Solving water issues

Several projects under way at desalination facility in Alamogordo
Excerpted from: Alamogordo Daily News, 04/04/2012

Two groundbreaking projects are under way at the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility [BGNDRF] on La Velle Road, and the facility gave a media tour Tuesday.

[Randall Shaw, BGNDRF facility manager], said Water Standard, a company from [Texas], is [...] working on a pilot project at the facility that aims to get more oil during oil extraction.

Shaw said since BGNDRF’s grand opening in 2007, the facility has become busier each passing year with a growing number of clients. The facility is owned by the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. He explained the facility’s mission is to advance technology to treat brackish water, bridge the gap between science and engineering, and speed desalination technology to the marketplace.

Shaw said anyone with a valid desalination pilot project can come to the facility to test it. BGNDRF clients are usually universities, private companies and other government agencies. He said New Mexico State University is BGNDRF’s biggest partner, and BGNDRF has a cooperative agreement with NMSU.

Lisa Henthone, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Water Standard, said her company is evaluating water treatment membranes for use in the oil and gas industry. She explained they are treating seawater to use it to enhance oil recovery.

Henthone said Water Standard has been at BGNDRF since early February. “The facility is marvelous,” Henthone said. “This is the nicest pilot testing lab I’ve ever seen.”

Henthone said with Water Standard’s new technology, companies can get from 5 to 20 percent more oil out of an existing reservoir. She made a presentation to representatives from the National Oil Company of Maylasia, who were at BGNDRF on Tuesday because they are interested in the technology. Henthone said other countries are interested as well.

Bookmark to: