A research laboratory based out of the University of Alberta is working to advance technologies that enable clean water solutions at lower energy costs for industrial applications and remote communities throughout Canada.
The Advanced Water Research Lab has set its crosshairs on the challenge of keeping water clean by developing next-generation filtration methods with use cases ranging from Alberta’s oil sands industry and to improving drinking water quality for rural communities.
Launched around 2015, The Advanced Water Research Lab is situated at the University of Alberta’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, where tenured professor Mohtada Sadrzadeh leads a research team dedicated to helping conserve Canada’s freshwater while improving the energy efficiency of the water treatment process in industrial settings.
“My work is at the interface of water, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions,” Sadrzadeh recently explained to Alberta Innovates, the region’s innovation engine which has acted as an industry partner over the past decade.
The water filtering process “affects everything,” according to Sadrzadeh, who earned a PhD in Engineering in Iran before joining the University of Alberta as a postdoctoral fellow.
The province’s oil sands, for example, demand enormous volumes of water. Recycling this water is essential; however, inferior filtration technology leaves behind impurities that can damage equipment and negatively impact a project’s performance over time.
“Conventional water treatment methods often fall short of removing all the organic and inorganic particles in the water,” Sadrzadeh said. “This causes fouling and scaling in steam generators and other critical process equipment in bitumen extraction facilities, so they must shut down and repair these facilities more frequently, costing them time and money.”
Sadrzadeh and his team are developing “membrane-based technologies” designed to “enhance water quality, reduce operational disruptions, and improve overall process efficiency.”
“My research team is finding ways to treat the water with advanced methods,” he noted, adding that their membranes are the first in the world capable of withstanding extreme heat—a necessary attribute given the thermal nature of heavy industry. Without the requirement to cool the water prior to filtration, precious energy can be saved.
In addition to Alberta’s oil sands, Sadrzadeh says the Lab is working on solutions for remote regions of Canada where safely accessing clean drinking water can prove difficult. This includes a gravity-assisted membrane that removes hazardous pathogens and other contaminants from the water without external power.
“Currently, there is no gravity-driven membrane in the market that functions at this scale, so this will be the first one that provides this patent to companies to manufacture and get into the hands of consumers,” Sadrzadeh said.
Beyond his work at the U of A, Sadrzadeh is also an entrepreneur, having founded Greenvi in 2022.
Sadrzadeh’s startup builds membranes with biodegradable biopolymers to reduce pollution.
“We don’t want secondary waste, so we’re working on a biodegradable filter,” he noted.