Bench-Scale Laboratory

The high-hat laboratory is equipped with a full range of utilities and services to operate large- and small-scale experimental and pilot units for desalination and wastewater treatment research projects. The laboratory has fresh sea water supply to operate the desalination units. There are also supplies of pressurized air, nitrogen, and chilled water. A 480V and 240V electric service bus runs the entire length of the laboratory. A wide range of experimental setups and pilot units are currently under operation in the lab, including low-pressure pre-filtration units, high-pressure desalination units, novel desalination technologies and wastewater treatment units.

Facilities

Membrane Bio-Reactors

The research on Membrane Bio-Reactors (MBRs) is being conducted using microalgae-bacteria symbiosis to create a dual-purpose system for wastewater treatment and biomass cultivation. Microalgae can be further processed to create high-value chemicals, animal/human nutrition, biofuels, etc.

Distillation Bench Scale Set-Up for Seawater/Brine Desalination

The membrane distillation (MD) bench is a sustainable, scalable and stand-alone seawater/brine desalination process utilizing a temperature gradient.

Ultra Filtration Set-up

The Convergence Ultrafiltration/ Nanofiltration pilot / lab scale systems for nanofiltration, ultrafiltration and microfiltrationare ideal for quick studies on membrane performance. The systems are suited for fouling experiments, permeability tests, cleaning and backwash efficiency tests and more.

Autoclavable Completely Stirred Bioreactor

With a built-in ez-control system, this stirred bioreactor can be used for anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic microbial cultivation and/or wastewater treatment in both batch and continuous modes.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) Bio-Reactors

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation conducted in New Brunswick bioreactor system to study the biological wastewater treatment.

Membrane Fouling Simulators

The membrane fouling simulators (MFS) are developed to quickly evaluate biofouling growth in reverse osmosis systems. It consists of a small cell with a RO membrane and spacer. The system measures the pressure drop profile over time, which will increase due to biofouling.