Wilderness survival TV show hosts, pirates, and water treatment researchers might seem like an odd trio, but they all hit the nail on the head when they say that most natural water sources are a no-go for drinking. The culprit? High salt content, which can leave you parched instead of hydrated. Desalination has been touted as a solution to this salty dilemma, transforming seawater into drinkable water. Yet, the high costs and sustainability hurdles have kept it from being a widespread fix. Enter Tiezheng Tong, an associate professor of environmental engineering at Arizona State University, who’s on a mission to change the game with sustainable, cost-effective technology aimed at inland desalination for climate-adaptive water management.
Tong is one of the few researchers to snag over $1.2 million in funding from the National Science Foundation’s Environmental Convergence Opportunities program. This initiative encourages scholars to tackle the grand challenges laid out by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. And let’s face it, water scarcity is a challenge that’s knocking on everyone’s door, especially in inland cities like Phoenix, where brackish water could be the lifeline we didn’t know we needed. “Brackish water desalination is very much needed in water-conscious, inland cities like Phoenix,” Tong says. “We need to be able to use the resources available to us, such as the local brackish water and the sun.”
The existing methods for desalinating brackish water are energy hogs and come with a hefty price tag. Not to mention, they churn out salty brine that has nowhere to go. Tong’s lab is flipping the script by fusing “salt-leaky” nanofiltration with reverse osmosis, pushing the boundaries of water recovery while minimizing brine production. The goal? Achieve zero liquid discharge and cut down on carbon emissions, all while harnessing Arizona’s sun—a resource that’s as reliable as your morning coffee.
But Tong isn’t going it alone. He’s built a robust network of multidisciplinary collaborators, understanding that to crack this nut, you need more than just engineering know-how. “Tackling so many different aspects of the process required an ambitious team structure,” Tong explains. By bringing together experts in social sciences, renewable energy, economics, and environmental life cycle analysis, the team is poised to make inland desalination not just feasible but beneficial for the community.
Shihong Lin, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University and one of Tong’s collaborators, emphasizes the significance of this work. “I feel excited to have this opportunity to work on addressing the Achilles heel of inland brackish water desalination, which has the potential to play a major role in addressing the freshwater resource challenges due to the shifting climate,” Lin says. The essence of this project isn’t just about technology; it’s about community impact and sustainability.
Ultimately, the water treatment industry is eyeing two lofty goals: zero liquid waste desalination and a zero carbon footprint. With Tong’s innovative approach and thorough evaluation, there’s a promising framework emerging for brackish water desalination. This isn’t just a research project; it’s a lifeline for sustainable water security, and it’s creating opportunities for ASU students from a variety of academic backgrounds.
Tong couldn’t have picked a better spot to tackle this challenge. “I came to ASU for its history of leading large, impactful projects and to learn from this culture of leading multidisciplinary researchers,” he says. With a talented team backing him, Tong is not just dreaming of a sustainable future—he’s working hard to make it a reality.
