I’m excited to be back in Houston in a few days to present my poster. This summer has gone by so fast, but I’ve learned a lot and have really enjoyed my experience. What a great summer!
Reverse Osmosis Concentrate Treatment with Fujifilm’s Salt-Free Electrodialysis Metathesis
Melanie Cossio, 1 Tayia Oddonetto, 1 Shane Walker 2
1NEWT REU Program, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States
2Center for Inland Desalination Systems, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States
Electrodialysis metathesis (EDM) is an electrically driven process used for desalination that allows for high recovery and concentrate management. In an EDM membrane stack, the voltage is applied between a cathode and an anode, which then passes ions through ion-exchange membranes. Alternating anion, cation, monovalent anion, and monovalent cation exchange membranes create two separate concentrate streams and a single diluate (product) stream. Traditional EDM requires the addition of a substitution solution, typically sodium chloride, for a metathesis reaction. Through collaboration with Fujifilm, the salt-free EDM process was tested at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Water Quality Improvement Center (WQIC) in Yuma, Arizona. The competition was organized in an effort to maximize the recovery of fresh water from inland brackish desalination. A mobile system was equipped with six EDM stacks, treating WQIC RO concentrate in batch mode, achieving greater than 75% salinity reduction. The system produced a calcium-rich concentrate and a sulfate-rich concentrate (both of which are highly soluble) and batch recoveries ranging from 70-90%.
Looking forward to seeing your poster at Rice!