Water Technology
Water Reclamation, Purification, and Desalination
Using advanced reverse osmosis and bimimetic applications of cutting-edge technology, Sciperio is developing water reclamation and desalination techniques with near 100% water recovery.
Most of the existing reverse osmosis (RO) techniques for water desalination offer only 30% water recovery. Sciperio is co-developing with Spectra Watermakers 21st-century water purification techniques that are cost-effective and can potentially offer near 100% water recovery. Sciperio has adopted a novel approach to advanced water treatment; one that's modeled on existing systems found in nature, and one that produces results.
The Solar Waterhouse
Current reclamation methods produce residual brine that is often discarded as an acceptable by-product. Our solar waterhouse is a proprietary greenhouse-like structure with microlens arrays on glass panels to help evaporate water from the concentrated brine, capturing that "last gallon" of water. The solar waterhouse, working with existing reclamation technologies, can process this brine to help achieve near 100% water recovery.
While this is an innovative approach to water reclamation, it's not exactly a new one. The solar waterhouse is also biomimetically modeled to include an engineered outer surface. It's a proven, effective design found in nature, and represents just another way Sciperio brings fresh approaches to new challenges.
An illustration of the solar waterhouse concept.
Advanced Reverse Osmosis
We have formed a strategic partnership with Spectra Watermakers to co-develop a high throughput, high water recovery reverse-osmosis (RO) system. The advanced RO system features a unique two-stage pumping and pressurizing system. The first stage is a simple feed pump which supplies raw water flow and pressure for prefiltration, circulation, and the driving energy for the second stage, the Clark Pump.
The Clark Pump is a unique pressure intensifier that uses two opposing cylinders and pistons that share a single rod. Water pressure from the small feed pump is used by one of the cylinders to make the other pressurize and circulate the saltwater through the reverse osmosis membrane. Pressurization is achieved when the rod, as it is forced into a cylinder, displaces water in the closed loop circuit. The pressure instantly builds to the point where the displaced volume of water is forced out of the membrane as the fresh product. When a driving cylinder's piston touches the base, the process is instantly reversed. Pressurization is almost continuous. There is no energy-wasting "back stroke" as in other systems and no need for gears or crank shafts that need oil and servicing.
The energy recovery system takes advantage of stored energy in the high pressure reject water that is typically wasted. The pressurized reject water is re-circulated to the back side of the piston to aid the next stroke. A double-acting energy recovery system recovers energy entrained in the brine stream to help or boost the high pressure pump in conjunction with the feed water pressure pump in both cycles.
We are also performing a systems study of how the RO unit can be powered via renewable energy resources.
The inner workings of the advanced RO pump.
The advanced RO system being co-developed with SpectraWatermakers has or will have the following features:
- Unique energy recovery approach
- Pressure-amplifying Clark Pump
- Low pressure pumps: a 40–60 psi external feed pump with a 10:1 internal pressure amplification ratio leading to a 400–600 psi internal pressure which will lead to lower capital equipment expense
- Low energy consumption rate ~3WHr/L (70%–80% less than traditional RO units) using seawater as the water source
- Ultra-quiet
- Integrated feed pump and energy recovery/pressure amplifier functions
- Highly scalable and modular design (10,000–1,000,000 gallons/day applications)
- Low manufacturing costs
- No external motive unit
- High reliability
- Good operational efficiency
Advanced RO For Distributed Treatment
It is evident that the latest generation of technology is changing the landscape of distributed energy. Small-scale power generation (usually less than 50 megawatt capacity) near the load provides more economic, a less polluting power supply and management options for energy customers and utilities over conventional central generation. A major driver for distributed and modular power is techno-economic. For example, rapid advances in wind, photovoltaic and solar-thermal power technologies, have significantly reduced the cost of these renewable power sources. We envisage that small-scale water distribution will also provide more economic and management options for water customers and utilities than conventional central water distribution, especially when amalgamated with on-going distributed energy advances. Water without question is one of our most consequential shared resources, but faces severe threats from both natural and human causes. These threats include destruction of water supply, treatment, or distribution systems through accidents, terrorism, or force majeure, as well as insufficient supplies of fresh water due to pollution, ineffective management, or excessive demand. Such threats have the potential to significantly limit economic growth, lead to widespread health concerns, and inflame a growing number of regional conflicts.
However, water generation, water treatment, and distributed water have not been an area of basic research and innovation since it is believed that water is a mature technology. Understanding the kinetics and energetics of desalting at the RO membrane level including the effects of hydrophilicity, porosity, surface chemistry, and performing active control of the ionic separation surface are anticipated to collectively improve the water flux, decrease energy consumption, overcome bio-fouling, and provide sizeable improvements in our ability for in-line processing of chemical and biological contaminants in the water stream.
The concept of distributed water is driving much of our co-development research with SpectraWatermakers on advanced RO systems that are energy efficient and modular.
