Purification of Brackish Water using Hybrid CDI-EDI Technology

by Robert Atlas, Aqua EWP, LLC.

San Antonio, TX
Abstract
A new class of technology using capacitance based de-ionizer will be presented using all solid state electronics.
The mechanism for ion removal during purification and waste water regeneration is very similar to a hybrid
combination of Capacitive Deionization (CDI) and Electro deionization (EDI), This new version is called EWP
X3 (patent pending).
The technology uses a hybrid electrode comprised of activated carbon, nano materials and a semi-permeable
coating. These hybrid electrodes still are electrically charged using a DC power supply and have different
polarities. The minerals/metals in the water have polarity charges, which are attracted to the opposite polarity of
the electrode, thus removing the minerals from the water.
Case Studies will be presented on brackish water, brackish waste water and 5 year history on supply water. Each
case study will show a water analysis before and after; including a characteristic of preferential removal for the
primary pollutants of arsenic, fluoride, nitrates and Chromium to non-detect limits. One case study demonstrates
an option to vary the operating conditions to adjust taste. Five years of longevity operating data will also be
presented.
Bio of Robert Atlas
Robert Atlas is President of Aqua EWP based in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Atlas is one of the primary and most
significant developers of new emerging technology called the Electronic Water Purifier and a new battery
device for hybrid transportation using the EWP technology platform.
He is has a Bachelors in Chemistry from the State University of New York at New Paltz, a Masters in Chemical
Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and also attended Baldwin Wallace EMBA program.
For the last 10 years he has been involved with the purification and recycle of industrial waste water. In this
span of time a new class of Capacitive Deionization has been developed sold under the brand name EWP. It
pertains to all types of water and waste water purification including the desalination of ocean water for drinking
water. Prior to the development of EWP, he worked for a subsidiary of US Filter in the area of water and waste
water purification technologies.
He also won product of the year award in 2003 from the San Antonio Chamber of commerce and has done more
to advance the, manufacture, marketing and practical use of EWP for water purification on the world market
than any other person operating in this technology space. In 2003 he commercialized the technology by
inventing a semi automated manufacturing process for materials and cells. In 2006 he licensed the consumer
products segment to another company. Today he is busy creating an automated process using robotics focused
on meeting the growth in commercial systems.
Mr. Atlas has one patent approved and another patent application submitted. He has made numerous
presentations at conferences and has published over 12 papers associated with EWP technology.

Introduction
Water. This is more important than food or fuel. The world's population is increasing while the worlds' water
supply is not. There are only two frontiers left to supply water; either to purify the wastewater for recycle in
industrial facilities or purify seawater. Neither of these frontiers have been conquered cost effectively with
existing technology.
For years membranes and ion exchange have been used to lower TDS from water and wastewater, none of
which is economical, practical or efficient as TDS levels increase beyond 10,000 PPM. Availability of
technology for low power consumption and powerful to purify the primary pollutants is not available in a single
technology platform. In many parts of the world safe fresh water is not available to support the population, or
that water will be the major economic, environmental, and political issue in the next century yet, this entire field
is characterized by mature technology with manufacturers that refuse to embrace a disruptive technology. So
the product cycles are measured in decades by the consumer.
But a new technology has been developed such as the Electronic Water Purifier (EWP) over the last 10 years
that has low operating costs, low rejection waste water, low capital, no chemicals, small footprint and is now
from POU to in large commercial sizes. This technology will challenge traditional technologies.
EWP X3 is classified in a technology space called Capacitive Deionization (CDI). CDI has been around since
1950. The basic concept for separating compounds that are dissolved in water using electrical means is quite
old. The technology started to be refined in a 25 year period from 1980 by approximately 12 inventors. Its just
that EWP X3 is now refined with the most installed systems (1,000+) of any of the inventors in consumer,
commercial and industrial applications.
Myths of CDI
1. CDI is not been around a long time, not been fully developed and thus a risk.
Of course this is not true. CDI has been fully developed for at least 5 years because we have longevity data
from existing installations.
2. Electricity and water must be dangerous.
If current used unit of area is usually measured in milliamps and no electrical charge appears in the wateronly
across the electrodes.
3. It cant soften water and remove the primary pollutants simultaneously.
The fact that the technology reduces total dissolved solids fairly linearly means that it removes all the ions in the
same way. While it has a slight preferential removal for some components, the mean deviation from average is
only +/- 7%.
4. Why is the capital cost so much higher than RO?
In fact on a feed flow basis when evaluating for 2,500 ppm feed, EWP is +/- 20% on capital, far less on
operating costs, very little maintenance. Capital costs will be similar and operating costs less with greater
benefit to the consumer.
5. CDI is not effective for removing primary pollutants

