Cetos Water develops systems to recover water from industrial brines
Cetos Water is developing a different way to recover water from industrial brines: draw it into a solvent, then release it with a temperature change. The company is targeting operators in mining, oil and gas, power and other industries that must manage difficult wastewater.
A different route through salty water
For an industrial site, recovering water from a waste stream could create another source of supply while reducing the volume left to manage. That possibility is especially relevant when water is too salty for conventional reverse osmosis, a process that pushes water through a membrane.
The U.S. Department of Energy notes that thermal desalination can also treat highly saline water, although it typically uses more energy than reverse osmosis.
From solvent chemistry to plant equipment
Cetos calls its approach temperature-swing solvent extraction. Its solvent absorbs water while leaving salts and other contaminants behind; a temperature change then releases the water so the solvent can be reused. The process also leaves a concentrated brine from which minerals may be recovered.
Cetos says its design is modular and can be assembled off-site. It also describes a pass-through guarantee covering solvent recovery, water quality and flow rate. Those commitments make the treatment output part of the proposed offering, while different brine chemistries and plant layouts still require engineering for each site.