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Canada & Private Industry Invest in Saltworks’ AirBreather

Saltworks Team poses with Airbreather Plant

Canada & Private Industry Invest in Saltworks' Innovative AirBreather Technology

April 17th, 2019

The AirBreather is a first-of-its kind, waste heat driven evaporator-crystallizer that safely and reliably reduces the cost and environmental impact of produced water disposal from shale gas extraction. With investment from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), the AirBreather will be demonstrated in industry and scaled up for commercial roll out, where it can improve the competitiveness and sustainability of Canadian natural gas.

The Honourable Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defence and Member of Parliament for Vancouver South, and Joe Peschisolido, Member of Parliament for Steveston-Richmond East, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced the SDTC investment today at Saltworks’ headquarters and manufacturing facility in Richmond, BC.

Saltworks was also honoured to host representatives from SDTC, the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), Innovate BC, Global Affairs Canada, and the City of Richmond.

Saltworks is readying a breakthrough solution to treat produced water in the natural gas industry. The new product—called the “AirBreather”—will be deployed at commercial scale with investment from SDTC. This innovation leverages earlier support from British Columbia’s Innovative Clean Energy (BC ICE) fund, which facilitated technology now used in the AirBreather.   

“Our government’s investment in this revolutionary clean innovation, developed right here in Canada, builds on our plan to strengthen Canada’s economy though innovation,” said Minister Sajjan. “This investment will not only help the oil and gas industry reduce wastewater and greenhouse gas emissions, it also will reduce costs for the industry, helping to maintain jobs and create new ones. Innovative companies like Saltworks demonstrate how a strong economy and a clean environment go hand-in-hand.”

Saltworks Team poses with Airbreather Plant
The Saltworks Team and the Honorable Harjit Sajjan in front of the AirBreather Plant

Joshua Zoshi, Saltworks’ Chief Operating Officer, commented, “Saltworks is proud to be the recipient of commercialization support for the AirBreather demonstration project. We look forward to establishing this developed-in-Canada technology as the leading solution for economic and sustainable treatment of produced water in Canada’s natural gas sector.”

The AirBreather is a descendant of Saltworks’ commercial SaltMaker MultiEffect—a low-energy technology for zero-liquid-discharge brine management. After completing SaltMaker trials in shale, the Saltworks team realized there was a better way. Hence, the AirBreather was born.

SDTC, IRAP, and the BC ICE fund have all been an important part of Saltworks’ growth, helping the company create high-skill jobs, win major international and competitive orders, develop two new BC-based production facilities, and become a world leader in environmentally focused industrial water treatment.

About Saltworks

Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

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First-of-Its-Kind Coal FGD Wastewater Treatment Pilot Deployed

Photo of a Saltworks wastewater treatment pilot system loaded on a truck for transport to customer site

First-of-Its-Kind Coal FGD Wastewater Treatment Pilot Deployed

March 12th, 2019

Saltworks has shipped a novel FlexEDR system to the southern United States that will clean up coal-fired power wastewater. Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater is a byproduct of sulfur scrubbers, installed to prevent acid rain from coal plants. Cost-effective FGD water treatment has been an elusive goal, but a solution is on the horizon.

Saltworks’ novel system will use proprietary IonFlux ion exchange membranes to selectively remove chlorides, enabling internal recycling of water. This simple single step recycle process prevents the need for very complex and expensive full treatment. The innovation is partially enabled by a new ion-specific sensor, developed by Saltworks, that can also help miners and the oil and gas industry measure and adjust to sulfate or calcium load in real time. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DE-FE0031678.

Photo of a Saltworks wastewater treatment pilot system loaded on a truck for transport to customer site
The Saltworks’ plant on the way to the southern U.S.

Derek Mandel, Technology Director for FlexEDR commented: “Nicknamed the ‘chloride kidney’ and tested for over two years, we look forward to proving the solution at site with commercial systems following shortly. The product is built on the backbone of 50-year-old Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR) technology, which is the second most widely used membrane desalination tech, with full scale production already in place.”

Photo of a pilot plant used to treat FGD wastewater for reuse
Interior of the FlexEDR plant

After completing its U.S. tour, the plant will be sent to China. Over 60% of Chinese power still comes from coal, with increasing concern and regulatory pressure to treat FGD wastewater and protect China’s aquatic environment.  The ‘chloride kidney’ has applications outside of FGD, selectively removing troublesome ions to enable water reuse, for example in agriculture, oil refining, and gold extraction.

