Water Desalination ReporT

The international weekly for desalination and advanced water treatment since 1965
Volume 50, Number 32 2 September 2014

Technology
FO: RO’s new best friend
Massachusetts-based Oasys Water announced today that it
has been awarded a contract to furnish a Membrane Brine
Concentrator (MBC) in what will be the first commercial
zero liquid discharge (ZLD) system to apply an osmotically
driven technology membrane process. The MBC system will
treat 650 m3/d (120 GPM) of flue gas desulfurization (FGD)
wastewater from the 2 x 660MW Changxing Power Plant in
China’s northern Zhejiang province.
The winning bid—which is understood to have been assessed
on a net present value (NPV) basis—was evaluated against
six other offers, including those from three of the largest
brine concentrator evaporator suppliers.
At first glance, the overall process flow diagram of the
Changxing FGD wastewater treatment system looks like
most other ZLD systems: chemical softening, granular
media filtration, ion exchange, RO pre-concentration, brine
concentration and crystallization. However, rather than using
a conventional mechanical vapor compression evaporator for
brine concentration, the plant will employ an MBC system
incorporating Oasys’ unique forward osmosis process to
further concentrate RO reject from a total dissolved solids of
60,000 mg/L to approximately 280,000 mg/L.
Using a proprietary, high-salinity ammonia bicarbonate
draw solution and a patented semi-permeable membrane,
Pretreated
wastewater
27 m3/hr
Reverse Osmosis
25,000 to
40,000 mg/L
22.3 m3/hr
60,000 mg/L
17 m3/hr Forward Osmosis
~1,000 mg/L
Dilute
Draw Solution
Draw Solution
Recovery
Cooling Water to
Condense Draw Solution
25-30°C
Oasys MBCTM with Integrated RO Preconcentration
the MBC system relies on the salinity gradient between the
draw solution and the RO concentrate to create the necessary
osmotic pressure to drive water across the membrane while
rejecting up to 99 percent of the dissolved solids. The now
diluted water/draw solution mixture is continuously re-
concentrated in a thermal recovery system where steam is
used to vaporize the thermolytic draw solution solutes at
a temperature of 70°C (158°F), while the remaining low-
TDS water is returned to the RO feedwater, reducing the RO
system’s operating pressure and the overall treatment train’s
energy consumption and capital cost.
Although Oasys has demonstrated its FO process in the
concentration of oil field brines in Texas’ Permian Basin
and shale gas operations in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale,
this is the first commercial power plant application of the
technology in a ZLD project.
As a result of the combined effects of growing water scarcity
and stricter air pollution emission standards, FGD systems
have become mandatory in China, necessitating an increased
need for FGD wastewater treatment. One report estimates
that China could nearly double its installed FGD capacity
between now and 2020. Jim Matheson, Oasys’ CEO, said that
he is excited about his company’s prospects for capturing a
significant share of the resulting ZLD market, noting, “The
Changxing project is a promising model to showcase the
21.1 m3/hr
merits of our MBC technology.”
<500 mg/L
The company’s partner on the project is Beijing Woteer, an
EPC contractor who was the lead investor in Oasys’ 2013
4.5 m3/hr Series B funding round and has exclusive rights to the MBC
~280,000 mg/L
to Crystallizer
technology in China’s power and other industrial markets.
Woteer will furnish the balance of the treatment plant, which
Concentrated is scheduled to be operational in mid-2015.
Draw Solution
Draw Solution steam
Brine Column steam Next Week
7-10 September: The WateReuse Association will hold its Annual
WateReuse Symposium in Dallas, Texas. Visit https://www.watereuse.
org/node/3303.
11-12 September: The Texas Desalination Association will hold Desal
2014 in Austin, Texas. Visit http://www.texasdesal.com.

Tom Pankratz, Editor, P.O. Box 75064, Houston, Texas 77234-5064 USA
Telephone: +1-281-857-6571, www.desalination.com/wdr, email: tp@globalwaterintel.com
© 2014 Media Analytics. Published in cooperation with Global Water Intelligence.
WATER DESALINATION REPORT – 2 September 2014
Company News
From concept to Reality
Today’s news that a membrane process employing forward
osmosis has prevailed in a head-to-head competition
with more conventional evaporator technology on a
ZLD application was both predictable and surprising.
It was predictable because growing brine disposal challenges
have resulted in an avalanche of research focused on finding
alternatives to the high energy and capital costs of brine
concentration. It also seemed to be an obvious area for
consideration of osmotically driven membrane processes
(ODMPs), which will harness a salinity gradient rather than
pumping power as the primary energy source. The sheer
range of research—using FO and other ODMPs, chemical
and electrochemical processes, humidification, membrane
distillation and more conventional evaporator technology—
meant that improvements were inevitable.
In retrospect, the most surprising thing may be that it took
so long. However, even most early supporters of ODMPs
were looking in other directions; they were likely distracted
by the exponential growth of the SWRO market from 2000-
2010.
WDR  first reported on Oasys in February 2009, shortly
after it was formed with $10 million in capital investment
funding. At the time, company executives, all of whom are
no longer with the company, told WDR that its proprietary
forward osmosis process could be commercialized for low-
salinity applications “almost immediately,” and that it could
be generating revenue “within 24 months.”
