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TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Switchable Solvent Based System for High-Salinity Brine Desalination and Fractional Precipitation A liquid-liquid extraction system coupled with a mechanical vapor com... TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Switchable Solvent Based System for High-Salinity Brine Desalination and Fractional Precipitation A liquid-liquid extraction system coupled with a mechanical vapor compression regenerator to allow the desalination and concentration of high-salinity brines and the selective fractional precipitation of solutes. Opportunity: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), is offering the opportunity to enter into a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize the switchable solvent based system for brine desalination and fractional precipitation. Overview: Current state-of-the-art liquid-liquid extraction-based water treatment processes have not been widely adopted due to high operation and capital costs. This new technology combines boiler-condenser systems thus reducing capital cost by requiring fewer heat exchangers, and energy consumption by minimizing the required compressor pressure ratio. The use of low-grade heat to power the separation process reduces energy costs by enabling the exploitation of underutilized waste heat sources. Description: In the liquid-liquid separator, water will be extracted from the saline feed (an aqueous-inorganic electrolyte mixture) stream into a volatile organic solvent, or a mixture of solvents, producing a concentrated brine stream and an organic-rich mixture containing water. Pure water will then be separated from the organic-rich mixture using a mechanical vapor compression regenerator, leaving the organic solvent to be recycled into the liquid-liquid separator. A heat exchanger is used to recover a large portion of the energy required to evaporate the organic solvent from the organic-rich mixture containing water. The extraction of water from a saline feed stream or the bulk precipitation of solutes in a liquid-liquid separator would reduce inorganic fouling, particularly sealing, on heat transfer surfaces in the mechanical vapor compression regenerator or separator. Reducing or elimination sealing would reduce maintenance and cleaning costs, obviate the need for expensive corrosion-resistant materials, and enable the treatment of higher-salinity feed streams with existing equipment. Benefits: Substantial reductions in scaling and inorganic fouling can drastically reduce maintenance costs by reducing the need for cleaning. Volatile organic solvents are recovered and recycled in a closed loop, minimizing chemical consumption compared to conventional water treatment. Reduced scaling potential can reduce costs of process equipment by obviating the need for expensive corrosion resistant materials and coatings. Decoupling the scaling potential of the fluid from that of the stream allows the systems to treat high-salinity feed streams with extraordinarily high concentrations of scalants. Applications: Companies interested in the treatment of produced water from unconventional oil and gas extraction. Companies interested in the extraction of solutions-mined minerals including battery materials and rare earth elements. Companies interested in high-recovery desalination or brine management. Development Status: TRL 2. This technology is in the concept phase and is in need of further development. IP Status: US Provisional Patent Application No. 63/133,500, “Switchable System for High-Salinity Brine Desalination and Fractional Precipitation,” BEA Docket No. BA-1247. INL is seeking to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Ryan Bills at td@inl.gov.