Bureau of Reclamation, Acquisition Operations Group, Code D-7810, Denver Federal Center, PO Box 25007, Denver CO 80225

A -- BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR APPLIED RESEARCH-DESALINATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM DUE 011398 POC Contact Stephanie Bartlett, (303) 236-8040, ext. 241, Grants and Cooperative Agreements Officer WEB: Acquisition and Assistance Services Current Solicitation Page, http://www.usbr.gov/aamsden/AAMSsol.html. E-MAIL: Stephanie Bartlett, Grants and Cooperative Agreements Officer, sgbartlett@do.usbr.gov. Requests for this pre-proposal solicitation package shall be made in writing to the above address, or by facsimile to (303) 236-8630, or by E-Mail to sgbartlett@do.usbr.gov, reference the Desalination Research and Development Program Pre-Proposal. Telephone requests will not be honored. Pre-proposals must be submitted in accordance with the instructions contained in the pre-proposal package and shall not exceed six pages in length. Proposal are due no later than 1/13/98. The U.S. Dept. of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), is currently requesting pre-proposals for research activities sponsored by the Desalination Research and Development Program (DesalR&D). Through this program, Reclamation is forming partnerships with private industry, universities, local communities, and others to address a broad range of desalting needs. The overall objective of the program is to reduce the cost of desalting technologies in order to augment water supply in the United States. For Fiscal Year 1998, Reclamation is soliciting proposals in six different research areas for projects of 12 months duration or less (follow-on funding may be available for successful projects). The award amount varies according to the area of interest. Offerors (other than academic institutions of higher learning) must be willing to cost share 50-75% of the project cost, depending on the financial need of the project. Cost sharing may be made through cash or in-kind contributions from the offeror, or third party non-Federal participants. Cost sharing is not mandatory from academic institutions, but is strongly encouraged. The authorizing Act for this program provides for up to $1,000,000 per year to be awarded to institutions of higher education without any cost-sharing requirement. Offerors proposing to provide additional cost share will be given greater consideration. No profit or fee will be allowed. Patent rights for any developments will be retained by the research partner in accordance with provisions contained in the solicitation. Any responsible source, to include individuals, educational institutions, commercial or industrial organizations, private entities, public entities (including state and local), or Indian Tribal Governments, may submit a pre-proposal which shall be considered by Reclamation. Federal agencies are not eligible to apply. Pre-proposals will be reviewed for overall scientific and/or technical merit; potential contributions to Reclamation's DesalR&D objectives; qualifications of the proposer, and reasonableness of the estimated costs. Meritorious pre-proposers will be encouraged to submit a full proposal. Submission of a pre-proposal is not mandatory; however, offerors are strongly encouraged to do so in order to receive the benefit of the initial pre-proposal screening process. Solicitation packages for the full proposals will be issued on approximately 2/27/98 with a due date of approximately 4/15/98. Brief descriptions of each area of interest and their respective funding amounts are listed below. During Fiscal Year 1998, Reclamation anticipates making awards in the quantities listed below, subject to the content and quality of proposals received for each task area; however, should additional funding become available, additional awards may be made. A list of generic examples of the types of research and development opportunities that will be considered are listed below for each task area. These examples will not necessarily be given preferential consideration over unspecified research that also meets the goals of the program. TASK A -- MEMBRANE PROCESS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES -- The primary objective of this task is to reduce the cost and increase the ease of operation of membrane-based desalting and water treatment systems. Projects sponsored under this emphasis area can apply to any portion of a membrane treatment process including pretreatment related to membrane processes. In Fiscal Year 1998, Reclamation expects to make award of three (3) to four (4) financial assistance agreements in amounts of $50,000 to $125,000 for these projects. Examples of these projects include (1) Development of membranes with improved properties, (2) Development of membranes with increased resistance to chlorine, (3) Development of ion- or component-specific membrane for reverse osmosis, electrodialysis or other membrane-based processes, (4) Quality improvements in membrane element manufacture, (5) Research on techniques for membrane storage or preservation, and for biological control during plant operation, (6) Studies on adhesion of foulant materials to membrane surfaces, (7) Studies on membrane cleaning, including frequency and effectiveness, (8) Development of improved membrane-containing element