FAU Nanofiltration Project Wins 2012 NCEES Engineering Award
Florida Atlantic University’s department of civil, environmental and geomatics engineering within the College of Engineering and Computer Science has been named as the $25,000 grand prize winner of the 2012 National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) Engineering Award for Connecting Professional Practice and Education for their work on the City of Dania Beach Nanofiltration Facility. The NCEES award recognizes college engineering programs that promote collaborative projects between students and licensed professional engineers.
FAU faculty and student researchers worked with professional engineers from CDM Smith and Dania Beach city officials to develop an innovative design that would be more cost effective then current water treatment plants. The Dania Beach Nanofiltration Facility was the first water treatment plant in the world to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The NCEES chose the project based on the use of civil engineering and renewable energy concepts, student involvement and the LEED Gold certification.
“We are honored to receive this award from the NCEES,” said Mohammad Ilyas, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at FAU. “I am very proud of the work that Drs. Frederick Bloetscher and Daniel Meeroff are doing to help students gain practical knowledge and expertise in their chosen fields of study while also obtaining recognition for FAU and having a positive impact in our community and environment.“
Nanofiltration is a membrane separation process that removes a range of inorganic and organic substances from solution in a liquid.FAU faculty and students contributed to the project by conducting research on increasing the recovery of waste concentrate. Two civil, environmental and geomatics senior student groups submitted conceptual designs as their capstone project and spent significant time analyzing the process, site and design issues. CDM Smith and FAU students also collaborated on pilot testing the highest recovery for a nanofiltration facility in the world, which was 95 percent. The pilot testing results were featured in the International Water Association Journal, and the students’ designs are integrated into the new Nanofiltration Facility, including the LEED Gold concept.
June 14, 2012