads

Storage

Tanks

Well 2

Well 3

Well 4

Reverse Osmosis and Nanofiltration

NMSU

Capacitive Deionization

UTEP and Voltea

Reverse Osmosis (Patented Control)

Water Standard; Houston, TX

Land Application of Concentrate

University of Arizona

The Desal Prize

• USAID

• Contest to incentivize the

development of small scale

desalination technologies

using renewable energy

• 68 applications were

received from 29 countries

• Competition: BGNDRF April

7-12, 2015

• Grand Prize: $140,000 Cash

and $175,000 Grant

• Winner: MIT & Jain Irrig.

• 2nd Place: UTEP CIDS

Upcoming Projects

• Ion Exchange Process for Producing Fertilizer and

Water of Various Qualities

– Trailblazer Technologies (South Africa)

– Phase 1: Proof of Technology

– Phase 2: High Tech Ag with Solar Energy

– Phase 3: City of the Future

• Magnetic Nanotechnology; Microbial Brine Power

Generation; Capacitive Deionization;

Electrocoagulation; Multi Array Substrate Detection

– Global Environmental Legacy Foundation

Tours

Public Events

Public Events

BGNDRF Newsletter

Questions

http://hiddenunseen.blogspot.com/2012/04/top-9-unusual-deserts.html

Randy Shaw

Facility Manager

Rshaw@usbr.gov

(575) 443-6553