Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID NM_2024_McGaughey_UNM

Produced Water Desalination by Membrane Distillation: What Properties Matter?

Institute: New Mexico
Year Established: 2024 Start Date: 2024-09-01 End Date: 2025-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $40,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $40,000

Principal Investigators: Allyson L. McGaughey

Project Summary: In December 2023, Governor Lujan Grisham announced a $500 million investment in purchasing treated produced water from the oil and gas industry and brackish groundwater as a strategic water supply in New Mexico. Use of these unconventional water sources requires unconventional treatment processes. Membrane distillation (MD), a thermal membrane-based desalination process, has attracted significant attention for the treatment of produced waters and other challenging, high-salinity streams. However, current MD membranes are not designed for produced water treatment and are susceptible to failure, caused by high salinities and complex chemistries of produced waters. To design robust membranes, it is critical to first understand the relationship between membrane properties and process failure – or, what properties matter. In this project, we develop mechanistic understanding of the relationship between key, overlooked membrane properties and performance in produced water desalination, towards the design of robust MD membranes and systems for sustainable and cost-effective reuse of produced water in the state of New Mexico and across the United States.