Osmotically Assisted Desalination Method and System

Case ID:
UNR11-003
Description:

 

Background:

Water is a necessity of life.  With one in nine people lacking access to safe water, the need for efficient methods for treating water are at an all-time high.  Current processes for the desalination of saline water have many disadvantages such as being very energy intensive, having limited water recovery, and costing a lot of money.  Because of the many problems of existing processes, researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno have created a novel osmotically assisted desalination method and system.

 

Description:

Our researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno have created a new method and system for osmotically assisted desalination of saline water such as seawater or brackish water.  Our method and system can be applied to the water industry for use in areas like water and wastewater treatment.  This technology will benefit the water industry since it is more efficient, environmentally-safe, and it requires less energy than current systems.

 

Advantages:

  • Our system and method can desalinate water at lower energy expenditure than existing processes.
  • Our technique can provide efficient treatment of impaired water.
  • The dilution of concentrate by the pressure desalination can reduce discharge of pollutants to the environment.
  • Our system provides separation between impaired water and desalinated water that is produced.
  • Our processes can achieve advanced and high-level wastewater treatment of a wide range of waste streams.

 

Related Documents

 

 

 

UNR11-003

 

Patent Information:
For Information, Contact:
Ellen Purpus
Assistant VP
University of Nevada, Reno
epurpus@unr.edu
Inventors:
Tzahi Cath
Amy Childress
Andrea Achilli
Keywords