Evans, Anna | Engineering Papers

DOE OSTI2022

WaterTAP3 Model Results for NAWI's Baseline Analyses

Description: This folder contains the results for the WaterTAP3 model that was used for the eight NAWI (National Alliance for Water Innovation) baseline studies published in the Environmental Science and Technology special issue: Technology Baselines and Innovation Priorities for Water Treatment and Supply. The data structure and content are described in a README.txt file. For more details on how to use the data and interpret the results please refer to the model documentation and GitHub site linked in the submission.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2022

WaterTAP3 Model Input Data for NAWI's Eight Source Water Baseline Analyses

This folder contains the input data for the WaterTAP3 model that was used for the eight NAWI (National Alliance for Water Innovation) source water baselines studies published in the Environmental Science and Technology special issue: Technology Baselines and Innovation Priorities for Water Treatment and Supply. There are also eight other separate DAMS submissions, one per source water, that include the model results for the published studies. In this data submission, all model inputs across the eight baselines are included. The data structure and content are described in a README.txt file. For more details on how to use the data in WaterTAP3 please refer to the model documentation and GitHub site found at "WaterTAP3 Github" linked in the submission resources.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Zero Liquid Discharge and Water Reuse in Recirculating Cooling Towers at Power Facilities: Review and Case Study Analysis

Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems installed at power facilities with the primary purpose of meeting water discharge regulations have the added benefit of providing high quality effluent that can be reused in the facility. This paper provides a review of water use in power sector recirculating cooling towers and a baseline assessment of on-site water reuse at natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power facilities. Two NGCC facilities with reverse-osmosis (RO) or brine-concentrator processes followed by evaporation ponds were selected as case studies; data from these facilities were used to quantify the water, energy, and cost implications of implementing conventional and emerging ZLD technologies. At one case study facility, model results show that implementation of ZLD would reduce water withdrawals by 18%, which is less than savings associated with implementation of dry cooling but comparable to current efforts to reduce water withdrawals by increasing cycles of concentration. Implementation of ZLD using high-recovery RO resulted in a doubling of the levelized cost of water (LCOW). LCOW increased more when a brine concentrator was used. For both case studies, the ZLD system using high-recovery RO required less than 0.1% of a facilitiy's annual electricity generation and the ZLD system using a brine concentrator process required less than 0.8%. Additionally, increasing the evaporation pond area to minimize required ZLD system recovery rates and reduce system electricity costs does not reduce the LCOW. Instead, the LCOW increases because less water is recovered and more water is lost to evaporation. Furthermore, if water availability decreases or water competition/cost increases, facilities may be incentivized to maximize water recovery from ZLD systems.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2021

Oil and Gas Produced Water Reuse: Opportunities, Treatment Needs, and Challenges

Advances in water treatment technologies paired with potential restrictions on oil and gas (O&G) produced water disposal could incentivize the beneficial reuse of treated produced water in the O&G industry. However, the remote nature of O&G operations limits the applicability of many of these solutions, which may be spatially inefficient, require operator supervision, or are ill-suited for the complex nature of produced water. Furthermore, the responsible, sustainable reuse of produced water as an alternative water source requires standardized analytical techniques for characterizing and determining the toxicity of treated produced water and improving our understanding of the fate and transport of various constituents. In the past decade, we made little progress in economically treating produced water for beneficial reuse outside of oilfield operations; the sole major breakthrough has been in the development of salt-tolerant fracturing chemicals that allow for reuse of produced water for fracking operations. Guided research should assist in the development of fit-for-purpose solutions to maximize the reuse of treated produced water. This is exemplified by the case studies presented here that detail currently operating treatment facilities for reclamation and reuse of produced water.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Opportunities for Treatment and Reuse of Agricultural Drainage in the United States

Irrigation accounts for 42% of the total freshwater withdrawals in the United States. Climate change, the pressure of a growing population, degrading water quality, and increased competition from other sectors could constrain continuous supply to meet future agricultural water demand. This study presents an evaluation framework to assess the potential reuse of agricultural drainage water for crop irrigation. Using a regional approach, we review the current state of agricultural drainage treatment and reuse and the institutional, economic, and other barriers that can influence the reuse decision. In the 31 eastern states, agricultural drainage contains valuable nutrients that can be reused for irrigation with minimal treatment, while the 17 western states struggle with large volumes of saline drainage that can contain constituents of concern (e.g., selenium), preventing reuse without treatment. Using a new decision-support tool called WaterTAP3, a potential treatment train for saline agricultural drainage was analyzed to identify treatment challenges, research needs, and the potential implementation at a larger scale. As demonstrated by our case study, desalination of agricultural drainage is costly and energy intensive and will require sizable investments to fully develop and optimize technologies as well as manage the generated waste and brine.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Mine Water Use, Treatment, and Reuse in the United States: A Look at Current Industry Practices and Select Case Studies