About Saltworks

Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

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Flue Gas Desulfurization Wastewater Treatment
Application

Flue Gas Desulfurization Wastewater Treatment

Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems are used to remove sulfur dioxide air emissions in coal-fired power plants. FGD wastewater is often saturated with calcium sulfate, while containing both metals and chlorides. Saltworks can help to boost FGD water cycles through selective chloride removal, or treat the FGD wastewater to zero liquid discharge.

photo of FlexEDR
Product

FlexEDR Electrodialysis Reversal

FlexEDR is a next-gen electrodialysis reversal (EDR) system for industrial wastewater desalination, solving scaling issues & boosting recovery.

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Battery Grade Lithium Produced Following Successful First Pilot Test

Image of lithium element from periodic table

Battery-Grade Lithium Produced Following Successful First Pilot Test

February 4th, 2018

A lithium mining company’s novel selective crystallization process is producing battery-grade lithium carbonate in a pilot plant at Saltworks Technologies. An executive leader from the mining company commented that they were “very pleased with the performance of the prototype pilot,” which produced lithium carbonate of >99.56% purity.

The process includes Saltworks’ robotized BrineRefine water plant and our innovative process engineering. The result was a smart, simple process delivering excellent results rapidly. Saltworks is now advancing the design of a larger mobile pilot plant for the lithium mining company.

Image of lithium element from periodic table

Henry Tsin, Technology Director at Saltworks commented, “It is great to see how a simple, elegant process using the lithium mining company’s intellectual property and Saltworks’ expertise achieves such a high purity.”

To keep up-to-date with the advancements of this project, subscribe to our newsletter. You can also read more about lithium brine extraction and our BrineRefine technology in the Saltworks knowledge center.

About Saltworks

Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

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99.9% Purity Battery-Grade Lithium Hydroxide

Saltworks is pleased to announce the production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from an industrial wastewater. Saltworks’ process harvests lithium hydroxide solids that reach or exceed battery-grade specifications.

A simple process flow diagram for lithium processing and refining by Saltworks Technologies
Infographic

Lithium Process Flow Brochure

This lithium process flow brochure shows how membrane, thermal, and chemical water technologies fit into various stages of lithium production. Learn how to process lithium to battery-grade, downstream of direct lithium extraction.

Photo of an electric vehicle with a lithium ion battery charging
Application

Lithium Extraction and Refining

Saltworks brings water mining expertise and advanced desalination technologies to our lithium clients, offering solutions for concentrating, refining, and converting low-grade lithium sources to battery-grade product. We offer higher purity and lower energy processing technology, that boosts yield, removes unit operations, and reduces cost.

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Saltworks Invents Own Competition: SaltMaker AirBreather

Photo of a SaltMaker AirBreather pilot plant with engineering team

Saltworks Invents its Own Competition: The SaltMaker AirBreather

November 2nd, 2018

Today, Saltworks officially launched a new product for shale operators: the SaltMaker AirBreather. After completing two shale pilot projects, the Saltworks team realized there was a more cost effective way to treat shale gas waters. Building on the success of the SaltMaker MultiEffect—Saltworks’ hallmark evaporator crystallizer—the SaltMaker AirBreather was designed with the shale end use in mind: high capacity, low cost, employ low-grade heat, and robust modular operations.

Photo of a SaltMaker AirBreather pilot plant with engineering team
The Saltworks Commissioning Team with their AirBreather pilot plant being readied in our factory.

The team completed over one year of testing while dipping into the SaltMaker MultiEffect parts bin to develop the new SaltMaker AirBreather product. The AirBreather offers operators:

  • A lower cost evaporator crystallizer that can be dispatched in modules and scaled-up to meet any capacity
  • Safe evaporation of water to atmosphere, leaving no freshwater by-product to manage
  • No expensive chemical treatment or volatile organic compound (VOC) air emissions
  • The ability to harness low cost energy to concentrate salty waters
  • Reduce shale gas waters to either a low volume brine suitable for disposal wells or solid salt crystals for re-use or safe landfilling.
  • Optional NORMs management bolt-on if required

Process flow diagram of a SaltMaker Airbreather evaporator
Process flow diagram for the SaltMaker AirBreather

The SaltMaker AirBreather is not just for shale gas applications. It fits where projects seek to treat complex brines unfit for membrane systems. Read more in-depth knowledge on the technology behind the AirBreather.

