Chloride ion, the majority salt in nature, is ∼52% faster than sodium ion (DNa+ = 1.33, DCl- = 2.03[10(-9)m(2)s(-1)]). Yet, current electrochemical desalination technologies (e.g. electrodialysis) rely on bipolar ion conduction, removing one pair of the cation and the anion simultaneously. Here, we demonstrate that novel ion concentration polarization desalination can enhance salt removal under...

Nanopumps conducting fluids through nanochannels have attracted considerable interest for their potential applications in nanofiltration, water desalination and drug delivery. Here, we demonstrate by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations that a nano screw pump is designed with helical nanowires embedded in a nanochannel, which can be used to drive unidirectional water flow. Such helical nanowires...

The technical potential and effectiveness of different water supply options for securing water availability in a large-scale, interconnected water supply system under historical and climate-change augmented inflow and demand conditions were compared. Part 1 of the study focused on determining the scale of the options required to secure water availability and compared the effectiveness of differ...

Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membrane biofouling remains a common challenge in the desalination industry, but the marine bacterial community that causes membrane fouling is poorly understood. Microbial communities at different stages of treatment processes (intake, cartridge filtration, and SWRO) of a desalination pilot plant were examined by both culture-based and culture-independent approa...

Energy efficient water desalination processes employing low-cost and earth-abundant materials is a critical step to sustainably manage future human needs for clean water resources. Here we demonstrate that porous silicon - a material harnessing earth abundance, cost, and environmental/biological compatibility is a candidate material for water desalination. With appropriate surface passivation o...

Disposal of concentrate from brackish water desalination plants by deep well injection into oil and gas fields is an attractive option in Texas. Underpressured depleted oil and gas reservoirs cover large areas of the state. Six areas were selected from across Texas for detailed analysis. These sites were characterized by abundant brackish groundwater, a projected shortage of freshwater, deplete...

Energy is a significant cost in the economics of desalinating waters, but water scarcity is driving the rapid expansion in global installed capacity of desalination facilities. Conventional fossil fuels have been utilized as their main energy source, but recent concerns over greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have promoted global development and implementation of energy minimization strategies and ...

Desalination of brackish groundwater (BW) is an effective approach to augment water supply, especially for inland regions that are far from seawater resources. Brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) desalination is still subject to intensive energy consumption compared to the theoretical minimum energy demand. Here, we review some of the BWRO plants with various system arrangements. We look at h...

The last chapter elucidated the experimental setup and the factors influencing each unit of the large-scale seawater desalination process, with the reverse osmosis. This chapter deals with subjects such as the modeling of each unit of Sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO), the integration of these models to form an entire plant, and the future direction of the statistical modeling of the SWRO proces...

Global climate change and variability have a negative impact on a water supply and quality in remote areas by reducing water availability and contaminant dilution. This will continue to be exacerbated by limited and inadequate water supply, insufficient water treatment and low infrastructure. Thus, an economic desalination system with a small scale and footprint for such regions is strongly dem...