Doctoral student tests water-saving tech

Mervin XuYang Lim, a University of Arizona chemical engineering doctoral student recently published an article in The Conversation about his work to reclaim fresh water from contaminated brine, water with high concentrations of salt, metals and other contaminants.

“Researchers like me are increasingly exploring brine’s potential not as waste but as a source of water – and of valuable materials, such as sodium, lithium, magnesium and calcium,” Lim wrote.

Lim is testing a six-step brine reclamation system called STREAM (Separation, Treatment, Recovery via Electrochemistry and Membrane) that can recover up to 90 percent of water in a brine sample, as well as valuable dissolved chemicals. STREAM uses less energy and is more economical than conventional brine treatment methods that use high heat and pressure.

In collaboration with researchers from the University of Nevada Reno, the University of Southern California and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lim and colleagues are now building a larger pilot system in Tucson for further study. If successful, this method could help communities in the Southwest obtain more reliable water supplies by treating municipal wastewater.