Executive Vice President Malcolm Man commented, “I am really proud that the design team invented a competitor to the MultiEffect. The AirBreather will beat the MultiEffect where thermal energy costs less than $5/GJ. The MultiEffect wins on higher cost energy or where liquid water recovery is important. Either way, customers now have two product options to choose from.”

Rendered image of a SaltMaker AirBreather evaporator crystallizer
SaltMaker AirBreather

About Saltworks

Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

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Photo of a full-scale SaltMaker ChilledCrys skid
News

Lithium & Nickel Crystallizers for the EV Battery Industry

Saltworks has shipped two SaltMaker MVR crystallizers and a SaltMaker ChilledCrys to the electric vehicle (EV) battery industry. These full-scale systems will play an essential role in the production of lithium and nickel—two critical elements in EV batteries.

A photo of a SaltMaker evaporator crystallizer at Saltworks HQ
Product

SaltMaker Evaporators & Crystallizers

Our SaltMaker modular evaporators and crystallizers turn almost any wastewater into clean water, minimal liquid discharge (MLD) brines or zero liquid discharge (ZLD) solids.

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Saltworks Enters Lithium Brine Extraction With a Lithium Mining Company

Saltworks logo without text

Saltworks Enters Lithium Brine Extraction With a Lithium Mining Company

June 12th, 2018

A lithium mining company has commissioned Saltworks Technologies to design and build their novel, selective crystallization pilot plant. The plant is intended to make battery-grade lithium carbonate in a continuous process, using lithium brine extraction. Saltworks will bring its expertise in water treatment process design, optimization, and intelligent controls to rapidly deliver the company’s novel technology. The modular, containerized plant will enable rapid, mobile testing on lithium-rich brines.

An executive leader from the mining company commented, “We’re extremely pleased to announce this agreement with Saltworks. We’ve been very impressed with the quality and technical sophistication of their team and the products that they design and manufacture.”

Saltworks CEO Benjamin Sparrow commented that “Lithium mining is water mining. Our team is very excited to provide a technology edge, leveraging our experience while working with a world-class team.”

Saltworks is an integrated water technology leader that develops solutions for customers by working with them to understand their challenges and develop solutions. Saltworks complements its in-house products, including the FlexEDR selective ion removal system, the BrineRefine chemical softening system and the SaltMaker evaporator-crystallizer, with the best off-the-shelf technologies, such as reverse osmosis and pretreatment. Saltworks overlays innovation and the full breadth of their organizational expertise in a relentless drive to lower costs, provide excellent customer service, integrate advanced control systems and ensure performance-boosting reliability for every customer.

About Saltworks

Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

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Photo of a full-scale SaltMaker ChilledCrys skid
News

Lithium & Nickel Crystallizers for the EV Battery Industry

Saltworks has shipped two SaltMaker MVR crystallizers and a SaltMaker ChilledCrys to the electric vehicle (EV) battery industry. These full-scale systems will play an essential role in the production of lithium and nickel—two critical elements in EV batteries.

Image depicting a battery
News

99.9% Purity Battery-Grade Lithium Hydroxide

Saltworks is pleased to announce the production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from an industrial wastewater. Saltworks’ process harvests lithium hydroxide solids that reach or exceed battery-grade specifications.

A simple process flow diagram for lithium processing and refining by Saltworks Technologies
Infographic

Lithium Process Flow Brochure

This lithium process flow brochure shows how membrane, thermal, and chemical water technologies fit into various stages of lithium production. Learn how to process lithium to battery-grade, downstream of direct lithium extraction.

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USBR Demonstrates Zero Liquid Discharge: Making Clean Water and Salt

Zero Liquid Discharge Pilot

USBR Demonstrates Zero Liquid Discharge: Making Clean Water and Salt

May 30th, 2018

The United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) engaged Saltworks Technologies to demonstrate the zero liquid discharge SaltMaker at a US location. Zero liquid discharge involves treating 100% of the water flow to only produce two outputs: clean water and all contaminants reduced to a solid, which is salt in this case.

