I-Corps: Ceramic Membrane Systems for Produced Water Treatment

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种大规模膜系统，该系统将被建造以更节能的方式将盐从采出水中分离出来。产出水是滞留在地下地层中的水，随石油或天然气一起带到地面。根据社区的需要，膜系统有望净化产出水，用于水力压裂或农业等商业应用。该项目的成果将转化技术知识，以节能的方式提高许多城市和工业生产水的可持续性。使用拟议的技术，可以为美国的90万口油气井提供产出水处理解决方案。这个i-Corps项目是基于开发一种用于净化采出水的陶瓷膜过滤系统。在注水井中处理含盐和含油的污水不是一个可持续的解决方案，因为它成本高昂，而且会引发地震活动。迫切需要以具有成本效益的方式处理采出水的新方法。满足这一需求将需要一种综合的、多学科的方法，而陶瓷膜可以通过降低更换和清洗成本来提供一种化学上可靠的处理选择。该项目的创新之处在于使用亲水性陶瓷膜来降低采出水中的杂质浓度。该技术的创新之处在于膜的制作技术。将在现场安装必要的设施以处理采出水。该计划预计将确定生产节能放大膜系统所需的要求，以将产出水净化到适合重复使用的水平。该计划的成功示范有可能增加供水，降低生产水管理的运营成本、能源消耗和环境影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a large-scale membrane system that will be constructed to separate salts from produced water in a more energy efficient manner. Produced water is water trapped in underground formations that is brought to the surface along with oil or gas. The membrane system is expected to purify produced water for commercial applications such as fracking or agriculture depending on the needs of the community. The outcomes of the project will translate technical knowledge to enhance the sustainability of produced water in many municipalities and industries in an energy-efficient way. Using the proposed technology, produced water treatment solutions may be provided to the 900,000 oil and gas wells in the United States. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a ceramic membrane filtration system to clean produced water. Disposal of salty and oily produced water in injection wells is not a sustainable solution because it is costly and induces seismic activity. There is a critical need for new methods to treat produced water in a cost-effective way. Addressing this need will require a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach and the ceramic membranes may offer a chemically-robust treatment option by reducing replacement and cleaning costs. The novelty of the project is in using hydrophilic ceramic membranes to reduce the impurity concentrations in produced water. The innovation of the proposed technology lies in the membrane fabrication technique. The necessary setups will be installed at the site for the treatment of produced water. The program is expected to define the requirements needed to produce an energy-saving scaled-up membrane system for cleaning produced water to levels suitable for reuse. A successful demonstration of the program has the potential to increase water supplies and reduce operational costs, energy consumption, and environmental impacts of produced water management.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.