Concentrate Minimization—Inline Static Mixer/Crystallizers | BOR DO 20 N006

Opportunity Information: Apply for BOR DO 20 N006

The funding opportunity titled "Concentrate Minimization--Inline Static Mixer/Crystallizers" is a Bureau of Reclamation (Department of the Interior) discretionary research award structured as a Cooperative Agreement. It supports a focused science and technology research effort led by the University of Colorado Boulder aimed at reducing or better managing reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate by encouraging controlled nucleation and crystallization directly within the concentrate flow. In practical terms, the work is about using inline static mixers (devices with no moving parts installed inside a pipe) as crystallizer-like environments to help salts and other scale-forming constituents come out of solution in a more predictable and potentially more manageable way, which can be a pathway toward minimizing the volume and disposal burden of RO concentrate.

A central goal of the project is to take a correlation developed in a prior Bureau of Reclamation and CU Boulder collaboration and translate it into the context of bench-scale static inline mixers. That translation step matters because correlations derived from earlier work often need to be re-parameterized when the physical geometry, hydrodynamics, mixing intensity, residence time, and shear conditions change. Inline static mixers create controlled turbulence and mixing patterns that can strongly influence when and where crystals begin to form (nucleation) and how fast they grow (crystallization). The project therefore emphasizes systematic experimentation to estimate key parameters within that correlation so it can reliably describe or predict performance in these mixer-based crystallizer configurations.

The technical work is organized into three main tasks that move from controlled laboratory evaluation to more realistic field-like conditions. First, the researchers will adapt and calibrate the prior correlation for bench-scale static inline mixers, using structured experiments designed to quantify the relevant coefficients and sensitivities. Second, the team will run bench-scale tests of the static inline mixer specifically to increase the rate of nucleation and crystallization using two model RO concentrate streams. Using model streams allows the researchers to control composition and isolate how mixer design and operating conditions affect crystallization behavior, making it easier to compare scenarios and develop transferable design guidance. Third, the work advances to pilot-scale testing of the static inline mixer at a demonstration site using an RO concentrate stream, which is intended to validate whether the bench-scale findings hold up when exposed to the complexity, variability, and operational constraints of a real concentrate stream and a larger-scale system.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number BOR DO 20 N006 and CFDA 15.560, with an award ceiling of $192,983 and an expectation of one award. The posting indicates it was created on May 5, 2020 with an original closing date of May 19, 2020. Eligibility is broadly labeled as "Others" with further clarification referenced in the opportunity text, but the description is clearly tailored to a cooperative effort with the University of Colorado Boulder as the performing organization. Overall, the project is positioned as an applied R&D effort that connects prior modeling or empirical correlations with hands-on mixer/crystallizer experiments, aiming to generate practical, scalable knowledge for improving concentrate minimization strategies in RO treatment systems.

• The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Concentrate Minimization—Inline Static Mixer/Crystallizers" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 05, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 19, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $192,983.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for BOR DO 20 N006

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