Photo of a zero liquid discharge pilot plant at USBR
Zero Liquid Discharge Plant at a USBR Site

The USBR is dedicated to protecting the environment and has been intercepting saline water from entering an important American watershed. To demonstrate a full-scale solution for desalinating the saline water, known as brine, the USBR selected Saltworks’ SaltMaker Evaporator Crystallizer after a comprehensive competitive review of brine management and ZLD technologies.

The demo plant was delivered in the winter and operated 24/7 to produce solid salts and freshwater.  Project leader Malcolm Man said that, “we sent one of our SaltMaker pilots from our test fleet in a pre-packaged shipping container along with a team of operators. We are incredibly proud of the hard work demonstrated by our team that resulted in rapid ZLD solid salt production on day four and continues to deliver results that help protect US waters.”

Photo of a tented Saltworks zero liquid discharge evaporative crystallizer pilot in a desert landscape
ZLD Plant Operates 24/7 to produce solid salts and freshwater

“Site staff as well as the other Reclamation personnel who have visited the demonstration test have been very impressed with Saltworks employees’ communication, technical knowledge, and professionalism,” commented USBR Civil Engineer Frederick Busch.

The demonstration shows that rivers and lakes can be protected by ZLD, extracting contaminants of concern in a single, packaged plant that does not require pre-treatment or complex, multi-step processes.

About Saltworks

Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

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A photo of a SaltMaker evaporator crystallizer at Saltworks HQ
Product

SaltMaker Evaporators & Crystallizers

Our SaltMaker modular evaporators and crystallizers turn almost any wastewater into clean water, minimal liquid discharge (MLD) brines or zero liquid discharge (ZLD) solids.

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EOR Economics Improved with Innovation in Produced Water Desalination

Photo of a FlexEDR stack in a shipping container pilot plant

EOR Economics Improved with Innovation in Produced Water Desalination

May 7th, 2018

Saltworks successfully tested FlexEDR advanced electrodialysis reversal technology to treat produced water at an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) site in Alberta, Canada. The field pilot proved that desalting EOR-produced water can provide a substantial return on investment, helping to make water treatment a profit centre rather than a cost centre.

Photo of an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) water treatment plant being deployed at an Albertan oil sands site
Enhanced oil recovery water treatment plant being set up at an Albertan oil sands site

Polymer flood EOR sites add costly polymer to recycled produced water before it is re-injected. This polymer makes injected water more viscous, or thick, and pushes out more oil. Salinity of the water, however, increases polymer consumption considerably, and this can cost millions of dollars per year. The field pilot reported as much as 50% savings on polymer costs and 90% freshwater recovery by leveraging FlexEDR’s ability to desalinate the produced water with minimal pre-treatment. This outcome pays for the cost of desalination, and offers oil & gas companies the opportunity to reduce their costs, withdraw less make-up water, and improve oil recovery.

The mobile water treatment plant operated continuously over a 60-day period with 95% uptime to desalinate produced water. The system successfully treated produced water with highly variable oil-in-water concentrations, enabled by Saltworks’ IonFlux exchange membranes used in the FlexEDR treatment stack. This desalinated produced water could then be used for reinjection and required far less make-up polymer to achieve the same viscosity, resulting in the substantial cost savings. Beneficially, some of the polymer in the produced water remained in the desalinated stream for reuse. 

Photo of a FlexEDR stack in a shipping container pilot plant
A FlexEDR stack

The FlexEDR system is an advanced electrodialysis reversal (EDR) system that utilizes next generation ion exchange membranes that are designed and manufactured by Saltworks. The desalination system can withstand highly variable water chemistries with little pre-treatment while desalinating water containing harsh oils and organics. It can also tune produced water to specific salinity levels while decreasing the hardness of the treated stream. This is of interest to oil companies since the best injection waters have almost no hardness (Ba, Ca, Mg), but some trace salinity (Na, Cl).

Saltworks Director of Technology, Derek Mandel, commented that, “We look forward to taking this successful pilot to the next level with a full-scale EOR water treatment plant. Our results suggest companies practicing chemical flooding stand to slash their operating costs and reduce their water usage; FlexEDR is a win-win for chemical EOR.” Read the article that was published today in Industrial WaterWorld that outlines additional details about the pilot. A Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) paper was also published on this topic earlier this month. Please contact Saltworks for access to a copy.

