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M I S S I O N

CIDS Mission is to mentor and empower students to develop elegant and sustainable water treatment solutions through research and global service learning projects.

V I S I O N

The Center for Inland Desalination Systems (CIDS) vision is "to make sure that every person in the world has clean water"

W H O  W E  A R E

The Center for Inland Desalination Systems (CIDS) builds on a strong foundation of related research already being done by faculty members in geological sciences, chemistry, and civil engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).

CIDS researchers are primarily focused on inland desalination issues such as researching and developing high recovery desalination processes and recovering useful products from desalination waste streams. 

   Director's message

W H A T  W E  D O

CIDS staff and faculty will advance the science and technology of desalination and innovative water treatment through the integration of students in research projects for publications, patents, and theses/dissertations; supporting local, regional, state, federal, and international agencies; and contributing towards UTEP's recognition as a national research university with a 21st century demographic. Our main goals are:

  • Provide technology that is needed to make maximum utilization of groundwater
  • Enhance commercialization of brackish water desalination technology
  • Educate students by providing hands-on experience in advanced water purification technologies

To be able to achieve this, CIDS has identified three areas areas of action; research, technology development, and global impact. 

 is part of  NEWT-logo2.png, which is supported by the National Science Foundation  award #EEC-1449500 

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

CIDS is a center researching technologies and approaches that will maximize the benefits of desalination, while minimizing the input energy and negative environmental impacts. The center builds on a strong foundation of related research already being done by faculty members in geological sciences, chemistry and civil engineering.


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GLOBAL IMPACT

GLOBAL IMPACT

CIDS advocacy includes not only El Paso del Norte Region but it also supports and contibutes to provide clean water in countries like:  Ecuador, Mexico, Honduras Peru and Haiti/Dominican Republic.

Learn about CIDS projects around the globe. 


TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

CIDS has the right environment for translating ideas into commercial-ready prototypes and scaling-up technology: (1) numerous major research instruments and partnerships with other UTEP departments, and (2) access to testing facilities at the Kay Bailey Hutchison (KBH) Desalination Plant in El Paso and the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility (BGNDRF) in Alamogordo.

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Past Research Projects

CIDSPastResearchProjects1.pngZero Discharge Desalination (ZDD)

UTEP received $1.2 million in funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation for a multi-year research project to demonstrate and commercialize the Zero Discharge Desalination (ZDD) technology. The project demonstrated ZDD at 20-40 gpm product flow with 97-98% hydraulic recovery treating feed water rich in calcium and sulfate.

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CIDSPastResearchProjects2.pngConcentrate Enhanced Recovery Reverse Osmosis (CERRO™)

One of the greatest challenges to inland desalination projects is the disposal of the concentrate waste that is generated in membrane desalting operations. With support from TWDB, EPW, and Reclamation, the patented CERRO technology was developed to achieve high recovery by recovering additional water from waste streams. Full scale systems have been installed at El Paso Water wellhead desalters.

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CIDSPastResearchProjects3.pngAlternatives to Pilot Testing

The objectives of this project were to: (1) review methods and regulations for performance validation of membrane treatment systems among many states across the country, and (2) collect and analyze pilot and full-scale membrane performance data with respect to accuracy and precision of commercial computer models.

 

CIDSPastResearchProjects4.pngDESALITECH PURIFIES HIGH SILICA GROUNDWATER IN EL PASO AT RECORD RECOVERY RATES

High Recovery Reverse Osmosis Process Defies Silica Scaling Standards

Desalitech announced recently that its ReFlex reverse osmosis (RO) process successfully purified groundwater at the Kay Bailey Hutchison (KBH) Desalination plant in El Paso, Texas, at record high water recovery rates. The announcement was made upon completion of tests conducted by the University of Texas’ Center for Inland Desalination Systems (CIDS) over a period of eight months. The tests successfully demonstrated brackish water desalination operation at 94% recovery without silica (and other) scaling, far exceeding the recovery rates possible with traditional RO technology.

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CIDS

 

 

Contact us


Center for Inland Desalination Systems,

The University of Texas at El Paso

Kelly Hall, Room 208

500 W. University Ave, El Paso Texas 79968

Email: cids@utep.edu     Tel: (915) 747-8953