Pictured from left with the DIAMOND membrane distillation technology are Dr. Vidic, post-doc Yoshihiko Inagaki, Dr. Khanna, and graduate student researcher Zhewei Zhang. CREDIT: Swanson School of Engineering
The University of Pittsburgh is getting a $1.76 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to pilot test a new method of treating frack wastewater. When we read the headline about this grant we rolled our eyes. Really?! There are plenty of private firms who cracked the frack wastewater recycling code years ago! We’ve personally seen several of them at work. Why do we need yet more research to do the same thing? But then we read further. Not only does Pitt claim they have “cracked the code” in producing a better way to recycle frack wastewater, they have innovated a way to use “waste heat available at drilling sites and natural gas compressor stations to safely treat shale gas wastewater for reuse.” Hmmm. Now that *is* interesting, and perhaps worth funding.