About Saltworks

Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

Related Resources

Photo of a SaltMaker AirBreather pilot plant with engineering team
News

Saltworks Invents Own Competition: SaltMaker AirBreather

Today, Saltworks officially launched a new product for shale operators: the SaltMaker AirBreather. Building on the success of the SaltMaker MultiEffect – Saltworks’ hallmark evaporator crystallizer – the SaltMaker AirBreather was designed with the shale end use in mind: high capacity, low cost, employ low grade heat, and robust modular operations.

Photo of a fracking site with wastewater treatment needs
Article

Frac & Shale Water Management, Treatment Costs & Options

Although there are many water management options available for shale operators, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It is important to understand the costs, alternatives, and technical limitations of each option and develop a blended water management strategy.

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Two Zero Liquid Discharge Treatment Plants Headed to Sub-Arctic Mine

Saltworks SaltMaker in Production Factory

Two Zero Liquid Discharge Treatment Plants Headed to Sub-Arctic Mine

April 4th, 2018

Saltworks Technologies has been chosen to deliver two full-scale saline water treatment systems for a precious metals mine in the Canadian North. The zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plants will desalinate mine shaft water, and enable the site to achieve their treatment goals.

After a year-long pilot and competitive selection process, the client chose Saltworks’ SaltMaker Evaporator Crystallizer and supporting process plant. Pilot results demonstrated that the treated water met stringent arctic discharge requirements, including aquatic life tests, while producing zero liquid discharge salts. Some of the salts may be reused inside the mine shaft for de-icing.

The modular plants are being delivered on a rapid schedule as a series of ISO shipping container blocks. The multi-effect evaporator crystallizer process can be driven by waste heat due to its energy efficient design, and has built-in intelligent controls for self-cleaning and automated operation.

“Contributing to an important mining development is a great way to start 2018. Many modern innovations rely on mined precious metals—cell phones, electric cars, computers. Zero liquid discharge represents the future of mine water management, and we are thrilled to be a part of it,” said Saltworks CEO, Ben Sparrow.

About Saltworks

Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

Related Resources

A photo of a SaltMaker evaporator crystallizer at Saltworks HQ
Product

SaltMaker Evaporators & Crystallizers

Our SaltMaker modular evaporators and crystallizers turn almost any wastewater into clean water, minimal liquid discharge (MLD) brines or zero liquid discharge (ZLD) solids.

A photo of a wastewater disposal truck used in brine management
Article

How to Manage Brine Disposal & Treatment

The many options for managing brine, a term for saline wastewater from industrial processes, fall under two categories: brine treatment and brine disposal. Brine treatment involves desalinating the brine for reuse and producing a concentrated brine (lower liquid waste volume), or residual solids (zero liquid discharge).

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Saltworks Celebrates SaltMaker Crystallizer Installation in BC

Saltworks' SaltMaker at a Wastech Site

Saltworks Celebrates SaltMaker Crystallizer Installation in BC

March 13th, 2018

A 2013 pilot project that started on Vancouver’s Burrard inlet seashore is now winning international bids, creating BC jobs and protecting Canada’s environment. Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and the Government of British Columbia’s Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) fund first supported Saltworks Technologies in its drive to commercialize an innovative technology that treats the most challenging industrial salty wastewaters. The product now has global installations, all built in BC. 

Photo of a Saltworks SaltMaker Multieffect evaporator crystallizer
The SaltMaker Evaporator Crystallizer, made in BC

CEO Benjamin Sparrow commented, “Our country recognizes that cleantech innovation can advance our resource sector as well as diversify our economy. Saltworks investors, partners, and team sent plants out to oil, gas, mining, and industrial sites, making clean water from very salty brines that were previously trucked off site. The SaltMaker innovation changed this equation.” Saltworks now operates two factories in BC, building some of the world’s most advanced water technology, with customers including major oil and gas and mining companies, as well as NASA.

The early joint strategic funding from SDTC and ICE set Saltworks on course with a first plant, which withdrew waste heat from a portside cold storage facility, saving carbon emissions in the process. After multiple full-scale installations internationally, the company brought the technology home in 2016 and built a plant in the Interior of British Columbia for Wastech. The plant employs waste heat thermal energy from reciprocating clean power engines, lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to alternative treatment options, while producing clean water and jobs. 

