A silica aggregate includes primary silica particles aggregated, the primary silica particles having an average particle size of 1 nm or more and less than 10 nm, the primary silica particles being crosslinked to each other by a bond containing a siloxane bond.

A zwitterionic polysulfone formed from an allyl-containing monomer, a phenol-containing monomer, and an aryl-halide-containing monomer. The zwitterionic polysulfone may be incorporated into a desalination membrane.

A liquid desalination system is disclosed. The liquid desalination system includes a feed line having an inlet to receive liquid and an outlet to discharge the liquid. The liquid desalination system includes a magnet coupled to the feed line, the magnet to generate an oscillating magnetic field within the feed line and in opposition to the feed water flow. The removal of targeted ions can be achieved by manipulating the frequency and rate of the generated electromagnetic waves. The generated electromagnetic waves can be tuned to weaken the hydration bonds of that specific ion and facilitate its removal. The liquid desalination system generates an electric field across the feed line to enable the liquid to flow through the electric field. The electric field may attract sodium ions to a positive electrode and may attract chloride ions to a negative electrode, to desalinate the liquid in the feed line.

The Cryo-Thermo Desalinator (CTD) is a fire and ice approach to potability and water reuse using liquid natural gas (LNG) for systemic fuel and cooling. The upstream key heat exchanger (HX) uses LNG to differentiate raw water into pretreated ice melt and cryo-brine blowdown. Ice melt-diluted raw water is primarily sent to the mid-stream key HX condenser where it and LNG tube bundles collapse water vapor into potable water. The downstream key HX uses LNG to separate cryo-brine and thermo-brine into heavy brine and skimmed saline ice which is reinjected into pretreated raw water for maximum corrosion and scaling dilution and extra potability. Heavy brine discharge is more easily dewatered for mining salts, mineral and elements. Pressurized LNG, becoming high pressure natural gas, adds desirable latent heat of vaporization to downstream gas users, including the integrated CCGT/HRSG and is roughly-proportional to thirsty residential/industrial gas users which the CTD serves.

A desalination system including: a partitioned container having upstream and downstream compartments divided by a movable partition, a first inlet port at an upstream end, and a second inlet port and an outlet port at the downstream end; a membrane container housing a cross-flow semipermeable membrane dividing the membrane container into saline and desalinated compartments, the saline compartment including first and second cross-flow ports, the desalinated compartment including a desalinated water outlet port; a feed pump connected to the first inlet port; a recharge pump having an inlet connected to the second cross-flow port and an outlet connected to the second inlet port; a main valve connected between the outlet port and the first cross-flow port; a bypass valve connecting the inlet port to the second cross-flow port and the recharge pump inlet; and a purge valve connecting the first cross-flow port and the main valve to a purge port.

A multi-layer membrane which has a mixed polyamide selective layer supported on a porous polysulfone layer. The mixed polyamide selective layer includes reacted units of a polyfunctional acyl halide (e.g. trimesoyl chloride) and a diamine mixture containing 4,7,10-trioxa-1,13-tridecanediamine and a cyclic diamine (e.g. piperazine). Methods of fabricating the multi-layer membrane via techniques such as phase inversion and interfacial polymerization are described. The inventive membrane is evaluated on its water flux and salt rejection (e.g. sulfate and chloride salts) capabilities. A water desalination system containing the multi-layer membrane(s) is also provided.

A method and system for the offshore production of fuel includes an offshore marine platform on which is mounted an ammonia production unit. The ammonia production unit may produce ammonia utilizing raw materials sourced adjacent the marine platform, including seawater and electricity from offshore wind turbines. The produced ammonia may be subsequently liquified and transported away from the marine platform, or conveyed to a remote location via a seabed pipeline. A portion of the hydrogen produced as part of the ammonia production process may be utilized to operate onboard combustion turbines that can in turn drive electric generators onboard the marine platform to produce electricity.

Tandem electrodialysis (ED) cell systems and methods for using the tandem ED cell systems to extract and recover ions from ion-containing solutions are provided. The tandem ED cell systems are composed of ion-extraction and ion-recovery ED cells. A redox couple contained in the anolyte of the ion-extraction ED cell is different from a redox couple contained in the catholyte of the ion-extraction ED cell. The electrode reactions in the ion-extraction ED cell are reversed in the ion-recovery ED cell, with the anolyte and catholyte of the two ED cells swapped and continuously circulated. As a result, the redox species in the anolyte and catholyte of the two cells are never depleted, which allows for achieving ion extraction and ion recovery with the use of a minimal amount of the redox couples.

The present disclosure relates to the field of materials for uranium extraction from seawater (UES), and in particular, to a photothermal photocatalytic membrane for seawater desalination and uranium extraction and a preparation method therefor. The present disclosure provides a photothermal photocatalytic membrane for seawater desalination and uranium extraction and a preparation method therefor. The preparation method includes: fixing a treated carbon cloth to a glass plate, pouring a casting solution 1 onto the carbon cloth to form a first layer of film, forming a second layer of film using a casting solution 2, and putting the second layer of film into a first coagulation bath and a second coagulation bath in sequence to form the photothermal photocatalytic membrane. The photothermal photocatalytic membrane is supported by the carbon cloth, and a surface of the photothermal photocatalytic membrane is of a micro-nano structure.

A method for using produced water (PW), for example, for use in a fracturing fluid. The method includes performing ultrafiltration on the PW to form filtered PW, filtering seawater (SW) to form filtered SW, and blending the filtered PW with the filtered SW to form an aqueous blend.