Encore Green Environmental wants you to know all there is to know about increasing all the benefits that come from applying cleaned industry by-product water to the arid land. So – we want you to meet our team of experts that are aligned with us.
Today, we hear from Dr. Jonathan Brant,Associate Professor / Director of the Center of Excellence in Produced Water Management, University of Wyoming
EGE
Dr. Brant, thanks for chatting with us today. Briefly describe your role at the CEPWM.
DR. BRANT
I direct a group of scientists, engineers and other professionals who have the shared goal of making produced (byproduct) water an economically viable and environmentally sustainable option. My research efforts specifically focus on developing separation processes for removing solids, hydrocarbons, and salts from water.
EGE
Thanks. What’s your background?
DR. BRANT
All of my degrees are in civil engineering. I obtained my BS at the Virginia Military Institute in 1998 and my MS and PhD degrees at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2000 and 2003, respectively. During my graduate study I worked under the guidance of Dr. Amy Childress who is a well-known leader in membrane technologies. After graduate school I worked as a post-doctoral researcher at Rice University from 2004 to 2006 and then at Duke University from 2006 to 2007. During this time, I worked for Dr. Mark Wiesner to develop new engineered nanomaterials for various environmental applications, including desalination processes. I then transitioned to private industry working as a consulting engineer for HDR Engineering before joining the faculty at the University of Wyoming in 2008.
EGE
What has drawn you to your field of expertise? That is, what’s your motivation for your work day in and day out?
DR. BRANT
I have a deep and sincere passion for environmental preservation. My guiding belief is that the health and long-term viability of human civilization is directly dependent on how we interact with our environment. To this end, water management is a foundational principle for sustainable societies.
EGE
What’s been one professional success you’re proud of?
DR. BRANT
I am most proud of my students, both undergraduate and graduate, that have gone on to be leaders in the environmental engineering field. Seeing the “spark” in their intellectual curiosity as they go through school is a very powerful moment. I am also very proud of the role that our Center has played in moving produced (byproduct) water reuse a more viable and visible option.
EGE
What’s one unusual or little-known fact about you?
DR. BRANT
I live in a house of women – my lovely wife, four amazing daughters and my dog (a girl picked by my daughters)! This was a big change in lifestyle considering I went to an all-male college. Also, my wife and I were high school sweethearts.
EGE
From your point of view and expertise, what do you think of the “Just Add Water Initiative?
DR. BRANT
My belief is that acceptance of this initiative has been a long time coming! Water is a scarce resource, and in the West, it is becoming more scarce for a host of reasons. Making use of all of our water resources will be necessary as we move through the 21stCentury much as we did and continue to do with municipal water reuse. Previously, people would say that the technology was not there to treat and reuse produced waters or that it was too expensive. Neither of these statements or beliefs is true any longer in my opinion. The technology is certainly there. Stakeholders are only waiting on someone else to “prove it”, which is unfortunately common in water related applications. Cost wise there has been an incomplete accounting of the value of water. Too often when stakeholders speak of the cost of water management they focus only on the cost to put it back down hole while ignoring other costs like transporting the water and spillage/remediation. There are also many economic benefits to be had, like those summarized in the Just Add Water Imitative – carbon credits, agricultural security arising from drought proof water availability, and reductions in the costs of acquiring process water. So you can see I am a strong supporter of this imitative!
EGE
From your point of view and expertise, what is the benefit of increasing soil health?
DR. BRANT
The loss of natural grasslands and other systems is obvious to anyone that has taken a plane ride across our nation or viewed aerial images of for example the rain forests of Brazil. In fact, the natural vegetative cover in Wyoming has changed dramatically over the past 100 yrs through over grazing of cattle and changes in water availability, amongst other reasons. Deagradation and loss of our soil health has serious implications for our agricultural productivity, loss of soil through erosion, and ecosystem sustainability. Improving soil health is therefore needed to combat these, and many other, negative outcomes. One obvious area that must be addressed is finding a way to feed the nearly 10 billion people that are projected to occupy Earth by 2050. This can only be done by improving the productivity of our lands, while keeping a keen eye on environmental sustainability. Both of these goals may be reached through better use of our water resources and incorporating innovative soil management strategies.
EGE
Could you briefly describe carbon sequestration and how introducing a new source of water facilitates it?
DR. BRANT
Traditionally when we think of carbon sequestration we envision storing liquefied CO2 in deep subsurface formations. But there are many ways to “store” carbon. Another way is through the natural photosynthetic process where plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The plants use a portion of this CO2 for a variety of processes and the remainder is sent into the soil through the root system. This carbon becomes part of the soil, improving its overall health and ability to retain water. Some studies have indicated that this carbon can be stable for many thousands of years thereby keeping it out of the atmosphere.
EGE
Can you tell us one thing that excites you about the potential of adding a new source of water to the arid western state?
I am most excited about seeing how this will benefit both nature and man. We will see a rebirth in our natural grassland systems, which will benefit struggling mule deer and other groups. For us, we will see improvements in agricultural systems (feed stocks for cattle amongst others) and expedited vegetative remediation of well pads and industry impacted areas. Finally, I am perhaps most excited about seeing a sea change in how we as a society view water!