Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Protecting and Advancing Water-Energy-Environment and Sustainability (PAWES)

University Of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville TN

Investigators

Abstract

As the US becomes a leading producer of hydrocarbons in the world, sustainable practices are needed to leverage this new energy frontier while safeguarding against predicted water scarcity and drought. The proposed Engineering Research Center (ERC) will focus on the challenges related to hydrocarbon production. The Center will specifically address increase in water demand and wastewater sustainability as it relates to stakeholder concerns in rural and tribal communities. The planning grant aims to design the transformative systems approach needed to emphasize solutions that address social and environmental issues. The focus area is driven by the energy industry, which is responsible for up to 15% of total water withdraws worldwide. The planning grant will also bring together experts in the fields of engineering, microbiology, chemistry, environmental policy, economics, and community engagement. This team will develop an economically feasible approach, sustainable energy practices and policy, and revitalized rural communities. It will plan for an engineering system that integrates community perspectives into research, decision-making, and training with social justice, public perspectives, and multi-objective decision-making. The proposed Center will be led by the University of Tennessee with partners at Juniata College, Colorado State University, and Tennessee State University. The proposed ERC tackles important, complex, and socially-relevant topics such as water scarcity, energy security, and rural and tribal community development. The Center will target the "moonshot" initiative of treating hyper-saline O&G wastewater for industrial uses at $1/barrel. The major impact of this planning grant is to enable the effective evidence-based discussions between interdisciplinary leaders and stakeholders needed to achieve this bold target. Their input will be used to develop a sequence of wastewater management treatments designed to maximize recovery of O&G wastewater for reuse. Implications on water conservation, energy security, and rural and tribal workforce development will help country-wide society. For the proposed wastewater treatment protocols to be successful, basic research in microbiology, microbial ecology, environmental engineering, chemistry, and material science aided by advanced computational models will be needed. The planning process will be used to build effective and active networks, strengthen ongoing research efforts, inform and empower Appalachian and Tribal communities. In addition, the planning grant will be used to establish an integrated approach to engineering education that will teach students about community engagement, policy development, and science communications. These findings could be applied to other types of industrial and agricultural waste, expanding the Center's positive impact to other aspects of the US water supply system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.