Convert Waste Water Into Clean Drinkable Water

Jim Matheson, Oasys Water has a Way to Convert Waste Water from the Energy Industry Into Clean, Drinkable Water

In the next 25 years,there will beworldwide water shortages. Experts predict that by 2040, there won't be enough water to fulfil the needs of both the world population and the energyindustries.

"We'll have to decide where we spend our water in the future. Do we want to spend it on keeping thepower plantsgoing or asdrinking water? We don't have enough water to do both," saidexpert Benjamin Sovacool.

But Jim Matheson,CEO of Oasys Water, has other ideas. The former Top Gun fighter pilot said he has found a way to convert waste water from the energy industry into clean, drinkable water.

"We have a freshwater availability issue and the consumption of fresh water for industrial purposes," he said. "We had been using it up then throwing it away. We've turned now to a reduce/recycle model but water is still in the early stage of that."

There are several ways to clean water that is not fresh, Matheson said. The most well-known method is to distil it: heat upthe water, evaporate it to leave the salts behind, then condense it. But this is expensive and uses a great deal of energy, so on a large industrial scale it is not ideal.

Asa comparison, seawater is about 3-4% salt, while water that comes out of industrial waste is between 10-15% salt.

Huge amounts of water are used toextractoil and gas. For every barrel of oil collected from the ground, between four and five barrels of water are also brought to thesurface.

Indeed, when water used for fracking is brought back to thesurface, it is classed as radioactive and has to be disposed of immediately.

Source: IBTimes

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• Innovation
• Waste Water Treatments
• Water Supply