[미국] 내무부의 개척국, 9개의 담수화 프로젝트에 보조금 지급

미국 내무부의 개척국이 담수화 및 물 정화 요구를 다루기 위해 9개의 연구 프로젝트와 파일럿 연구에 140만 달러의 보조금을 지급할 예정이라고 밝혔다. 개척국의 담수와 및 물 정화 연구 프로그램은 4개의 연구소 규모의 프로젝트와 3개의 파일럿 테스트 프로젝트에 기금을 지원할 예정이며, 이전에 발표한 2개의 파일럿 규모의 프로젝트에 2년동안 기금을 제공할 계획이다.

연구소 프로젝트는 공정이 실현가능한지 결정하고 실험하는 작은 규모의 연구로 1년동안 기금을 지원 받는다. 최대 지원 가능금액은 한 프로젝트 당 15만 달러이다. 또한, 파일럿 규모의 프로젝트는 기술을 실증하는 연구가 진행되고 있는 연구로 큰 규모에서의 공정의 적합성과 물리적 실행가능성을 실증하는 것을 목표로 한다.

한편, 선택된 파일럿 프로젝트가 일년동안 충분한 실험을 달성하면 2년에 추가적인 기금을 지급 받을 수 있다.

Nine research projects and pilot studies will soon receive $1.4 million from the Bureau of Reclamation to address desalination and water purification needs. Reclamation's Desalination and Water Purification Research Program will provide the funding for four research laboratory-scale projects and three pilot testing projects. Two previously announced pilot-scale projects will receive second-year funding.

"New desalination and water purification technologies have the potential to assist Reclamation and its partners confront the widening imbalances between supply and demand in river basins throughout the West," Reclamation Acting Commissioner Lowell Pimley said. "Fostering development of new technologies will help improve the options communities have to be resilient to climate change and meet future water demands."

Research laboratory projects are small-scale projects used to determine if a process is feasible. Funding is provided for one year and is capped at $150,000 per project. Projects selected for funding are:

University of Houston (Texas): Advanced Pretreatment for Nanofiltration of Brackish Surface Water: Fouling Control and Water Quality Improvements; $150,000
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona: Development of Photovoltaic Electrodialysis Desalination System; $99,992
University of Texas at San Antonio: Activated Sludge Aeration Waste Heat for Membrane Evaporation of Desalination Brine Concentrate; $85,587
West Basin Municipal Water District (California): Subsurface Intake Study for Ocean-Water Desalination; $150,000

Pilot-scale projects are preceded by research studies that demonstrate a technology works. The goal of a pilot study is to determine the physical viability and suitability of a process on a larger scale. Projects selected for funding are:

Eastern Municipal Water District (California): Pilot Scale Groundwater Desalter Brine Concentrator Study; $131,057
New Mexico State University: Demonstration of Monovalent Selective Ion Exchange Membranes for Desalination and Reuse Enhancement; $199,944
San Diego County Water Authority (California): Pilot Testing Program for the Proposed Camp Pendleton Seawater Desalination Project; $200,000

If the selected pilot projects complete a sufficient amount of work in the first year, they may receive additional funding for a second year. The Eastern Municipal Water District is a one-year project. Also, two pilot studies announced in 2013 will receive funding for their second year of testing. Those pilot studies are:

City of Corpus Christi (Texas): City of Corpus Christi Desalination Pilot Study; $200,000
University of Arizona: Reverse Osmosis Concentrate Management through Halophyte Farming; $186,328
A complete description of all the projects is available at: http://www.usbr.gov/awt.

The Desalination and Water Purification Program is helping Reclamation and its partners confront widening imbalances between supply and demand in basins throughout the West through testing and development of new advanced water treatment technologies. It focuses on three main goals:

Augment the supply of usable water in the United States
Understand the environmental impacts of desalination and develop approaches to minimize these impacts relative to other water supply alternatives
Develop approaches to lower the financial costs of desalination so that it is an attractive option relative to other alternatives in locations where traditional sources of water are inadequate.

[출처 = Water World / 2014년 8월 11일]