EWP removes more contaminants than any other single technology on the market.
99.5% removal of some primary pollutants
Nitrates
Ammonia
Perchlorate
Arsenic
Fluoride
Chrome
Iron (less than 10 ppm feed)
Organic Acids (e.g. Humic and Tannic Acid)

6. CDI cant be cost effective for large systems

The flows can increase in multiples of 5 gpm with development of a modular cell pack and power supply
5 GPM System

Picture of
5 gpm cell pack
power supplies

Benefits

All solid state electronics, no parts to wear out or maintain

High recovery of 80+%

No chemicals, no membranes or media to replace

Cost effective on capital. Low operating costs

Small footprint (half the size of RO)

Removes the primary pollutants better than any other single technology

Small POU. POE sixes to large commercial systems

Very simple to maintain

How does EWP X3 Work?

Various Dissolved salts and Silica in water are the major components of TDS (total dissolved solids). These
dissolved salts need to be removed on many applications, or they will form deposits. Ultimately this will affect
equipment performance, safety and taste of the water. (Figure 1)

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

The Electronic Water Purifier makes patented technology available to generate highly purified quality water by
removing these dissolved salts electronically.
Electrodes used are made from activated carbon that has a coating and a conductive material. When these
electrodes are layered using a DC power supply, the individual electrodes are charged with different polarities.
The dissolved salts in the water have polarity charges and are attracted to the opposite polarity of the electrode,
thus removing the dissolved salts from the water. These dissolved salts are adsorbed though a process we call
electrochemical diffusion through the coating and onto the activated carbon electrode surface creating the pure
water. (Figure 2)
When sufficient dissolved salts are deposited on the electrodes, the electrodes are regenerated initially by
shorting the electrodes to ground. The contaminants fall off the electrode in the same chemical form as was
removed. After the regeneration, the waste at 2 times the original concentration is discharged through a valve.
The waste is discharged to a drain. (Figure 3) Upon completion of this cycle, the polarities are reversed for
normal operation.

General Operating Characteristics of Capacitive De-ionization

1. The faster the flow, the less average purification
2. The electrodes are one pass and made from activated carbon and are not made from any aerogel
material which has to use serpentine flow because of its inefficiency to purify and regenerate
3. If flow is increased by 50% the decrease in average purification will be 10%. This might be an
acceptable trade-off.
4. If the feed salinity increases above where you start, the percent purification (or the outlet TDS will
increase from where you started.
Figure 4
Small Cell Metrics revised 2007
% Purify vs. Feed Salinity
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
0

10

15

20

25

concentration ms

5. For every 1,250 ppm in feed salinity, another cell in series is needed to maintain high levels of
purification
One can see from Figure 4 that at 1,000 ppm the purification is 80% (200 ppm) and at 2,500 ppm the
purification 65% (875 ppm) To achieve a purification of less than 500 ppm there are 2 choices: either 1)
the flow has to decrease to achieve a higher purification This means the capital investment is higher
because the total daily flow output will be less; or 2) the alternative is to maintain constant flow by adding
another cell in series--perhaps flow at a higher flow speed. Figure 5 shows the effect of adding cells in
series to maintain the rated flow per cell.

Figure 5: Adding Cells in Series to maintain purification

Percent Purification
100%

% Purification

95%
90%
85%
80%
75%
70%
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Feed Water TDS (ppm)

6. The power consumed is small.

Figure 6: Power Consumption
Small Cell Metrics revised 2007
Power Consumer kwh per 1000 gallons of feed water
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0

10

15

20

25

concentration ms

7. Any contaminant that will absorb into activated carbon will absorb in the electrode such as petroleum
hydrocarbons, alcohol etc... And will take away surface area for ion exchange. The exception is
organic substances that completely dissociate in water
8. Freezing should not damage the electrode.
9. recovery can be set to 80% to 85% by throttling a manual valve after the waste water discharge valve.
This is possible because the purification flow rates are extraordinarily high and the waste flow per
gram of carbon can be less. This will decrease the volume of waste water discharge and will also
increase the concentration during the initial purification stagewhich will decrease the amount of
purification slightly.
The recovery can be set high because of the high flows used during purification. Figure 7 shows the
relationship in flow per gram of carbon in the electrode.

