Reimagining Water Resources for Agriculture with a Targeted Salinity Reduction Device

Roca's Phase I USDA NIFA SBIR project aims to develop a targeted salinity reduction system that addresses a critical problem in agriculture: the scarcity of high-quality irrigation water caused by the compounding effects of increasing groundwater salinity and stricter water management policies. Existing desalination solutions, like reverse osmosis (RO), are not well-suited for agriculture because of high energy consumption, membrane fouling, and the production of brine waste that is expensive to dispose of. Roca has developed a membrane-free electrochemical technology specifically designed to reduce the salinity of complex water sources without the production of brine waste; the by-product of Roca's technology is caustic soda, a common industrial chemical. The primary objectives of the proposed project include optimizing the system's performance in real water, identifying the impact of various inorganic ions and organic matter, and constructing a prototype cell capable of treating 1 L of water. The proposed project will be used to evaluate the system's ability to operate with minimal fouling and degradation and its ability to produce industrial-grade caustic soda. The anticipated results include a fully operational prototype cell with a projected water treatment cost of $450 per acre-foot, well below the price of RO and the target water price for high-value crops. The commercial potential for this technology is substantial, with applications not only in California's agricultural sector but also in other water-scarce regions, potentially generating significant revenue as technology adoption expands. Roca'sPhase I project provides a scalable foundation for future commercialization and broader market applications in agriculture.