Reverse Osmosis Concentrate Management through Halophyte Farming | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The grant opportunity titled "Reverse Osmosis Concentrate Management through Halophyte Farming" focuses on reducing the cost and environmental burden of managing reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate, the salty reject stream produced by RO water treatment. The Bureau of Reclamation (DOI-BOR) highlights that concentrate management can account for up to about half of an RO facility's capital and operating costs, largely because of the steps needed to prevent or mitigate environmental impacts from discharging or disposing of this concentrated brine. The project is positioned as applied research meant to generate practical data that can clarify whether a plant-based management approach is feasible and protective over the long term.

The core idea is to evaluate halophyte farming as a concentrate management strategy. Halophytes are salt-tolerant plants, and this project specifically targets Atriplex species (commonly known as saltbush), looking at their performance starting from seedlings and extending to uses such as farming, revegetation, and ecological restoration. The research emphasis is on collecting additional data needed to judge feasibility, including whether these plants can be reliably grown and maintained when irrigated or otherwise supported using saline concentrate, and whether productivity and survival hold up over time rather than only in short trials.

A major component of the opportunity is addressing environmental protection concerns that often drive concentrate management costs in the first place. The description calls out groundwater protection, which implies evaluating how salts and other constituents might move through soils and potentially reach groundwater when concentrate is applied on land or used in agricultural or restoration settings. Alongside this, the project intends to improve understanding of the environmental impacts of RO concentrate by supporting work such as salinity modeling, toxicity analysis of concentrate discharges, and evaluation of how concentrate constituents behave in the environment. Another related goal is to explore opportunities for recovery and beneficial use of salts or other materials in the reject stream, which could potentially convert a waste liability into a resource, depending on chemistry and economics.

The opportunity also includes an assessment of carbon sequestration potential. In other words, it is not only asking whether halophyte farming can manage brine safely, but also whether this approach could provide added climate-related benefits compared with other concentrate management options, such as deep well injection, evaporation ponds, discharge to surface waters where permitted, or zero liquid discharge systems. Comparing carbon outcomes suggests the project is looking at the broader environmental trade space, including land use, biomass production, and net greenhouse gas implications.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement, indicating the agency expects to have substantial involvement during the project rather than simply issuing a grant with minimal interaction. It falls under the science and technology and other research and development category (CFDA 15.506). The anticipated award is relatively small and targeted, with a stated ceiling of $75,000 and an expectation of one award. The opportunity was posted on December 3, 2015, with a closing date of December 18, 2015, under funding opportunity number R16 NOA DO 006. Eligibility is listed as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility text, suggesting it may be open to nontraditional applicants depending on the program's specific rules.

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