Decarbonization company Capture6 has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Palmdale Water District (PWD) to install and test its direct air capture (DAC) technology for carbon removal using brine at a new water treatment plant.
The Pure Water Antelope Valley (PWAV) Demonstration Facility, which is scheduled to open in 2024, will be the first advanced water treatment plant in California to implement the cutting-edge technology, Capture6 said in a statement.
The filtering process at the plant generates brine, which normally requires disposal. Capture6’s technology can turn brine into usable byproducts like hydrochloric acid that can be used in membrane cleaning cycles.
This would lead to savings for PWD since it would eliminate the need to acquire, build, maintain and operate about two miles of pipeline and 72 acres of evaporative ponds for the management of the brine from the plant.
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“There is synergy between what PWD needs for the disposal of the brine and the brine needed for Capture6’s carbon capture technology. The collaboration will benefit both organizations,” Scott Rogers, Engineering Manager at PWD, said in comment.
The PWAV facility will serve as a test site for treating recycled water for one year, after which PWD expects to build the full-scale project Pure Water AV in 2027. The estimated cost of the demonstration site is $15 million, and that of the full-scale project is $155 million.
According to the MOU, Capture6 will cover the cost of installing and testing its technology at the PWAV facility, and upon successful testing it will have the chance to implement it at the Pure Water AV project.
The results from the tests during the first year will be reviewed by a third-party expert and presented to an independent panel, which will serve as a basis for PWD and Capture6 to develop an agreement for the treatment of brine at the full-scale project.
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