Dielectrophoresis-Enhanced Capture of Metal Cations in Produced Water

Approximately 21 billion barrels of produced water are generated each year in the United States. A lot of produced waters contain significant concentrations of sodium, magnesium, calcium, and other cations. A sufficient treatment will not only harvest the metals, but also provide freshwater for irrigation, municipal demands, mining, livestock, and manufacturing. The currently mature technologies for deionization include reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, distillation, electrodialysis, and capacitive deionization. These technologies are still limited by intensive energy consumption and slow deionization process. The objective of this STTR Phase I project is to validate a dielectrophoresis-enhanced electro-active adsorption technology for efficiently removing metal cations in produced water. The proposed research will simulate and engineer a dielectrophoresis device. Its deionization efficiency will be subsequently determined. The expected outcome is a scalable dynamic-flow deionization device that can be further developed into a commercial product with customer-desired capacities. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: This translational research will benefit the public from multiple aspects and generate broad positive impacts on the environment and society. The produced waters are typically reinjected for enhanced oil recovery or disposal. The proposed dielectrophoresis-enhanced electro-active adsorption technology is expected to enable low-cost treatment of produced water. The generated freshwater could serve the entire U.S. population for about one month per year; thereby decreasing surface and groundwater demands. Furthermore, the metals harvested from produced water are expected to be in the order of megatons per year, leading to significant economic benefits. The dielectrophoresis-enhanced deionization technology can be further developed for many other important applications, such as seawater desalination, rare-earth element extraction, and removal of toxic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in contaminated water.