Browsing by Author "Zodrow, Katherine R."

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    Brackish Groundwater: Current Status and Potential Benefits for Water Management
    (James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, 2016) Buono, Regina M.; Zodrow, Katherine R.; Alvarez, Pedro J.J.; Li, Qilin; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
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    A New Frontier in Texas: Managing and Regulating Brackish Groundwater
    (James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, 2015) Buono, Regina M.; Zodrow, Katherine R.; Alvarez, Pedro J.J.; Li, Qilin; James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
    Providing access to clean water is a grand challenge in engineering, and supplying sufficient, clean water is a problem around the globe. This challenge is visible in Texas, where drought coincides with population growth and increases in water demand. The 2012 Texas State Water Plan reports a 2,700 million cubic meters (MCM) gap between fresh water supply and demand in 2010, a number predicted to grow to 3,100 MCM by 2060 if new sources of water are not developed or substantial decreases in demand are not obtained. Due to the inherent political difficulty of decreasing water demand, policy makers and water providers are evaluating new water sources, including wastewater for direct or indirect reuse and brackish groundwater for desalination or direct use. It has been estimated that Texas aquifers contain more than 3,300,000 MCM of brackish groundwater, which, if converted to freshwater, could meet current consumption needs for 150 years, albeit at a greater water treatment cost. Using Texas as a case study, this article addresses which policies are desirable to best manage the supply of brackish groundwater. We review the geological, technical, and legal contexts of groundwater in Texas and situate brackish groundwater within those constructs. We consider efforts by other U.S. states to regulate brackish groundwater and identify desirable goals for its management, including facilitating access to and incentivizing use of brackish groundwater and protecting fresh water aquifers from potential saline intrusion related to brackish groundwater production. Various brackish groundwater policies are examined, and policy recommendations regarding use of the resource are offered.
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    Use of surface modified porous membranes for fluid distillation
    (2022-05-17) Li, Qilin; Wu, Jinjian; Halas, Nancy C.; Zodrow, Katherine R.; Guo, Haoli; Xu, Jiarui; Yu, Cong; Rice University; William Marsh Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark Office
    In some embodiments, the present disclosure pertains to systems and methods for distilling a fluid by exposing the fluid to a porous membrane that includes a surface capable of generating heat. In some embodiments, the heat generated at the surface propagates the distilling of the fluid by converting the fluid to a vapor that flows through the porous membrane and condenses to a distillate. In some embodiments, the surface capable of generating heat is associated with a photo-thermal composition that generates the heat at the surface by converting light energy from a light source to thermal energy. In some embodiments, the photo-thermal composition includes, without limitation, noble metals, semiconducting materials, dielectric materials, carbon-based materials, composite materials, nanocomposite materials, nanoparticles, hydrophilic materials, polymers, fibers, meshes, fiber meshes, hydrogels, hydrogel meshes, nanomaterials, and combinations thereof. Further embodiments pertain to methods of making the porous membranes of the present disclosure.
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    Use of surface modified porous membranes for fluid distillation
    (2020-11-24) Li, Qilin; Wu, Jinjian; Halas, Nancy J.; Zodrow, Katherine R.; Guo, Haoli; Xu, Jiarui; Yu, Cong; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark Office
    In some embodiments, the present disclosure pertains to systems and methods for distilling a fluid by exposing the fluid to a porous membrane that includes a surface capable of generating heat. In some embodiments, the heat generated at the surface propagates the distilling of the fluid by converting the fluid to a vapor that flows through the porous membrane and condenses to a distillate. In some embodiments, the surface capable of generating heat is associated with a photo-thermal composition that generates the heat at the surface by converting light energy from a light source to thermal energy. In some embodiments, the photo-thermal composition includes, without limitation, noble metals, semiconducting materials, dielectric materials, carbon-based materials, composite materials, nanocomposite materials, nanoparticles, hydrophilic materials, polymers, fibers, meshes, fiber meshes, hydrogels, hydrogel meshes, nanomaterials, and combinations thereof. Further embodiments pertain to methods of making the porous membranes of the present disclosure.