Forward Osmosis Desalination of Industrial Waste Water
Creating Additional Water Supplies from Industrial Wastewater
Trevi Systems Inc.
Recipient
Rohnert Park, CA
Recipient Location
3rd
Senate District
12th
Assembly District
$913,669
Amount Spent
Completed
Project Status
Project Result
The project completed in March 2018 and the final report has been posted onto the CEC website. Trevi conducted forward osmosis pilot tests on reverse osmosis concentrate at the OCWD for over two years under various conditions. After testing the traditional enclosed modules, the project team realized that without pretreatment, these membrane modules were fouling quickly. [br/][br/]"]As of August 2019, Trevi Systems is searching for an advanced manufacturing facility to produce their forward osmosis membranes. They have also partnered with an LA firm (NGRTEK) to use their forward osmosis membranes for power generation application. CAM does not have any additional details on this project.
The Issue
The Orange County Water District (OCWD) is a global leader in ground water replenishment for over four years, purifying wastewater and then re-injecting it into underground aquifers. However, OCWD has reached the limit of their re-use ability as the reverse osmosis (RO) plant does not have access to additional treated wastewater nor can the RO plant extract additional water from the RO plant wastewater (brine solution). In order to keep up with projected demand, OCWD requires another 30 million gallons per day of RO treated recycled water. One potential source of additional water could be the RO brine wastewater by using methods that could further concentrate this brine solution.
Project Innovation
Trevi Systems partnered with the OCWD on a demonstration project using Forward Osmosis (FO) technology. This technology concentrates OCWD's Reverse Osmosis produced brine wastewater to increase water yield, reduce brine volume and use waste heat (instead of natural gas) to drive the FO process. The uniqueness of Trevi System's FO desalting process rests in its use of osmotic pressure as a "driving" force to pass water through a semi-permeable membrane, and then using thermal energy in the form of waste heat to produce pure water. It is a simple and elegant method of purifying water while conserving energy.
Project Benefits
Potential to reduce energy use and cost at wastewater treatment plants while producing additional water from the RO system brine. The project determined that pre-treatment of the brine was needed to minimize fouling of the forward osmosis membranes. This research will help inform others working in this area in the future.
Affordability
This project uses waste heat as its energy source to concentrate the brine wastewater, and operates at low pressure, which reduces energy use and fouling of the membranes. Trevi Systems estimates that its forward osmosis process pilot project at OCWD could produce annual savings of $500,000 - $900,000.
Environmental Sustainability
Forward osmosis filtration system is driven by waste heat to produce additional potable water from the wastewater (brine solution) of a reverse osmosis plant.
Key Project Members
Gary Carmignani
Subrecipients
Aquatechs, Inc
J and J Mechanical
Match Partners
Trevi Systems Inc.