Oilfield MBC with RO (foreground) and
FO systems (background), awaiting shipment.
Jim Matheson took over as Oasys’ CEO in 2012. His view
of Oasys’ future proved to be a bit more accurate when he
was interviewed for a two-part, April 2013 WDR story on
ODMPs. “We believe FO  will indeed have a place in
Page 2
municipal desal, but much more as a  complement to  RO
where FO brine recovery systems can increase overall
recovery to near-ZLD. In the short term, we have turned our
attention to faster moving industrial markets, such as oil and
gas produced water treatment, which are currently un-served,
or poorly served, by thermal evaporative technologies,” he
said.
Since then, the company has focused on optimizing its brine
concentration and FO membrane technology. And, besides
supplying its first commercial ZLD system  (see previous
story), Oasys’ Lisa Marchewka said that it will ship its
first  commercial produced water MBC system, which will
concentrate brine in a Texas oilfield, later this month.
Technology
It was 20 years ago today,
Sgt Pepper taught the band to play…
On 25-26 August 1994, the National Water Research Institute
(NWRI) and the Orange County Water District (OCWD)
convened the first specialty conference on what was then a
newly emerging water treatment process: Microfiltration.
At the time, the water industry was looking for methods
to improve filter performance in drinking water treatment
plants to ensure compliance with the EPA’s Surface
Water Treatment Rule (SWTR) requirements for three-
log (99.9%) giardia removal and for more efficient RO
pretreatment alternatives to high-lime clarification used in
wastewater reclamation applications. Microfiltration (MF)
and ultrafiltration (UF), which had been developed for the
chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries, were being
considered as viable alternatives to traditional granular
media filters used in municipal water and wastewater.
Greg Leslie, then an OCWD engineer, was charged with
coordinating the program. Last week, on the 20th anniversary
of the NWRI’s Microfiltration for Water Treatment
Symposium, he told WDR that it had been his hope to
organize a program that would bring together a good mix
of delegates from water utilities, engineering firms and
membrane companies. Because MF and UF were novel
technologies for the municipal water industry, he invited
Bill Eykamp, an MIT chemical engineer with 23 years of
experience in developing and deploying membranes in
industrial applications for Koch Membrane Systems (KMS),
to chair the symposium.
Dr Leslie, now a professor at the University of New South
Wales in Sydney, Australia, recalls, “Dr Eykamp posed four
WATER DESALINATION REPORT – 2 September 2014
questions for the symposium presenters: Is MF a technically
feasible process for the treatment of drinking water and the
reclamation of wastewater? Is MF economically competitive
for either of these applications? Is the MF process sufficiently
superior to conventional technology to overcome the barriers
of deploying a novel technology in a conservative field
where reliability is of paramount importance? And, finally:
Is MF superior to other emerging solutions?
“These were all valid US water industry concerns in 1994.
After hearing from noted academics on MF/UF theory
and from regulators on the approval requirements for new
technologies in California, we were eager to hear from R
Scott Yoo of the San Jose Water company and Steve Conklin
of OCWD, two organizations that had taken a chance on the
emerging technology.
“Scott spoke positively on the six months of operation of the
5 MGD [18,925 m3/d] MF plant at Saratoga Springs, which
was then the largest MF drinking water plant in the US.
Then, Steve outlined the plans for a recently purchased 0.6
MGD [2,000 m3/d] MF unit that was part of a demonstration
project to investigate the feasibility of upgrading the
OCWD’s Water Factory 21 pretreatment system.
“The meeting concluded with the consensus that MF was a
promising technology. However, there were still questions
on its cost and reliability.
“Twenty years later—with the Saratoga Springs membrane
plant still in operation, and a 100 MGD [378,500 m3/d]
groundwater replenishment system occupying the site of the
original Water Factory 21—there is a lesson to be learned:
from little things, big things grow. And, that while it is good
to be prudent, sometimes it is necessary to take a chance.”   
Company News
Floating SWRO contends for water award
Buoyed by their selection as semi-finalists in the
Future  Technologies for Water (FTW) competition, a
team of recent University of North Carolina at Charlotte
graduates said that they are moving forward with plans
to commercialize a wave-powered seawater desalination
system within 12 to 18 months. According to Laura Smailes,
the team’s project manager, the SAROS (Swell Actuated RO
System) was selected from 70 entrants from 27 countries,
with the winner to be named early next month.
Their 160 GPD (600 L/d) prototype SAROS was entered
into the FTW competition and successfully demonstrated its
ability to produce fresh water in a series of tests conducted
Page 3
off Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Justin Sonnett, one
of the co-inventors, told WDR that the test unit was designed
to operate in fairly standard wind chop wave conditions with
a standard, 2.5-inch (64mm) diameter SWRO membrane
and a 150-micron strainer and 100- and 10-micron cartridge
filters for pretreatment.
“A seawater-filled pendulum hangs from the center of
the  SAROS structure, which is mounted on pontoons and
anchored in place. The waves cause the structure to move
in a natural rocking motion, creating energy that is captured
by hydraulic cylinders to directly pressurize the feedwater.
