NAWI’s projects are accelerating promising early-stage research and development to achieve pipe parity and a circular water economy. All projects are competitively selected and funded through requests for proposals (RFPs).
Topic Area 1: Process Innovation and Intensification
Project 5.02: Platform Process for Electrified Pretreatment; PI: David Jassby (University of California at Los Angeles)
This project team developed an experimental methodology that combines probing electrochemical reactions and surfaces at the atomic, nano, and micron scale using an array of characterization tools, and uses these observations/insights to better understand macro-scale (i.e., system-wide) electrochemical characterization methods.
Partners: Georgia Tech, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Project 5.03: Foundational Control Methods For Water Treatment Systems; PI: Kris Villez (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Partners: Baylor, Colorado School of Mines, Rockwell
Project 5.04: Computational Test Bed for Predictive Fouling Control; PI: Dan Miller (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
This project is developing computational models simulating feed flows and inorganic scaling in spiral-wound RO elements. The models seek to understand the formation and growth of scale and unsteady flow effects in the membrane module feed channel.
Partners: Colorado School of Mines, University of Texas at Austin
Project 5.05: CFD modeling and operando measurements of multiscale heat and mass transfer for membrane module customization; PI: Meagan Mauter (Stanford University)
This innovation can improve energy efficiency and reduce the risk of mineral scaling on membrane surfaces.
Partners: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Aqua membranes, Inc., Cascade Technologies, Inc
Project 5.06: Novel Electro-dialytic Crystallizer (EDC) for Energy Efficient Zero-liquid Discharge; PI: Shihong Lin (Vanderbilt)
This project pioneers the use of dimethyl ether (DME)-Driven Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) desalination potentially reducing ZLD costs 50% relative to state-of-the-art crystallizers.
Partners: Black & Veatch, Colorado State University
Project 5.07: Solvent-Driven Zero Liquid Discharge for Production of Synthetic Gypsum; PI: Aaron Wilson (Idaho National Laboratory)
This project pioneers the use of dimethyl ether (DME)-Driven Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) desalination potentially reducing ZLD costs 50% relative to state-of-the-art crystallizers.
Partners: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Trevi Systems, USG Corporation
Project 5.08: Advanced Process Controls – Autonomous Control and Optimization; PI: Kris Villez (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
This project will develop novel process control methods for water treatment facilities that enable operators to predict and adapt to impending process upsets and equipment failures to enable safe and reliable operations of desalination and water reuse facilities.
Partners: Baylor University, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado Springs Utilities, inCTRL Solutions, IntelliFlux Controls, Inc., Rockwell Automation
Project 5.09: Process Twins for Decision-Support and Dynamic Energy/Cost Prediction in Water Reuse Processes; PI: Diego Rosso (University of California at Irvine)
This project will develop physical and digital twins of desalination and related treatment processes operating in several water plants to enable operators to better understand the consequences of large deviations from normal operation.
Partners: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Orange County Water District, Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Glacier Technologies International, Inc., Brown and Caldwell, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts
Project 5.10: Analytics for Causal Analysis and Decision Support Models for Autonomous and Smart Water Treatment; PI: Prakash Rao (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
This project will push the frontier of artificial intelligence in water treatment operations by developing autonomous, adaptive, and co-learning water treatment and desalination systems enabled by fundamental process operation building blocks that predict the operational performance of such systems.
Partners: University of California at Los Angeles, California State University, San Bernardino
Project 5.11: Additive Manufacturing for Customized Membranes; PI: Jeff McCutcheon (University of Connecticut)
This project advances a breakthrough method for manufacturing thin-film composite membranes using Nano-scale 3D printing that will enable membranes to be created for specific separations needs at low cost.
Partners: The University of Texas at Austin, Argonne National Laboratory, NALA Systems, Inc., ZwitterCo, Inc., Vortex Engineering LLC
Project 5.12: Electromagnetic Field for Membrane Scaling Control; PI: Pei Xu (New Mexico State University)
This project will rigorously and systematically investigate electromagnetic fields (EMF) that have been shown to suppress the nucleation of “scale-forming” minerals in desalination systems.
Partners: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium, Flow-Tech Systems, LLC, EVUS, Inc., El Paso Water, Aqua Membranes Inc., NGL Energy Partners, LP
Project 5.13: Tailored Reductants for Selenium Removal in Iron Electrocoagulation; PI: Dan Giammar (Washington University in St. Louis )
This project will target selenium, a problematic naturally-occurring element that is not easily removed by reverse osmosis (RO), and can contaminate wastewater in many industrial applications, with a novel electrochemical method of particle removal called electrocoagulation.
