The UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science has announced
the development of a new Water Technology Research Center to
improve methods of water conversion from salt water to potable
water and to integrate these methods with more efficient and
cost-effective energy sources.
Also known as the WaTeR Center, its mission is “to advance
water production technologies in order to economically develop new
and sustainable alternative sources for potable, irrigation and
other consumptive water uses.”
UCLA chemical engineering professor and desalination expert
Yoram Cohen is head of the new center. Professors from UC Davis, UC
Riverside, USC and the University of Tarragona, Spain, are also
involved in the project, as well as other doctoral students.
The primary goal of the center is to drive down the cost of
desalination so it is priced competitively with other water
sources, Cohen said.
The center will focus on advancing membrane desalination
technology, minimizing the environmental impacts associated with
desalination, and integrating energy systems to increase efficiency
of desalination, in hopes of minimizing limitations put forth by
the current technology.
“Water scarcity is intensifying in all regions of the
country. The need for an adequate supply of affordable, accessible
clean water is a key priority for our nation’s future and for
Southern California,” said Vijay K. Dhir, dean of the school
of engineering, in a June 23 press release.
The WaTeR Center may be new, but UCLA first wet its feet in
desalinization research in the 1940s and experienced a major
breakthrough in 1959 when the first viable reverse-osmosis membrane
was created at the university. Eventually this technology was
implemented to desalinate brackish water.
The first pilot plant began operating in Coalinga in 1965,
producing drinkable water from brackish sources through reverse
osmosis, according to the Coalinga Record.
UCLA’s research and development of reverse-osmosis
techniques and the special membrane have transformed the way water
is desalinated.
The cellulose acetate membrane is selectively permeable,
allowing water to pass through, while blocking salt and other
minerals. Pressure reverses the flow of osmosis, and fresh water is
produced because salt, or brine, is left behind when the water
passes back through the membrane.
This system has proved successful in the past, but water quality
and scarcity issues have prompted further research to improve the
economy of the process.
The Colorado River, which currently provides water to 27 million
people in California, has a salinity level of 700 mg per liter, 200
mg higher than the standard set forth by the Environmental
Protection Agency.
With the population of Southern California expected to grow by 8
million people by 2020, both the salinity level and the severity of
infrastructure problems will also climb, according to Cohen.
Already, most desalinated water in Southern California is imported
from other states.
In California, 630,000 tons of salt per year is removed during
desalination processes, accumulating in aquifers and causing damage
to the state’s water infrastructure in the range of $95
million per year.
A larger population that needs more water will inevitably cause
these numbers to rise.
Membranes have been improved upon in the past ““ they are
more resilient and last about four years longer than the original
model.
But a variety of limitations reduce not only the lifespan of the
osmosis membranes, but also the water recovery percentage.
“We think that we can do better,” Cohen said.
Cohen explained that innovations such as energy recycling, a key
focus of the center, could drastically reduce the price of fresh
water recovery.
High-pressure water contains kinetic energy that can be captured
and applied to the process itself. Solar energy, as well as other
sources, are being experimented with to fuel the desalination
procedure.
The optimization of energy production and usage takes
experimentation and innovation. “There’s a lot of art
in it,” Cohen said.
Laboratories and industrial affiliates are also collaborating to
further research beyond the financial and facilities constraints of
the center.
“We’re in the business of generating ideas, putting
out research, and educating students. We not only want to work on
research at UCLA, but to also work with the stakeholders, the water
agencies, and improve their capability to serve the
community,” Cohen said.
The desalination methods being researched at the center are more
environmentally friendly than California’s current practices,
Cohen said.
“The bottom line is world population is increasing. Water
is a renewable resource only if we treat it properly. We have to be
responsible,” Cohen said.