Mining provides significant economic value while often impacting local water supplies and environments because of freshwater usage and waste disposal practices. In this paper we identify current practices in mine water, including how water is used in mining, influent and effluent water quality, treatment technologies, and end uses with the goal of informing future research on implementable, reliable, and cost-effective advanced water treatment in the mining sector. This study also reviews the available literature to broadly evaluate mining in the United States and performs a techno-economic assessment on water use and disposal for three detailed case studies applicable to lithium, uranium, and copper mines. These case studies highlight specific industry examples of distinct extraction methods, geographical regions, and mined commodities. Hypothetical scenarios based on case study baselines revealed potential impacts to mine water available for beneficial reuse through the use of novel water treatment technologies and alternate water management strategies. Finally, an assessment of national level impacts resulting from the reuse of treated mine source water is presented.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Opportunities and Challenges for Industrial Water Treatment and Reuse

As the impact of water scarcity in the United States (U.S.) continues to grow through the 21st century, it is critical to develop strategies to reduce water use and improve the security of water resources. One such strategy is to diversify the sources from which water is supplied. Industrial withdrawals represent the fourth largest category of U.S. water use, the majority of which is sourced from fresh surface and groundwater. In this study, we critically explore the potential of industrial wastewater to serve as an alternative water resource through direct treatment and reuse. We begin by reviewing the state of the art of water use, treatment, and reuse across six representative industries: food and beverages, primary metals, pulp and paper, petroleum refining, chemicals, and data centers and campuses, highlighting key challenges and opportunities toward the expansion of reuse. We then employ a technoeconomic assessment of water treatment processes to analyze the capital investment, operating and maintenance costs, levelized cost of water, and electricity consumption of three specific industrial plants as case studies to better understand where research can promote impactful innovation. Finally, drawing together the results of our literature review and technoeconomic analyses, we provide a broad outlook on the future of industrial water reuse and discuss strategies for its expansion.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2021

WaterTAP3 (The Water Technoeconomic Assessment Pipe-Parity Platform)

The Water Technoeconomic Assessment Pipe-Parity Platform (WaterTAP3) was developed under the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) to facilitate consistent technoeconomic assessments of desalination treatment trains. The WaterTAP3 is an analytically robust modeling tool that can be used to evaluate water technology cost, energy, environmental, and resiliency tradeoffs across different water sources, sectors, and scales. The model simulates steady-state water treatment train performance and costs including flow and constituent mass balance across unit processes, based on source water conditions, configurations of treatment technologies, and system-level techno-economic assumptions. Users can build a new treatment train by connecting any number of unit processes, specific for their context and system, or selecting a train from the treatment train library. The model contains various technical and cost parameter options for a range of treatment processes and a library of influent water quality characteristics for a variety of source waters and case studies. Users can customize water quality parameters to evaluate the technology performance in their context. The model can be set up for different assessment needs including simulation, optimization, and uncertainty and sensitivity analyses. The results from WaterTAP3 can help identify trade-offs among the different system performance metrics, with insight on how particular technologies or systems promote pipe-parity. The flexibility and comprehensive scope of the tool makes it a promising solution to industry-wide water technoeconomic evaluations, leading to more informed water investment decisions and technologies. As a user-friendly, open-source platform, WaterTAP3 can be used by industry, academia, policymakers, planners, and those with or without extensive analytical experience.

Miara, Ariel↗

DOE OSTI2021

Water Technoeconomic Assessment Pipe-Parity Platform (WaterTAP3)

The Water Technoeconomic Assessment Pipe-Parity Platform (WaterTAP3) was developed under the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) to facilitate consistent technoeconomic assessments of desalination treatment trains. The WaterTAP3 is an analytically robust modeling tool that can be used to evaluate water technology cost, energy, environmental, and resiliency tradeoffs across different water sources, sectors, and scales. The model simulates steady-state water treatment train performance and costs including flow and constituent mass balance across unit processes, based on source water conditions, configurations of treatment technologies, and system-level techno-economic assumptions. Users can build a new treatment train by connecting any number of unit processes, specific for their context and system, or selecting a train from the treatment train library. The model contains various technical and cost parameter options for a range of treatment processes and a library of influent water quality characteristics for a variety of source waters and case studies. Users can customize water quality parameters to evaluate the technology performance in their context. The model can be set up for different assessment needs including simulation, optimization, and uncertainty and sensitivity analyses. The results from WaterTAP3 can help identify trade-offs among the different system performance metrics, with insight on how particular technologies or systems promote pipe-parity. The flexibility and comprehensive scope of the tool makes it a promising solution to industry-wide water technoeconomic evaluations, leading to more informed water investment decisions and technologies. As a user-friendly, open-source platform, WaterTAP3 can be used by industry, academia, policymakers, planners, and those with or without extensive analytical experience. A publicly available graphical user interface is currently under development.

Miara, Ariel↗