Partners: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Electric Power Research Institute, WaterTectonics, Inc.
Project 5.14: Enabling Minimal Liquid Discharge Through a Modular, Flexible, and Electrified Pretreatment System; PI: David Jassby (University of California at Los Angeles)
This project will develop a combination electrochemical reactor based on electrocoagulation with an immersed filtration system to react and separate problematic contaminants in water in a single modular step prior to desalination.
Partners: Georgia Institute of Technology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Electric Power Research Institute, Knoxville Utilities Board, WaterTectonics, Inc., Southern Company
Project 5.15: Electrocoagulation/electrooxidation to accelerate cost-effective potable water reuse; PI: Shankar Chellam (Texas A&M University)
This project will develop hybrid iron-iron and iron-carbon electrocoagulation/electro oxidation (EC/EO) systems for pretreating secondary wastewater effluent prior to microfiltration and desalination and improve log10 virus reduction and remove suspended particles in a single step.
Partners: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, WaterTectonics, Inc., KIT Professionals, Inc., Orange County Water District, CAP Water & Power International, Inc.
Project 5.16: Energy-efficient selective removal of metal ions from mining influenced waters (MIW) using H-bonded Organic-Inorganic Frameworks (HOIFs); PI: Nick Gurieff (Rio Tinto Services Inc.)
The H-Bonded Organic-Inorganic Frameworks technology will bring tremendous value into the treatment of nonconventional waters with reduced energy consumption, system complexity, and waste management costs while providing unmatched brine valorization and profit recovery. The precision separation and recovery of metals in acid mine drainage (AMD) waters may also expand the availability of critical materials and help alleviate dependency on metal supply chains for the U.S.
Partners: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of Oklahoma, California Department of Water Resources (funding partner).
Project 5.17: Data-Driven Fault Detection and Process Control for Potable Reuse with Reverse Osmosis; PI: Andy Salveson (Carollo Engineers, Inc.)
This project will use machine learning and artificial intelligence to reduce energy and chemical use, improve operational support, increase treatment system uptime, and improve confidence in purified water quality.
Partners: Yokogawa Corporation of America, National Water Research Institute, U.S. Military Academy West Point, tntAnalysis, Las Vegas Municipal Water District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, West Basin Municipal Water District, Orange County Water District, Baylor University, California Department of Water Resources (funding partner)
Project 5.18: Multifunctional Membrane for Oxyanion Removal; PI: Baoxia Mi (University of California, Berkeley).
This project will generate a technology that enables the selective removal and recovery of metals/oxyanions from water, enabling the use of a non-traditional water source, significantly reducing the cost and energy of treatment, and valorizing compounds that would typically be considered waste.
Partners: Greeley and Hansen LLC, NTS Innovations Inc., California Department of Water Resources (funding partner).
Topic Area 2: Materials and Manufacturing
Project 6.02: Machine Learning Platform for Catalyst Design; PI: Anubhav Jain (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
This project will develop a high-throughput computational platform for identifying novel electrode materials using state-of-the-art user facilities at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab that integrates machine learning, high fidelity simulation, and combinatorial experimental screening.
Partners: Electric Power Research Institute, CMU
Project 6.03: Omics Platform for in-operando Biological Characterization Systems Design; PI: Pedro Alvarez (Rice)
This project will build a comprehensive omics platform to empower the research community to fundamentally understand biofilm formation and mitigate biofouling in water treatment and distribution systems.
Partners: University of Texas at Arlington, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, DuPont, IDE Technologies
Project 6.04: Development of HPRO Membrane Platform for the Desalination of High Salinity Waters; PI: Jeffrey McCutcheon (University of Connecticut)
The main objective of this project is to create platform approaches to understanding how membranes behave when exposed to high pressures and salinities.
Partners: Yale, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Project 6:05: Kinetic Modeling and Experimental Validation of Mineralization in High Salinity Brine Solutions with and without Scale Inhibitors; PI: Sharon Bone (Stanford)
This team will create a software program to better predict kinetic induction times which may improve capabilities of brine concentrators to operate at the edge of scale formation.
Partners: National Energy Technology Laboratory, Veolia Water Technologies, OLI Systems, Inc.