Figure 7: Comparison of various materials and flow rate

Type of Material

Flow Rate
(ml/min/gram of carbon)

Aerogel

2 to 4

CDI

4 to 8

EWP X3

15 to 20

10. For mineral deposits left on any of the cell surfaces, a mild acid such as citric acid can be used to
restore performance to the original factory standards.
Process Description
The new class of EWP is called X3 because the technology has evolved to use 1) a capacitive deionization
principal to remove dissolved ions from water, but also emulates EDI where 2) a semi-permeable membrane and
electrode are use. The device consists of multiple layers including chargeable coated electrodes or layers that
work in response to an applied DC potential above 1 VDC nominally. Each electrode on the device contains a
conductive surface sandwiched between layers of activated carbon. A non-conductive spacer material separates
the plates from each other. These electrodes are alternately connected to the two sides of a DC power supply via
appropriate connecting leads.
The device works on the principles of capacitive deionization to purify water, with the application of a low
voltage DC potential to attract and discharge ions on the electrode surface. The high surface area carbon
electrode layers attract and hold ions from a solution on its surface, flowing through the device. The positive
ions are attracted to the negatively charged plate (anode), and the negative ions are attracted to the positively
charged plate (cathode).
Eventually, all the charged sites are filled and the device must then be regenerated by discharging the irons
from the electrode surfaces. shorting of the electrodes and reversing the polarity of the applied DC potential.
Once a substantial amount of the new displaced ions are flushed into the waste stream, after a length of time, the
unit begins to charge once again by attracting ions from the feed solution under the influence of the reverse
potential. This action then begins a reversible service cycle.
What makes this device different that any CDI or EDI on the market today is 3 different flow mechanisms.
The electrode and semi-permeable coating are not in contact with each other and it doesnt use chemicals to
regenerate like EDI. The flow can be along the spacer, diffusion between the semi permeable coating and
electrode and between the semi permeable coating and electrode. This results in shorter regeneration times
(more purified water daily), faster flush with a greater concentration of contaminants in the waste water and
25% less power consumption.

Figure 8: Cell Construction Diagram

Flow Out

1 VDC

Conductor
Flow In

Spacer

+
Electrode

Example 1: Waste Water Example in Coal Bed Methane

During the field test we demonstrated that the water could be purified to the acceptable discharge Standards. A
TDS of 270 ppm can be achieved from a starting feed water TDS 2,500 with 85% recovery and with blending
an SAR of 1 can be achieved. Over a 10-year span the total cost of capital and operations will be $.05 per barrel
of water processed.
A test was run at flows of 5 gpm with two 5 gpm systems in series. Solids were filtered using a 30 micron filter.
We achieved the following results:
Figure 9: Results of CBM test
Feed Conductivity
Estimated Feed SAR
Purified Effluent
SAR (Sodium Absorption Ratio)
Waste Water (reject) conductivity
% Purification average
Recovery
Power Consumption

2,500
24
270
3
5,750
90%
85%
4.0

ppm
ppm
ppm
kwhr/1000 gal

30 GPM

Example 2: Cycle Testing for Supply Fresh Water

Much testing has been done on San Antonio City Water for over 5 years
Figure 10: 5 year Test on POU device ___
System long term testing
EWP in water cooler application -- San Antonio City Water (525 us)
55

conductivity us

50

45

40

updated with new power supply

and EPROM board design

35

30
0

500

1000

1500

2000

days in service

The only maintenance is a citric acid cleaning twice annually.

Example 3: Arsenic Test May 2006
A unit was installed at a house in New Hampshire on well water. This family had been following our technology
for years and was purchasing 2 gallons of bottled water because they had Arsenic and Nitrates in their well
water. Finally a Water Genie was installed under their kitchen sink. They did their own installation.
This test was run on a 20 gram cell that flowed at 300 ml/min (<50 GPD).
The results show a high removal of Arsenic, Nitrates and Fluoride. The flow was adjusted to leave enough
minerals in the purified water to give an acceptable taste.
Figure 11: Arsenic and Fluoride Testing on POU Device
Before
After
reduction
mg/l
mg/l
TDS
260
63
76%
pH
7.75
6.8
13%
Turbidity
0.5
0.5
Anion
Chloride
Fluoride
Nitrate (as N)
Nitrate/Nitrite (as N)
Metal Analysis
Copper

