VATIS UPDATE Article

Mechanical and electrical equipment manufacturer Shanghai Electric, China, has commissioned water technology company Gradient to develop six brine concentration projects in China, two of which are in final stages of negotiation. Gradiant’s Carrier Gas Extraction (CGE™) process will be used to produce fresh water from high-TDS (total dissolved solids) wastewater. Power plant flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewaters and oilfield produced water will be treated with distillate capacities ranging from 500 to 36,000 m3/day.

Developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the United States, by the company’s founders, Gradiant’s proprietary CGE technology uses air as a carrier gas operating in a closed loop to extract water from high-TDS wastewater. Water is separated from the impurities by using it to humidify the carrier gas stream. Purified water is then recovered from the gas in a subsequent dehumidification process, which employs a unique bubble column heat and mass exchanger.

Gradiant is working with Shanghai Electric on a non-exclusive basis. The CGE systems will continue to be manufactured in the US but the company said it will work with its Chinese partners to determine if they could be manufactured in China. “In addition to power equipment, Shanghai Electric has a sizable desalination business as well as a strong understanding of water needs in China’s industrial sectors. They invested in Gradiant after determining the huge market potential of our desalination technologies in the region,” Anurag Bajpayee at Gradiant.