About Wastech

Wastech Services Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Belkorp Environmental Services Inc., has more than 30 years’ experience in British Columbia as a strong partner for corporations, government agencies and institutions in the design, management, and optimization of recycling and waste management systems. Our core areas of expertise include recycling, transfer stations, landfills, commodity sales, wood recycling, and transportation-back-hauling services. Wastech works in collaboration with communities in which it operates to bring solutions that are cost-effective, and that minimize or eliminate environmental impacts. Wastech is headquartered in Coquitlam, and operates transfer stations in Abbotsford, Coquitlam, North Vancouver and Surrey, as well as the Cache Creek Landfill in the BC interior.

About Saltworks

Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

Related Resources

Photo of trash being dumped into a landfill
Article

Ultra High Pressure Reverse Osmosis for Landfill Leachate

Reverse osmosis (RO) is the best available technology to treat landfill leachate for surface discharge. Possible trace volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ammonia emerging in the RO permeate can be removed with a polishing step to meet the highest discharge standards.

A photo of a wastewater disposal truck used in brine management
Article

How to Manage Brine Disposal & Treatment

The many options for managing brine, a term for saline wastewater from industrial processes, fall under two categories: brine treatment and brine disposal. Brine treatment involves desalinating the brine for reuse and producing a concentrated brine (lower liquid waste volume), or residual solids (zero liquid discharge).

Landfill Leachate Treatment
Application

Landfill Leachate Treatment

Saltworks can help you to address your leachate challenges with ultra-high recovery solutions for sewer or surface discharge. We have you covered for chemical, membrane and thermal solutions, including integration when required. Our solutions can reduce your leachate treatment costs, stakeholder risks, and residual waste volumes to manage.

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Saltworks Launches FlexEDR After Economic Zero Liquid Discharge Pilot

Upstream Pre-Treatment for Saltworks FlexEDR Electrodialysis Reversal Pilot Plant.

Saltworks Launches FlexEDR After Economic Zero Liquid Discharge Pilot

February 20th, 2018

Saltworks Technologies achieved economic zero liquid discharge (ZLD) at a US chemical plant, treating challenging saline wastewater to 99.9% recovery. The chemicals facility engaged Saltworks to rapidly deliver a pilot program that would remove salt from their effluent, helping to meet a discharge cap on total dissolved solids.

A photo of an upstream pre-treatment skid for a Saltworks FlexEDR electrodialysis reversal pilot plant.
Saltworks engineer working on a FlexEDR pilot pre-treatment skid

The team targeted the highest salinity stream in the plant for salt removal. This concentrated stream, which also contained high organics and biological growth potential, was poorly suited for reverse osmosis (RO). Project leader Derek Mandel commented, “RO is the workhorse of desalination and we use it widely, however, the RO membrane fouling risk was too high with this wastewater. Extensive and uneconomic pre-treatment would have been required. This is why we worked with the client to test the second most popular membrane desalter—EDR.” EDR, or electrodialysis reversal, is an established water technology with more than half a century of industrial applications.

Saltworks’ FlexEDR introduces three essential innovations for EDR end users:

  1. Increased resilience via Saltworks’ IonFlux ion exchange membranes, which withstand turbid waters and frequent bleach cleans to prevent biological growth;
  2. No need for chemical softening due to a patented hardness blocker that protects electrodes; and
  3. Process-control innovations to achieve higher recovery and optimize performance when facing variable inlet water conditions.

FlexEDR successfully extracted 89% of the salt load, surpassing the 75% goal. This de-risks the plant’s water balance and permit obligations. Downstream of FlexEDR, the concentrated brine was treated with the SaltMaker Evaporator Crystallizer to achieve 99.9% net water recovery in a modular package that produced solid byproduct. The solids were sent to non-hazardous landfills for safe, low-cost disposal.

Photo of a FlexEDR E150 stack with a transparent background
Saltworks’ FlexEDR: The next generation in electrodialysis reversal

This pilot demonstrated the economic and process advantages of targeting concentrated streams for salt removal. Today, Saltworks Technologies launches its FlexEDR product line—the next generation electrodialysis reversal technology for challenging waters:

  • FlexEDR Organix desalinates produced water and wastewater with high concentrations of organics while removing the need for extensive pretreatment.
  • FlexEDR Selective pulls out monovalent ions with 98% selectivity, so you can tune water chemistries to suit your treatment needs and extract salts that deliver value.
  • FlexEDR Ammonia offers a membrane treatment system for reliable wastewater ammonia removal where biological systems struggle to meet requirements.

About Saltworks

Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.

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