7.44
<.1
3.44
3.44

3.7
Non detect
Non detect
Non detect

50%
100%
100%
100%

<0.010

Non detect

100%

Iron
Manganese
Sodium
Hardness
Calcium
Magnesium
Arsenic

<0.010
<0.010
3.39
181
42.5
18.2
0.039

Non detect
Non detect
1.84
44.4
9.13
5.24
Non detect

100%
100%
46%
76%
79%
71%
100%

The customer says I believe the basic technology in the EWP unit is sound. The results of sending my well
water through the unit are what I was looking for when I first contacted you about purchasing a unit..I have
been able nearly duplicate the quality of water we used to buy from Poland Springs, a well know spring water
provider here in New England. The unit removed the potentially dangerous arsenic and nitrates in the water,
and left some of the calcium which helps the water to taste good. I feel like we are making our own 'spring
water' right here in our home! With the flow setting we are using now, we can make all the drinking water we
need for a day in less than an hour.
The reason I was interested in buying this unit in particular, rather than a water softener which uses salts, or a
reverse osmosis system, is that the EWP unit has significantly lower operating costs, as far as I can tell. The
Reverse Osmosis systems require you to replace expensive filters at least yearly or perhaps more often. The
water softener systems require you to buy salt and keep the brine tank properly filled. In addition, more and
more states are putting limitations on how you have to deal with the salts from water softeners, especially when
you have a septic system, as I do. The EWP unit puts back in the waste water only things it took out of the
supply water, plus a little citric acid cleaning every now and again for preventative maintenance cleaning,
Example 4: Perchlorate Testing
Figure 12: The test results are as follows on POU RO vs. POU EWP

Permeate (Purified water) Flow

Reject (waste water) flow
% Waste of Total flow
TDS of feed water
TDS of purified water (Permeate)
% Purification
Sodium Perchlorate in feed water
Sodium Perchlorate in Purified water
(Permeate)
% Sodium Perchlorate removed

RO
110
920
89%

ml/min
ml/min

EWP
250
129
66%

ml/min
ml/min

340
102
77%

mg/l
Mg/l

340
22
94%

mg/l
Mg/l

1.0
1.0

Mg/l
Mg/l

1.0
and

Mg/l
Mg/l

0%

100%

The sample water was spiked with Sodium Perchlorate at 1 mg/l then tested. 100 liters sample was
created for testing.
The perchlorate level was measured using an external analytical testing source. TDS was measured using
an electronic conductivity meter.
The EWP outperformed RO on Removal of sodium perchlorate, purified water quality and the amount of
wastewater.

Example 5: 6,000 PPM Brackish Water

A four stage system was built to purify 6,000 ppm brackish water to less than 750 ppm for household use.
Figure 13: Results of Brackish Water Test
Feed TDS
Effluent
Recovery
Power

6,000 ppm
750 Ppm
70%
18
kwh/1000 gal

This system uses 4 cells in series. Purifies

In series and flushes in series

Process Flow Diagram

for series flow (purify and waste)

SV0
Tank

SV1
effluent

Cartridge filter
with internal
ball valve

UV
(optional)
Tank

SV2
waste

feed
pump
variable
speed
pump

waste
Electrode

Tank

Electrode

Sabrex, Inc.
P&ID
Electronic Water Purifier

EWP 2 stage
8/2005 R.Atlas

Summary
The EWP X3 has developed into a range of consumer products for POU and POE as well as large
commercial systems starting at 5 gpm and can be expanded to much larger flows. The technology has
proven to be cost effective, low maintenance while removing a broad range of contaminants. It is starting
to challenge the use membranes and media in many applications all over the globe.

