Desalination Research
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has received $2 million from the
Texas Emerging Technology Fund to establish a desalination and water management
research program that could lead to commercial ventures and help solve water
scarcity issues in arid regions across the globe. UTEP’s Center for Inland
Desalination Systems will use existing research produced at the university and
El Paso’s desalination plant to establish the university as a leader in the
field.
The goal of the Emerging Technology Fund is to push the development and commercialization of new technologies. This grant will be matched with $2 million from UTEP and The University of Texas System. UTEP also will raise another $2 million in sponsored research from industry partners, to bring the total funding to $6 million.
The UTEP Center for Inland Desalination Systems will be led by Tom Davis, a nationally recognized expert in desalination technology. Davis, who comes to UTEP from the University of South Carolina, has 13 U.S. patents and more than 40 years of research experience. He is the founder of ZDD, Inc., which signed a commercialization agreement with Dow Chemical Company for its Zero Discharge Desalination technology in 2006.
“We are very pleased to have Tom Davis joining us to lead this new research effort,” UTEP president Diana Natalicio says. “There is a growing need for sustainable water technologies in this region and in other settings around the globe, and we are confident that Dr. Davis will help establish UTEP as a leader in inland desalination research.”
The center will partner with the city’s desalination plant – a joint project of the El Paso Water Utilities and the U.S. Army – to develop and implement technologies to create alternative water sources. The El Paso desalination plant, which is among the largest of its kind in the world, uses reverse osmosis to treat brackish ground water from the Hueco Bolson aquifer. It produces 27.5 million gallons of water per day.
Additionally, several desalination-related areas have been identified as having potential commercial applications. Some examples include mining the brine concentrate produced during the osmosis process, developing small-scale portable desalination equipment to be used in remote locations, and developing processes that can reduce energy and water use during desalination.
The goal of the Emerging Technology Fund is to push the development and commercialization of new technologies. This grant will be matched with $2 million from UTEP and The University of Texas System. UTEP also will raise another $2 million in sponsored research from industry partners, to bring the total funding to $6 million.
The UTEP Center for Inland Desalination Systems will be led by Tom Davis, a nationally recognized expert in desalination technology. Davis, who comes to UTEP from the University of South Carolina, has 13 U.S. patents and more than 40 years of research experience. He is the founder of ZDD, Inc., which signed a commercialization agreement with Dow Chemical Company for its Zero Discharge Desalination technology in 2006.
“We are very pleased to have Tom Davis joining us to lead this new research effort,” UTEP president Diana Natalicio says. “There is a growing need for sustainable water technologies in this region and in other settings around the globe, and we are confident that Dr. Davis will help establish UTEP as a leader in inland desalination research.”
The center will partner with the city’s desalination plant – a joint project of the El Paso Water Utilities and the U.S. Army – to develop and implement technologies to create alternative water sources. The El Paso desalination plant, which is among the largest of its kind in the world, uses reverse osmosis to treat brackish ground water from the Hueco Bolson aquifer. It produces 27.5 million gallons of water per day.
Additionally, several desalination-related areas have been identified as having potential commercial applications. Some examples include mining the brine concentrate produced during the osmosis process, developing small-scale portable desalination equipment to be used in remote locations, and developing processes that can reduce energy and water use during desalination.
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