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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-12-13; Municipal Water District; 1213.02; Pilot Water Treatment PlantCARLSBAD MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT - AGENDA BILL hB# 1213-07 MTG. 1 2/13/95 DEPT. CMWD TITLE: PILOT WATER TREATMENT PlANT USING CAPACITIVE DEIONIZATION WTH CARBON AEROGEL ELECTRODES COMBINED WTH OZONE, CMIlllD PROJECT NO. 9!%302 DEPT. HD. CITY ATTY. CITY MGR. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Staff will make a presentation of the most recent issues concerning the Carlsbad Municipal Water District's participation in this project, the District staff will proceed with investigating the development of a pilot water treatment plant in Carlsbad using capacitive deionization with carbon aerogel electrodes combined with ozone or other treatment processes. Staff is also seeking authorization to investigate and make recommendations regarding a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for subsequent consideration by the Board of Directors. ITEM EXPLANATION: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) developed an experimental water desalination process using capacitive deionization with carbon aerogel electrodes. The carbon aerogel electrode can desalinate brackish water with a relatively low energy requirement. A possible use of this technology is to desalinate sea water. However, additional testing and development is needed to apply this technology for commercial and industrial use. Attached are three pages summarizing the process operation and commercial status of the capacitive deionization process. Other water treatment processes such as ozone and reverse osmosis can also be combined with capacitive deionization to create a hybrid treatment system meeting requirements for ultrapure water. As a part of the alternative water resources development program, the Carlsbad Municipal Water District staff has been working with several parties interested in obtaining a license agreement with LLNL to construct a pilot plant using the capacitive deionization process. One of the parties is Marleyozone located in Kansas who is interested in combining ozone treatment with capacitive deionization. Other involved parties include organizations interested in financing the pilot plant with rights to market its commercial use and companies interested in incorporating other additional water treatment processes. Discussions to date consider constructing, operating and preparing engineering reports on a pilot plant with a budget of $3.5 million dollars. Of this amount, $2.5 million is allocated to LLNL who would build a 10,000 gpd capacitive deionization pilot plant, perform all testing, and produce a final engineering report detailing the optimization needed for a full scale plant. From the remaining budget, $500,000 would be allocated to Marleyozone for pretreatment and $500,000 to Carlsbad for plant siting, water supply, brine disposal, and coordination activities. Financing for this pilot plant project remains to be determined, but will include private financing and local, state, and federal grants and loans. A Memorandum of Understanding is being prepared to outline the responsibilities of each party interested in participating in the pilot plant project. The draft of the MOU is attached for reference. LLNL has issued a "Letter of Intent" to participate in this project. (See attached.) The activities that staff at Carlsbad may be involved with are also listed in the attachments. Proceeding further with this pilot plant in Carlsbad will require significant staff time. However, the benefits could be the future construction of a full scale plant furnishing an independent source of potable water and ultrapure water for Carlsbad. Page 2 of Agenda Bill No. FISCAL IMPACT: The current costs for development of the MOU is within current fiscal year budgeting allocated for the Water Resources Master Planning efforts. Although this action has little on no fiscal impact, subsequent action may require the Council to make a determination on the level of fiscal involvement. For example, additional funding from the City may be needed for development of a pilot plant project. The District participation or financial contribution may be in kind or involve an appropriation. Consideration will be given to the City's role in this venture depending upon the financial commitment needed. The City will not benefit by receiving any appreciable amount of water from this proposed pilot plant. However, we will be participating in research to develop a cost effective method of desalting water for drinking purposes. Additional details regarding financing of the project will be discussed during the development of the MOU. ENWRONM ENTAL: There are no environmental impacts involved with the current research activities as proposed.