Lab Scale Process Validation

Project Overview

This ongoing engagement involves a comprehensive advanced water treatment and desalination laboratory testing program for a major Alberta oil sands operator. The lab testing program, with 80–95% of scope self-performed by the GWTS team, validates process performance and generates the technical data needed to inform commercial planning for a potential large-scale deployment.

The program addresses a technically complex desalination challenge: treating high-salinity, high-TDS water streams generated by the operator's oil sands processes to enable water reuse and reduce dependence on freshwater sources. The laboratory phase is designed to generate the performance data and design parameters required to specify a full-scale system with confidence.

Program Scope

• Comprehensive feedwater characterization across multiple stream types and seasonal conditions
• Membrane screening and selection — evaluation of multiple RO and NF membrane elements at lab scale
• Pretreatment optimization — coagulation, antiscalant, and pH adjustment protocol development
• Fouling characterization — identification of primary fouling mechanisms and development of CIP protocols
• Water recovery optimization — staged concentration experiments to maximize recovery
• Scaling index modelling and validation — LSI, RSI, and Stiff & Davis Stability Index calculations
• Process validation — confirming design assumptions against measured lab-scale performance
• Commercial planning support — capital cost estimation, operating cost modelling, and business case development

Path to Commercial Scale

This project exemplifies the GWTS approach to de-risking large capital investments in water treatment: comprehensive laboratory testing and process validation provide the data and confidence needed to justify the next capital commitment. For a major oil sands operator considering a multi-million dollar desalination system, this structured approach significantly reduces technical and financial risk.