Research Goals
Research Topics and Goals
Water insecurity and scarcity is a global problem that will require a global solution. Working at the intersection of water and energy, CoWERC members will research, develop and commercialize technology in three areas crucial to water research: energy-efficient enhanced water supply, wastewater reuse and resource recovery, and energy-water systems. All CoWERC projects are binational and include university, national laboratory and industrial partners. Technology development efforts will culminate in pilot testing at water and wastewater facilities in both Israel and the U.S. It is our hope that new technologies could potentially be implemented to help provide infrastructure and address water insecurity across the globe.
Technical Projects
High-Recovery Ion-Selective Desalination
CoWERC Desalination R&D
Improved selectivity and process trains for enhanced recovery of brackish waters and tailored effluent water chemistry
Pilot Testing Facilities: Granot and Maagan Michael brackish desalination plants
Granot BWRO Faciliy
Maagan Michael brackish desalination plant
Selective & Antifouling Materials
CoWERC Materials R&D
Tailored material properties and manufacturing for enhanced separations performance at scale
Pilot Testing Facilities: Argonne Manufacturing Engineering Research Facility and DuPont prototyping and manufacturing capability
Argonne Manufacturing Engineering Facility
Dupont Prototyping and Manufacturing
Biotechnology for Nutrient & Energy Recovery
CoWERC Wastewater Biotechnology R&D
Integrating multiple strategies for enhanced energy recovery and resource recovery
Pilot Testing Facilities: MWRD Stickney Water reclamation plant and Mekorot Shafdan wastewater treatment plant
Shafdan Wastewater Treatment Plant
MWRD Calumet Water Reclamation Plant
Efficient Trace Organic Pollutant Removal
CoWERC Trace Organics Removal R&D
Highly efficient and scalable trace organics separations for wastewater polishing on multiple treatment trains
Pilot Testing Facilities: Mekorot Shafdan wastewater treatment plant (polishing) and MWRD Calumet and Stickney water reclamation facilities
Shafdan Wastewater Treatment Plant
MWRD Stickney Water Reclamation Plant
Low-energy Water Reuse
CoWERC Low-Energy Water Reuse R&D
Integrating engineered aquifer recharge with wastewater treatment technology to reduce system-level energy intensity
Pilot Testing Facilities: Mekorot Shafdan SAT system and HRSD Swift facility as potential technology transfer partner
Shafdan Wastewater Treatment Plant
HRSD Swift Facility
Energy-Water Systems Analysis
CoWERC Energy-Water Systems Analysis
Consistent, defensible, and transparent analyses of systems-level performance outcomes of new technology insertions
Data from all labs & pilot tests; additional datasets provided by industry and utility partners
Pilot Project's and Setups
Task 1: Develop component technologies for high recovery brackish water desalination
Experimental set-up: Dr. Razi Epsztein laboratory at Technion
Sub-Task: Develop membrane-based processes with increased ion-ion selectivity for desalination processes.
Pressure-driven membrane filtration system used for ion-ion selectivity tests.
Ion-chromatography system for specific-ion analysis in mixed-ion solutions.
Task 5: Scalable anti-fouling and ion-selective membranes for desalination
Experimental set-up: Dr. Peretz Segal laboratory at Technion.
Sub-Task: Develop surface modifications of nanofiltration membranes to enhance antifouling performance, using metal oxide thin layer deposition
Atomic layer deposition system for membrane interface modifications
Task 8: Construction and development of wastewater pilot units
Pilot set ut: Calumet WWTP
Sub-Task: S2EBPR full-scale pilot construction and retrofit; pilot system design and construction for P sorption.
Task 9: Fouling reduction in AnMBR
Pilot set ut: Isam Sabbah’s Laboratory at Galilee Society
Sub-Task: Develop anaerobic-biomass immobilized biomass foam MBR
AnIBFMBR bench-scale: In-situ mode
Immobilized biomass Foam (IBF)
Task 10: Enhanced energy recovery from municipal wastewater
Pilot set-ut: Fluence
Sub-Task:
Laboratory scale system designed to treat high-ammonia streams with MABR
Full scale MABR pilot system in a WWTP in Israel, removing ammonia from anaerobic digestion effluent.
Task 11: Enhanced nutrient recovery from municipal wastewater
Experimental set-ut: Dr. George Wells at Northwestern University
Sub-Task: Integrate the CANDO+P reactor into an energy efficient treatment train and maximize nitrous oxide output.
CANDO+P reactor operates to achieve simultaneous N and P removal, with energy recovery through nitrous oxide production.
Experimental set-ut: Dr. Adi Radian at Technion
Sub-Task: Develop and test nano-composite sorbents for P removal
Synthesis of clay decorated with nano-sized iron-oxide particles.
Column experiment of phosphate removal by sand-filter mixed with the reactive particles.
Task 12: Waste Valorization
Experimental Set-up: Dr. Amit Gross laboratory at BGU
Sub-Task: Optimization of HTC process for energy and nutrient recovery
HTC pilot
Task 17: Lab-scale testing of enhanced SAT pretreatment, surface modification and air drainage
Experimental Set-up: Dr. Alex Furman laboratory at Technion
Sub-task: Two alternatives for classic SAT are explored, focusing on air injection as a mean for higher oxygen supply to the subsurface and for shortening drying period.
Laboratory setup for the Air-SAT concept
Flow chamber for the horizontal SAT experiment
Experimental setup for the P-SAT concept with empty chamber (right) and active chamber (left)