Project 6.06: Engineering Super Antiscalants for High Recovery Brine Concentrators; PI: Menachem Elimelech (Yale University)
This team aims to develop new and improved antiscalants to prevent equipment scaling and improve the efficiency of brine concentrators.
Partners: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Electric Power Research Institute, Saltworks Technologies
Project 6.07: WaterPy: Open-Source Modeling and Optimization Library for Water Treatment Processes; PI: George Bollas (University of Connecticut)
This team will develop a new software toolset for the design and optimization of brine treatment processes.
Partners: Sandia National Laboratories, Modelon, Inc.
Project 6.08: Direct electrochemical reduction of selenium to achieve A-PRIME water treatment; PI: Anubhav Jain (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
This project utilizes breakthrough computational techniques to design novel electro-reactive materials that could directly chemically reduce and remove selenium from non-traditional water sources as a pre-treatment step prior to desalination.
Partners: William Marsh Rice University, Auburn University, Stanford University, and Electric Power Research Institute
Project 6.09: Selective Separation of Selenium Oxyanions By Chelating Hydrogen-Bonding Ligands; PI: Radu Custelcean (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
This project explores a promising family of chemical compounds that could directly bond to selenium atoms prior to RO for efficient removal of this challenging contaminant.
Partners: Georgia Institute of Technology University, ReactWell, LLC, Tennessee Valley Authority
Project 6.10: Porous Polymer Networks and Membranes for PFAS and Selenium Removal from Water; PI: Jeffrey Long (University of California at Berkeley)
This project will design novel cage-like molecules that can be modified to selectively bond to specific contaminants in water, focusing on removal of selenium and PFAS, which are problematic constituents in desalination and water reuse systems.
Partners: Electric Power Research Institute, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado Higher Education Competitive Research Authority, and ZOMA Foundation
Project 6.11: UHPRO Membrane and Module Design & Optimization Innovations to Enable & Optimize Ultra-High Pressure Reverse Osmosis Membranes; PI: Eric Hoek (University of California at Los Angeles)
This project will develop new RO membranes that can withstand the ultra-high osmotic pressures created when desalinating concentrated brines.
Partners: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Yale University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Connecticut
Project 6.12: Electrochemical Advanced Oxidation; PI: David Sedlak (University of California at Berkeley)
This project will create a novel, low-cost electrochemical process for oxidizing and removing organic contaminants from water suitable for pre-treatment prior to RO in distributed treatment and water reuse environments.
Partners: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Project 6.13: Copper Recovery from Mining Process Waters with Ion-Selective Electrodialysis; PI: Rafael Verduzco (Rice University)
Copper recovery will help to achieve pipe parity with conventional treatment of mining process waters and/or reuse at copper mines and refineries while simultaneously improving environmental sustainability. The project will also provide platform technology that can be used to develop additional ion-selective cation exchange membranes, targeting other ionic contaminants of interest, such as lead and cadmium.
Partners: The University of Texas El Paso, Magna Imperio Systems Corp.
Project 6.14: Novel Bipolar Membrane Assisted Electrosorption Process for the Selective Removal of Boron; PI: Menachem Elimelech (Yale University)
This project will overcome the persisting inefficiencies in the current state-of-the art boron removal strategies. The research will also provide a demonstration of an effective method for electrosorption of weak acid/base species and selective removal of trace contaminants.
Partners: University of Michigan, Magna Imperio Systems Corp
Project 6.16: Redox-Mediated Electrodes for Precision Separation of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Oxyanions; PI: Xiao Su (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).
Selective electrosorption technologies for the separation and concentration of charged nutrients could enable a sustainable water treatment paradigm, particularly for small communities that struggle to operate centralized facilities and highly sensitive biological removal systems.
Partners: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Voltea Inc.
Project 6.17: Selective Electrocatalytic Destruction of PFAS using a Reactive Electrochemical Membrane System; PI: Brian Chaplin (University of Illinois Chicago)
This project will overcome technical limitations of existing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) destruction technologies by improving selectivity for PFAS destruction, minimizing toxic byproduct formation, and limiting short-chain PFAS formation.
