Chemistry in Parts per Million (Parts per Billion): Water Treatment Technology July 21, 2009

Transcription

1 Chemistry in Parts per Million (Parts per Billion): Water Treatment Technology July 21, 2009 Life-Changing Research and Development Keith Pauley x81 Chemical and Environmental Technologies Health and Life Sciences Advanced Engineering Systems

2 About MATRIC MATRIC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and development corporation formed in 2004 Reinvest earnings in new research Offices in Charleston (WV), Morgantown (WV) and Oak Ridge (TN) Research staff of 85 and engineering staff of PhD-level researchers 19 professional engineers 25+ average years of experience 2 members of National Academy of Engineering MATRIC has a focus on developing intellectual properties for commercial and industrial customers and adding genuine value throughout the technical services, research, testing and development processes MATRIC was formed from the downsizing of over 2000 research scientists and engineers located at the Union Carbide Tech Center, South Charleston, WV from MATRIC 2

3 Overall MATRIC Enterprise Non-Profit R&D Corporation For-Profit Commercial R&D Corporation Holding Company to Commercialize IP Technical Consulting Firm Full Service Professional Engineering Firm 3

4 MATRIC s Geographic Expansion Morgantown, WV Charleston, WV Oak Ridge, TN Milan, Italy Shanghai, China Houston, TX Sao Palo, Brazil MATRIC 4

5 Removing Pollutants from Water Various industries need to remove trace pollutants from aqueous sources in an economical manner Element Aqueous Limit (ppb) Typical Industry Selenium 4.7 Coal and phosphate mining Arsenic 10 Salt mining Mercury 2 (EPA); 0.02 (Ohio) Coal mining and combustion Aluminum 750 (acute);87 (chronic) Surface mining Iron 500 Deep mining Total Dissolved Solids 100,000 Natural gas 5

6 Selenium Concentrations by County (USGS) 6

7 Marcellus Shale Natural Gas 7

8 VARIOUS TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES MATRIC 8

9 Bacterial Treatment Anaerobic Bacteria Removal: uses naturally occurring microbes in specially developed mixtures, or cocktails, to chemically reduce and precipitate target compounds from solution. This system also is capable of breaking down target compounds into their harmless chemical components (e.g., turning nitrate into nitrogen gas). Advantages Low Cost (Power and O&M) High potential pollutant removal rates Disadvantages Start-up required for development of microorganism population Chemical and/or environmental changes can inactivate the process Sensitive to upset conditions

10 Wetlands Treatment Wetlands: uses particular features of plant and microbial processes to remove contaminants in water, including selenium. Advantages Low costs (power and O&M) Adaptable to any geometrical configuration Removal of a wide range of aquatic contaminants Disadvantages Long residence time Susceptible to toxic and/or environmental changes Toxic bioaccumulation for wildlife

11 Reverse Osmosis Treatment Reverse Osmosis: pressurized process to force a solution through a membrane, retaining the solute on one side and allowing the pure solvent to pass to the other side. Advantages Effective removal of a high percentage of contaminants Less susceptible to chemical and/or environmental conditions (retains efficiency over a broad range of conditions) Disadvantages A concentrated waste stream produced that requires subsequent disposal Pollutant removal required from waste stream High costs (power and O&M) Fouling significantly reduces unit effectiveness over time

12 Reactive Filtration Reactive Filtration: unpressurized, often passive process react trace impurities with specific reactive media to remove them from the aqueous stream Advantages Simple chemical reaction Relative ease in the removal of selenium, arsenic, mercury and aluminum concentrate for disposal Short retention time Construction and O&M costs significantly lower than other technologies Disadvantages TDS has to be considered Sulfates are detrimental

13 LABORATORY CAPABILITIES MATRIC 13

14 Reverse Osmosis Laboratory Laboratory reverse osmosis test unit for application development Reverse osmosis membranes prefilters pump

15 Reactive Filtration Laboratory Development of variety of media that chemically remove pollutants from water sources Catalytic reactions Non-catalytic reactions Reactive filtration for nonhydrocarbon pollutants Selenium Arsenic Iron Aluminum Mercury 15

16 Heat Integrated Evaporator Laboratory Removal of organics Frac water slickners Trace petroleum Complete multi-step evaporation of TDS materials to dry crystals MATRIC 16

17 DEMONSTRATION AND PRODUCTION UNITS MATRIC 17

18 Natural Gas Well Desalination Unit 200 bbl/day 18

19 Natural Gas Well Desalination Unit 2400 bbl/day MATRIC 19

20 Surface Mine Water Selenium Removal System Reverse Osmosis Technology

21 Surface Mine Water Selenium Removal System Reverse Osmosis Technology Membranes are in the white cylinders Feed pump

22 Surface Mine Water Selenium Removal System Reactive Filtration Technology 22

23 Surface Mine Water Selenium Removal System Reactive Filtration Technology 23

24 Modular reactive filtration design

25 Water Treatment Start-up Companies NG Innovations Solutions to treat salt water for economical disposal and remove water, heavy oils, CO2 and N2 from natural gas. Liberty Hydrologic Systems Systems to remove selenium and other heavy metals from environmental water Reactive Filtration Reactive media production technology Hydrus Membranes Reverse osmosis membrane production technology, including organics resistance and anti-fouling coatings 25

26 Remaining Challenges System design with multiple technologies Life-time testing Full characterization of technology performance due to other constituents in water Real-time analytical measurement of trace impurities Simplification of design and operations Further cost reductions MATRIC s research and engineering capabilities are well-suited to produce commercial technology for a variety of water treatment issues MATRIC 26