Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility

Desal 101 is a one day course offered to the public that covers the basics of desalination and is taught by BGNDRF staff along with professors from New Mexico State University. The curriculum begins with general information on water scarcity and the need for desalination; then it explores specific desalination technologies, such as reverse osmosis and electrodialysis.

Desal 101 Curriculum Topics Subtopics
Introduction to Desalination The Need
Source Water (Non-Traditional Water)
Science of Dissolving Salts
Minimum Theoretical Energy
Process (including Pretreatment and Post Treatment)
Global Application
Reverse Osmosis (RO)
How It Works
History of Development
Operational Considerations and Monitoring
Various RO Innovation
3 Major Challenges for RO
Electrodialysis (ED) Explanation of the Concept
Technology Niche
Technology Uses
Various ED Innovations
Sampling of Other Desalination Technologies Various Thermal Processes (MSF, MED)
Capacitive Deionization (CapDI)
Forward Osmosis (FO)
Membrance Distillation (MD)
Nanofiltration (NF)
Others
Useful Calculations for Desalination Recovery
Salt Rejection
Simulation Programs
Concentrate Management The Need and Challenges
Technologies and Processes in Development
Example of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant

Since 2016, over 2,600 third graders have visited BGNDRF during Discovering Desal and participated in learning stations related to the importance of fresh water, how water becomes salty, using reverse osmosis and electrical charges to remove dissolved salts from water, how renewable energy powers desalination technologies, and more.

The event reaches all third graders in the Alamogordo Public School system, as well as private schools, homeschool groups, and students from the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Discovering Desal also includes an on-the-road event for summer school students to small towns near the eastern border of New Mexico.

Reclamation's video "Making Desal Cool: How Reclamation's Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility Teaches 3rd Graders the Science of Turning Salty Water into Freshwater" was selected for the 2019 Water Environment Federation's Annual Technical Exhibition Conference.

The Water Environment Foundation (WEF) is a not-for-profit association that provides technical education and training for thousands of water quality professionals.

The video production was a collaborative effort across Reclamation's Research and Development Office, the Washington D.C. Public Affairs Office, and BGNDRF staff and volunteers.



Contact

Crystal Bing
Facility Operations Assistant
575.443.6540
cbing@usbr.gov

Bureau of Reclamation
Brackish Water National Desalination Research Facility
500 La Velle Road
Alamogordo, NM 88310
575.443.6540
bgndrf@usbr.gov


Last Updated: 5/9/23