11

www.SabrexEWP.com

Capacitive Deionization (CDI)

(patent pending)

Hybrid of CDI and

EDX

Flow
Out

3 more ways to Purify

3 more ways to Flush

In refinement for 10 years

1
VDC

Conduct
or
Flow In

Benefits of EWP X3
More water produced daily
Faster regeneration time
25% less power consumed

Electrod
e

Spacer

General Features of EWP

Less pretreatment than Ion Exchange or RO

No chemicals
Faster the flow, the less purification
50% higher flow---10% less purification
Lower the voltage , lessen purification

One pass process through cells gets 80% purify

Cells in series for higher feed salinity to maintain purification

Recoveries of 80% to 96% (with waste recovery)

Cells never replaced, citric acid PM cleaning
Voltage or flow of cell can be varied to dial in taste

Sample Cell and Power Supply

Power supply 1.5 VDC
Cell gpm net flow
80% purification at 1,000

ppm TDS
Recovery at 80%

Power consumeption

2 watt-hr per gallon per

1,000 ppm TDS

Flow
in/out

City Water Supply

warehouse drinking water system
94% purification-5+ years in service
System long term testing
EWP in water cooler application -- San Antonio City Water (525 us)
55

conductivity us

50

45

40

updated with new power supply

and EPROM board design

35

30
0

500

1000
days in service

1500

2000

EWP Testing RESULTS

After 5+ years in operation
Feed
ppm
TDS
Hardness
Alkalinity
Chloride
Flouride
Nitrates

280
260
223
22
0.62
1.72

Effluent
ppm
% Removed
17
94%
20
92%
15
93%
6
73%
0.1
84%
0.07
96%

Primary Pollutants Removed

Results of Fluoride, Arsenic and Nitrate testing
Before

After

mg/l

mg/l

reduction

TDS

260

63

76%

Chloride

7.44

3.7

50%

Fluoride

<.1

Non detect

100%

Nitrate (as N)

3.44

Non detect

100%

Sodium

3.39

1.84

46%

Hardness

181

44.4

76%

Calcium

42.5

9.13

79%

Magnesium

18.2

5.24

71%

0.039

Non detect

100%

Arsenic

Pilot Test--250 BPD

Carbon County, Wyoming
Atlantic Rim (Washakie Basin)

6 ft W x 8 ft L x 8ft H container
insulated
plan expanding test unit to 1,000
BPD
Feed salinity of 1,000 ppm to 2,500
ppm,90% purification, 80% recovery
95% recovery with added waste
recovery unit
Its small and Portable
Electricity by gas generator off well,
can be run by 3 KW diesel, propane
generator also available

Joint Business Venture

Redwine Resources and Aqua EWP
Systems to be leased on cost/bbl of feed
water processed

Purified Water to be provided for

beneficial use

Water Analysis: Coal Bed Methane

Feed TDS
SAR Ratio
Purification

Before
2,500
24

After
270
3
90%

Waste Water (reject)

5,750

Recovery
Power Consumption

85%
4.0

ppm

ppm

kwh/1000
gal

Process Flow

2 stage EWP unit 96% recovery

90% purification
TDS = 2,500 ppm
Flow = 1,000 BPD

TDS=250 ppm
Flow=800 BPD

Filter

TDS = 250 ppm

Flow = 960 BPD

EWP
2-stage

Pump
TDS = 5,000 PPM
Flow= 200 BPD

TDS = 250 ppm

Flow = 160 BPD
EWP
Waste
Recovery
Unit

TDS = 10,000 ppm

Flow =
40 BPD

Disposal
Well
Evaporization Pond

L e a s e P ric e p e r B B L
Feed

Lease Price per BBL of feed water processed +/-25%

$1.20
$1.00
$0.80
$0.60
$0.40
$0.20
$10000

5000

2500
Feed TDS (mg/l)

Price depends on length of lease, Feed salinity

Recovery and Purification required
Disposal well cost, permeability

1000

The next Steps

2Q 2008--20 Ft container 6,000 BPD 2 stage

EWP
Redwine will have 12 wells operational
6 operating by 4Q 2007
6 operating by 2Q 2008

First Commercial EWP System to be design,

built, installed and operated

Test Unit to be moved to other locations for pilot
testing
Rentals and site visits should be available
thereafter

Value Proposition
Small size and footprint
Low profile for environmental mitigation & visual impact
Easily concealed behind natural foilage, birms essentially erase
visual impact issue

Just a low operating and maintenance costno capital

purchase required

Features such as 95% recovery, Citric Acid Cleaning, small power

use, solid state design

Well build, own and operate

Peace of Mind

for removing the primary pollutants, using no hazardous chemicals

Ability to handle some coal fines and pass thru unit

Value Proposition cont..

Operational Flexibility & Portability

Easy to operatesimple process

Short term or long term rentals
when well water production lessensmove the unit

1000s units installedall over worldsolid

operational history
Green Technology

Due to no chemicals and low power consumption

www.SabrexEWP.com