Wastewater from oil and gas production has high total dissolved solids (TDS) and organics and needs to be treated for safe disposal or reuse. Coal-fired power plant discharges and mining effluents share similar high TDS and organic contents. This project targets the development of an energy efficient, and robust supercritical desalination technology to treat hypersaline solutions, destroying organics and separating saltwater into a pure water stream and valuable recovered solids, with zero liquid discharge (ZLD). In Phase I of the project, Envergex, with its partner University of North Dakota, will use laboratory-based testing to demonstrate proof-of-concept of the supercritical water purification process. We will test the novel reactor design for effective salt separation. We will study the effect of the proprietary additives on alleviating fouling issues in the supercritical water reactor and reducing energy requirements. Phase II work will involve testing at the pilot-scale level of the proposed concept using produced water from an operating oil/gas fracking well. Scale-up and collaborations for commercial demonstration will be explored.
