Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility

Developing Technology for Sustainable Water Resources

National Research Center for Desalination of Brackish Groundwater Concept

Background

Access to fresh water is an increasingly critical national and international issue. Demand for fresh water in many regions of the world has already outstripped supply. Severe water-related stress due to pollution, inadequate supply, and lack of coordinated management is a complicating factor in many regions of the world including the United States.

In order to maintain economic development, improve standards of living and health, and minimize future regional and international conflicts, we will need to develop sustainable supplies of high-quality water for drinking and other uses. One area that can no longer be overlooked is the development of the "next-generation" of desalination technologies. Saline and brackish waters constitute over 97% of the water in the world. Supplementing fresh water supplies through cost-effective "revolutionary" brine and saline waters desalination technologies would provide significant relief to the limited fresh water resources in many parts of the world.

To address the development of the "next generation" of desalination technologies needed to realistically impact future fresh water supplies, a federal partnership between Sandia National Laboratories and the Bureau of Reclamation has been established to lead the development of a new test and evaluation facility for novel desalination technologies.

This partnership leverages the unique energy efficiency and renewable energy expertise as well as salt and brine engineering and research capabilities at Sandia with the well-established desalination research and testing capabilities and expertise of the Bureau of Reclamation. The technical expertise of these two organizations in salt and brine chemistry, geology, engineering, desalination testing and evaluation, renewable energy, environmental technology, and materials science provide valuable expertise to this effort.

A test and evaluation facility for "next generation" desalination technology research should include pilot-scale testing to evaluate innovative concepts for:
- application of renewable energy techniques to reduce desalination costs,
- cost-effective application for small-scale or portable systems,
- application to large surface flows at low cost,
- produced water treatment and beneficial use, and
- the environmental concerns of inland desalination brine and salt use or disposal.

Advantages of the Tularosa Basin National Desalination Research Center

It is proposed that this new desalination facility be constructed in the Tularosa Basin of New Mexico. This basin has been extensively studied and has extensive brackish and saline water resources. Within a 5-mile radius, water with salinity from 2000 ppm TDS to over 100,000 ppm TDS is available. Additionally, a wide range of water chemistries including sodium-chloride, carbonate, and sulfate based brine waters are available. This provides a unique opportunity to be able to evaluate new technologies over a wide range of natural water qualities. Additionally, the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's leading areas of wind, solar, and geothermal renewable energy. The location is also convenient to both Sandia and the Bureau of Reclamation's Denver Research Center.

The design, construction, and operation of the facility would be jointly managed by the Bureau of Reclamation and Sandia. The Bureau and Sandia would develop an Executive Committee to assist in evaluating the overall facility design and construction, research directions, facility operations, and assist in coordinating activities with other national water treatment and resuse research centers. Design considerations for the facility would include:

Facility Location Features
- Proximity to Alamogordo's desalination or water reuse facilities.
- Site location for easy access to saline and brackish waters of 2000, 7000, and 15000 ppm TDS.
- Near locations where water rights are available.
- Facility design to enable use of renewable energies.

Facility Design Features
- Office space management and operations staff, visiting researchers, and conference facilities.
- Experimental space for four to six bays, one for a reverse osmosis system and others for pilot desalination system testing and evaluation. Control room and water laboratory. Design layout such that future expansion would be possible.
- Storage space to include tanks for water pre- and post-treatment storage, below grade piping, above grade pumps. Piping to each test bay is to be designed for up to 30 gpm.
- Ancillary building for equipment maintenance efforts, pilot system repair and refurbishment, chemical storage, etc.
- Pipelines and pumps from a three-well field to the facility to handle nominally up to 150 gpm.
- Brine disposal capabilities including evaporation pond(s) and a disposal well.

Facility Operations, Maintenance, and Reporting
- Facility operations oversight provided by the Bureau of Reclamation/Denver and Sandia in conjunction with the Executive Committee composed of regional and national desalination and water resources professionals to insure appropriate research and development direction.
- Daily management and technical support will be provided by a technical service contractor, i.e. the Physical Sciences Laboratory or WERC at New Mexico State University, technical services providers for technical facilities including White Sands Missile Range and Holloman AFB. Efforts will include technology testing, water analysis, conducting tours, facility upkeep and maintenance, and administrative functions.
- Development of testing and evaluation schedules, cost/performance evaluation reports, and progress reporting, coordinated through the Bureau, Sandia, and the technical service contractor.

Tularosa Basin National Desalination Research Center Development Schedule

The following activities and general time frames are suggested for development of the Tularosa Basin facility. Activities would be conducted with oversight from the Executive Committee. The activities include:

Feasibility Study (FY02)
- Review siting issues, identification of siting options and ranking.
- Identify construction costs including source water pipelines, wells, research facility, ancillary buildings, permits, expected equipment costs.
- Suggested operational plan including staffing requirements, expected labor costs, management costs, and overall annual operations costs.
- Suggested maintenance costs and annual brine disposal costs.
- Contract consultant to conduct six-month study and complete draft feasibility study report by June 2002.

Facility Design/Build (FY03)
- One-year to fifteen month facility design/build activity.
- Facility construction completion by September 2003.
- Facility initial startup and shakedown - August 2003 through December 2003.

Initial Operational Capability (FY04)
- Initial operational capability - January 2004 through October 2004.
- Install and begin continuous operations of a pilot-sized reverse osmosis desalination system. Monitor and collect cost and performance data.
- Conduct and evaluate cost and performance testing of pilot-scale systems for two innovative desalination technologies for up to four months each.

Full Operational Capability (FY05)
- Full operational capability - January 2005
- Operate pilot-scale reverse osmosis system and monitor cost and performance data.
- Evaluate five to six innovative pretreatment, desalination, or brine disposal or reuse technologies for four months each for each year of operation.

5/28/2002