PFI:AIR - TT: Microbial Capacitive Desalination for Produced Water Reuse and Energy Production

该PFI: AIR技术翻译项目专注于翻译微生物电容式海水淡化（MCD）技术，以满足新兴的石油和天然气行业对节能、模块化和移动水管理解决方案的需求，这些解决方案使用水力压裂和水平钻井。目前的现场处理和再利用技术是非常能源和成本密集的。因此，大量受污染的水未经处理就被运输和重新注入，这种做法正在引起公众和监管部门的注意。MCD很重要，因为它解决了采出水（废水）运输、回注和地下水污染等环境问题，它可以回收数十亿加仑的水用于有益的用途，同时从化学反应中收集能量。该项目将产生一个原型MCD系统，在实际环境条件下具有更好的性能。该产品具有以下独特的特点：它是一个更小的、可移动的系统，在去除碳氢化合物、盐和金属时产生而不是消耗能量。这些特点提供了更高的效率和更低的成本，与领先的竞争水管理实践在这个市场空间。该项目解决了以下技术差距，因为它从研究发现转化为商业应用。它能够集成先进的制造、自动化控制和过程工程，用于模块化系统的开发和扩展。它还为不同条件下的液压、机械和环境特性提供了测试平台，为系统优化和应用提供了重要信息。此外，参与该项目的人员，包括博士后研究人员和学生，将通过技术开发和转让获得技术和创业经验。该项目涉及制造公司和石油天然气公司，以确定商业化途径和测试环境，将这项技术从研究发现转化为商业现实。

This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating microbial capacitive desalination (MCD) technology to fill the need for energy efficient, modular, and mobile water management solutions for the emerging oil and natural gas industry using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. Current technologies for on site treatment and reuse are very energy and cost intensive. Consequently, large quantities of contaminated water are transported and re-injected without treatment, an approach that is attracting public and regulatory attention. The MCD is important because it solves the environmental problems of produced water (wastewater) transportation, re-injection, and groundwater contamination, and it can recycle billions of gallons of water for beneficial use while harvesting energy from the chemical reactions. The project will result in a prototype MCD system with improved performance under real environmental conditions. This product has the following unique features: it is a smaller, mobile system that generates rather than consumes energy while removing hydrocarbons, salts, and metals. These features provide much higher efficiency and lower cost when compared to the leading competing water management practices in this market space. This project addresses the following technology gaps as it translates from research discovery toward commercial application. It enables the integration of advanced manufacturing, automation control, and process engineering for modular system development and scale up. It also provides a testing platform for hydraulic, mechanical, and environmental characterizations under different conditions, which provides crucial information for system optimization and application. In addition, personnel involved in this project, including postdoctoral researchers and students will gain both technological and entrepreneurship experience through technology development and transfer.The project engages manufacturing companies and oil and gas companies to identify commercialization pathways and test environment in this technology translation effort from research discovery toward commercial reality.