The latest edition of Water-Energy Nexus News is packed with research efforts undertaken by NETL and its partners to deliver world-class technology solutions that enhance the nation’s energy foundation while helping to protect water resources for future generations.

This quarter’s newsletter explores the development of ProteusLib, an open-source library of water treatment models built on NETL’s Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) platform. This work is creating a tool to complete technoeconomic assessments of early-stage water treatment technologies.

Other updates in this edition of the newsletter include:

• NETL and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are collaborating with Olympus Energy LLC on a project to manage produced water in the Appalachian Basin. The research is leveraging mathematical optimization technology to minimize community impacts of water management, increase produced water reuse, reduce trucking activity and decrease costs.
• The U.S. Department of Energy selected five projects under the Fit-for-Purpose Field Project: Developing and Validating Pressure Management and Plume Control Strategies through a Brine Extraction Storage Test funding opportunity. Achievements made by the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center as part of this initiative are presented. 
• This quarter’s Researcher Spotlight focuses on Chad Able, Ph.D., and his work to determine the quantity, characteristics and treatment of leachate produced from combustion residuals (coal ash). The research supports a partnership with Stanford University to predict bromide emissions from coal-fired energy plants.

Water-Energy Nexus News is also a one-stop shop for links to recent journal articles, upcoming conferences and events and more. Check out this quarter’s Water-Energy Nexus News today!

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.