Our preliminary full-scale design is expected to produce
between 700 and 1,000 GPD [2.7 and 3.8 m3/d] of fresh water
with a 2,400-pound [1,090kg] pendulum, while operating in
2- to 3-foot [0.6-0.9m] seas.
SAROS Wave-powered SWRO Unit
“The system’s mobility allows it to be easily relocated during
inclement weather or demand changes, and it can be deployed
or retrieved in a matter of hours. It is entirely serviceable
above the water level and employs bolt-on components to
facilitate service and maintenance,” said Sonnett.
The team is now making changes to optimize the
unit’s performance and will begin extended oceanic testing
in October. Potential sponsors, partners and investors are
now being sought. 
Saudi Arabia
BWRO to get ceramic UF pretreatment
Germany’s ItN Nanovation has been awarded a €1.3 million
($1.7 million) contract to  supply its flat sheet ceramic
membranes to Veolia Water’s VWS Saudi Industries for a
new waterworks project at Al Quaiyah, east of Jeddah. VWS
will design and build the project for the general contractor,
Al Manar, under the direction of the Ministry of Water and
Electricity.
WATER DESALINATION REPORT – 2 September 2014
ItN CEO Lutz Bungeroth told WDR that the 25,000 m3/d (6.6
MGD) project includes 16 filtration racks arranged in eight
trains with 3,584m2 (38,580 ft2) of total membrane area.
“The project was originally designed to use sand filters
to pretreat groundwater for the removal of iron, manganese
and radium ahead of a  brackish groundwater RO system.
However, the Ministry’s local directorate is familiar with
the success of a similar installation we completed for
Buraydah City in the Al Qassim region and approved the
extra budget to change from sand filters to our ceramic UF
membranes,” said Bungeroth.
The membranes are scheduled for delivery before 31 March,
and the plant will be commissioned by the end of 2015.
In brief
It’s official: NanoH2O has completed the filing to officially
change its operating name to LG NanoH2O. The company,
which became a wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chemical
when the sale was finalized on 30 April 2014, has also
changed the address of its website to www.lg-nanoh2o.com.
Asry, the Bahraini ship repair company, has reportedly
awarded a 25-year BOT contract to the Las Palmas-based
Inexa—in partnership with Gulf Marketing House—to
upgrade and expand an existing 3,000 m3/d (0.8 MGD)
SWRO plant to 7,000 m3/d (1.8 MGD). The contract is
valued at $8.6 million, and, in addition to supplying fresh
water for the yard and related operations, it will supply
potable water for the workers’ quarters.
CalDesal, the California desalination advocacy group,
is accepting nominations for members of its Executive
Committee. The eleven-member Committee is comprised
of nine agency members, and two associate members are
elected for two-year terms that commence on 3 December.
Nominations are to be submitted to Jessica McDonough at
Jessica@caladmanagement.com until 15 September.
4NRg, a UK-based R&D company, has been awarded
a £42,000 ($70,000) grant from the SCORE program to
upscale its prototype wave-powered seawater desal system.
The unit will be ready for testing in 3-6 months. The SCORE
program will deliver £2.5 million ($4.1 million) in funding
through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
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Page 4
in grants of up to 30 percent of a project’s eligible costs, or
£50,000 ($83,000), whichever is lower. Grants are available
to all East Anglian-based small and medium enterprises in
the renewable energy supply chain.
Qatar Electricity and Water Company is understood to be
selecting a consultant to review an EPC offer for the 163,656
m3/d (43.2 MGD) Ras Abu Fontas A3 project. Plans call
for the BOO project to employ MSF technology, although
an alternative plan to use SWRO is also under consideration.
Qatar General Electricity and Water Company (Kahramaa)
will be the project offtaker.
In a bipartisan move, the California Legislature has
approved a $7.12 billion water bond that will be included as
Proposition 1 on the November ballot. The bond provides for
water use efficiency and recycling, groundwater cleanup and
management and $2.7 billion for additional water storage.
Desalination projects are eligible to compete for funds under
the Integrated Regional Water Management Program and
Recycled Water sections of the proposed measure.
Project update: Biwater’s 10,400 m3/d (2.8 MGD) Paraquita
Bay SWRO project in the British Virgin Islands has been
installed and is set to begin commissioning. The SWRO
system includes two first-pass trains and two second-pass
trains, with a passive screen intake system and a full post-
treatment system that includes the use of CO2 and limestone
contactors. The project, which was delivered under a 16-year
BOT contract, is part of a wider contract that includes the
construction of two BiCOM wastewater treatment plants,
pumping stations, pipelines and storage facilities.
The American Membrane Technology Association
(AMTA) will hold a technology transfer workshop entitled
The Lowdown on Membranes in the Low Country on 15-
16 September in Isle of Palms, South Carolina. For more
information, visit http://tinyurl.com/m2g3hfv.
People
Sada Krishnan has been appointed as director of business
development for Oasys’ new Australian entity, Oasys
Water Australia, Pty, based in Sydney. Formerly an Evoqua
marketing manager, he may now be contacted at skrishnan@
oasyswater.com.