Partners: Purdue University, Argonne National Laboratory, M. Davis & Sons Inc., Trimeric Corporation, CDM Federal Programs Corporation, Orange County Water District
Project 6.19: Hybrid electrochemical-ion exchange process for selective phosphate recovery as struvite; PI: Will Tarpeh (Stanford)
This project will use innovation in a new process combining electrochemistry and ion exchange (EC-IX) to address three unresolved challenges faced by state-of-art phosphate recovery technologies: (1) low product yield (e.g., struvite) limited by low phosphate concentration in wastewater; (2) low product purity limited by imprecise separation; and (3) low product uniformity limited by uncontrolled struvite precipitation in wastewater.
Project 6.20: Precise Electrochemical Dehalogenation of PFAS in Desalination Concentrates by High Entropy Catalysts; PI: Christopher Muhich (Arizona State University)
Partners: Clarkson, CDM Smith, Square One, Tetra Tech, Trussell Tech.
Topic Area 3: Data Modeling and Analysis
Project 3.02: Development, Deployment, and Refinement of the Water Technology Data and Analysis Management Platform (Water-DAMS); PI: Jon Weers (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
The Water Technology Data and Analysis Management System (Water-DAMS) provides the water treatment research community a secure central repository for technology and treatment train data that is accessible to researchers, decision-makers (e.g., water managers), DOE, and the public while also providing sufficient data security to protect water utilities.
Partners: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Project 3.03: Develop the Water Technology Techno-Economic Assessment Pipe Parity Platform; PI: Ariel Miara (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
The Water Technoeconomic Assessment Pipe-Parity Platform (WaterTAP3) was developed under the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) to facilitate consistent technoeconomic assessments of desalination treatment trains. The WaterTAP3 is an analytically robust modeling tool that can be used to evaluate water technology cost, energy, and environmental tradeoffs across different water sources, sectors, and scales.
Partners: OSU, Stanford, EPRI, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Project 3.04: Roadmap to R&D Cycle: Technology Baselines, NAWI Performance Tracking, and Technology Roadmapping; PI: Parthiv Kurup (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Partners: EPRI, NMSU, Colorado State, CU Boulder, UCinci, USC, WUSTL, TAMU, UTA, CSM, UCB, UCI, Yale, BlueTech Research, LBNL, NREL, ORNL.
Project 3.05: Integrated Data and Analysis Research Projects; PI: Jordan Macknick (NREL)
Partners: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Stanford University
Project 3.06: NAWI Water Treatment Model Development; PI: Timothy Bartholomew (National Energy Technology Laboratory)
Partners: EPRI, OLI, LBNL, NETL, NREL, ORNL.
Project 3.07: NAWI Analysis; PI: Alex Dudchenko (Stanford Linear Accelerator C)
Partners: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Project 3.08: Next-Generation Desalination for for Treatment of Agricultural Drainage Wastewater; PI: David Sedlak (University of California at Berkeley)
This project will complete the first ever study of how distributed desalination and water reuse could secure new water supplies for California’s Central Valley while potentially creating new economic opportunity through the manufacturing of valuable products from brine waste streams from desalination.
Partners: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Davis, Meridian Institute
Project 3.09: Assessing the Impact of APRIME on Industrial Sector Supply Portfolios: Chemical Industry and Data Center/Large Campus Case Studies; PI: TBC (The University of Texas at Austin)
This project will develop a circular water systems analysis (CWSA) software tool to enable industrial water users to better quantify the total value of implementing novel water treatment, desalination, and reuse systems at their facilities.
Partners: Carollo Engineers, Georgia Institute of Technology, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), BlueTech Research, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Eastman Chemical Company (North Ghent and Indian Orchard Sites.)
Project 3.10: Robust Technology and Policy Pathways for Municipal Water Security; PI: Meagan Mauter (Stanford)
This project will develop a new decision support software tool to enable urban water planners and operators to identify cost- and energy-optimal non-traditional source water augmentation pathways, including desalination, that enhance municipal resilience against current and future water shortages.
Project 3.11: Demonstration and Validation of Low Salt Rejection RO (LSSRO) for High Recovery Desalination of Saline Water; PI: Tzahi Cath (CSM)
Partners: Fluid Tech Solutions Inc.
Project 4.02: ProteusLib – Integrated Computational Capability for Optimizing Advanced Water Treatment Systems; PI: David Miller (National Energy Technology Laboratory)
This project is developing ProteusLib, a modeling and simulation capability for the design and optimization of water treatment systems. ProteusLib is a modular water
treatment model library that can be used on the IDAES Platform, an advanced process systems engineering tool developed by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Partners: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Project 4.03: High-Fidelity Modeling; PI: Ramanan Sankaran (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Partners: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Stanford University