Desalination and Water Purification Research Program: Research Projects (US)

Deadline: 17-Oct-22

The United States Department of the Interior (Department), Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) Desalination and Water Purification Research Program (DWPR) works with Reclamation researchers and partners to develop innovative, cost-effective, and technologically efficient ways to desalinate or treat water.

The DWPR Program aligns with Executive Order 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” by investing in development and application of advanced water treatment technologies that expand access to otherwise unusable water resources, thereby increasing water supply flexibility under the risks of long-term climate change and shorter-term drought. Investing in such technologies leads to development of climate-resilient, cost-effective, and low-impact solutions that bolster the ability of Reclamation, its customers, and stakeholders to cope with the stresses of climate change.

Objectives

This DWPR funding opportunity invites applicants to address any of the following objectives:
- Reduce energy consumption and lower the cost of desalination
- Reduce the environmental impacts of seawater desalination and develop technology and strategies to minimize those impacts
- Improve existing membrane technologies, including reverse osmosis
- Carry out basic and applied research on next-generation desalination technologies, including improved energy recovery systems and renewable energy-powered desalination systems that could significantly reduce desalination costs
- Develop and promote innovative desalination technologies, including concentrate management and chloride control
- Study methods for the recovery of by products resulting from desalination to offset the costs of treatment and to reduce environmental impacts from those by products
- Develop metrics to analyze the costs and benefits of desalination relative to other sources of water (including costs and benefits related to associated infrastructure, energy use, environmental impacts, and diversification of water supplies)
- Assess environmental impacts from desalination intake, concentrate management approaches, and reclaimed water
- Develop improved intake/outfall methods at coastal facilities to minimize marine environment impacts such as impingement of larger organisms, entrainment of smaller ones, and impacts to benthic communities
- Improve pretreatment for membrane desalination
- Improve membrane system performance
- Develop novel approaches or processes to desalinate water in a way that reduces primary energy use
- Develop cost-effective approaches for concentrate management that minimize potential environmental impacts
- Develop a better understanding of the formation of hazardous transformation products during water treatment for reuse and ways to minimize or remove them
- Develop a better understanding of pathogen removal efficiencies and the variability of performance in various unit processes and multibarrier treatment and develop ways to optimize these processes
- Identify better indicators and surrogates to monitor process performance in reuse scenarios and develop online real-time or near real-time analytical monitoring techniques for their measurement
- Improve the detection, characterization, monitoring, separation, or destruction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and other contaminants of concern.

Funding Information

Award Ceiling: $800,000.

Eligible Projects

Applicants can apply for funding for two types of projects that address DWPR goals and objectives:
- Laboratory-Scale Projects: Laboratory-scale projects eligible for funding under this NOFO are typically bench-scale studies involving small flow rates less than 2 gallons per minute. Laboratory projects are used to determine the viability of a process, improved and/or new materials, and process modifications. Research at this stage often involves a high degree of risk and uncertainty
- Pilot-Scale Projects: Pilot-scale projects eligible for funding under this NOFO should involve flow rates above 1 gallon per minute and should be tested using natural water sources rather than synthetic or laboratory-made feed water. These projects are typically used to determine the technical, practical, and/or economic ability of a process. Preliminary costs are also developed for capital and operation and maintenance costs.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants eligible to receive an award to fund activities include:
- Individuals
- Institutions of higher education
- Commercial or industrial organizations
- Private entities
- State and local governmental entities
- Federally funded research and development center
- Tribal Governments and organizations
- Non-profit organizations.