or stacks, (9) Increase of rates of mass transfer at membrane surfaces, (10) Studies on influence of minor components in groundwater on membrane properties, and (11) Studies on pretreatment specifically for membrane processes. TASK B -- THERMAL PROCESS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES -- Research and development studies will focus on improvements in thermally driven desalting processes. Thermal processes are generally applied to seawater desalting due to the high energy investment. Projects sponsored under this area can apply to any portion of the thermal desalting process, including pre- and post-treatment for these processes. In Fiscal Year 1998, Reclamation expects to make award of three (3) to four (4) financial assistance agreements in amounts of $50,000 to $125,000 for these projects. Examples of these projects include (1) Research and development studies of improvements and/or cost reductions in multi-state flash distillation, (2) Research and development studies of improvements and/or cost reductions in multiple effect distillation, (3) Research and development studies of improvements and/or cost reductions in vapor compression distillation, (4) Evaluation and development of methods to improve the heat economy of thermally driven desalting processes, (5) Investigation of methods to resolve pre- or post-treatment issues of thermally driven desalting processes, and (6) Investigation of methods to reduce the formation of scale and corrosion in thermally driven desalting processes. TASK C -- NON-TRADITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE DESALINATION RESEARCH AND STUDIES -- Research and development studies will focus on investigation of non-traditional, or alternative desalination techniques, to include the evaluation of the economics and thermodynamic efficiency of these processes. In Fiscal Year 1998, Reclamation expects to make award of one (1) or two (2) financial assistance agreements in amounts of $50,000 to $100,000 for these projects. Examples of these projects include (1) Investigation of solar evaporation methods, (2) Investigation of freeze desalination, and or combined freeze/reverse osmosis processes, (3) Investigation of solar stills and solar ponds, and (4) Development of new, innovative alternative desalination processes. TASK D -- WATER RECYCLING AND REUSE -- Research and development studies will support activities directed at innovative methods to treat municipal, industrial, or agricultural wastewaters in a cost-effective manner. Projects could also include solving specific problems related to specific reuse facilities, in order to improve the economics or overall operation and maintenance of existing or future facilities. Reclamation is presently co-funding the evaluation and construction of a number of water recycling projects through authorization under P.L. 102-575, Title XVI. Research efforts in support of these projects are activities of particular interest under this task. In Fiscal Year 1998, Reclamation expects to make award of three (3) financial assistance agreements in amounts of $60,000 to $75,000 for these projects. Examples of these projects include (1) Investigating innovative methods to recycle and reuse municipal, agricultural or industrial process water or wastewaters, (2) Developing methods to recover/recycle process materials (i.e. chemicals, plating solutions, catalysts, etc.), (3) Research studies to remove toxic substances from waste water streams, i.e., pesticides, heavy metals, radioactive elements, etc., (4) Enhanced membrane characteristics for wastewater treatment applications, (5) Research studies aimed at innovative methods to upgrade existing industrial waste treatment processes to meet state/federal standards, (6) Development of low-cost treatment methods for high nitrate well waters from farm fertilization or cattle operations, (7) Development of tools to educate the public which will reduce the psychological stigmas associated with the reuse of water, (8) Developing on-line methods for detecting leakage of viruses in reuse facilities, and (9) Developing "leak-proof" recycling treatment technologies. TASK E -- ANCILLARY AND ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENTS -- This research area of interest is three-fold in its direction: (1) Studies are solicited which evaluate the opportunities to promote desalination development in combination with new or existing power facilities, in order to create a dual-purpose facility; (2) Studies are solicited which evaluate the economic and environmental benefits of recovering the by-products of desalting processes; and (3) Studies are solicited which conduct cost evaluations of which desalting process is most economically feasible for communities under different restrictions and localities, as well as economic sensitivity analyses of thermal and membrane systems. Pre-proposals will be considered in any of these three categories of studies to provide ancillary and/or economic improvements to desalination processes. In Fiscal Year 1998, Reclamation expects to make award of three (3) financial assistance agreements in amounts of $25,000 for these projects. Examples of these projects include (1) Evaluation of incorporating membrane treatment to recover process water in an industrial facility, (2) Development of a method to recover useful minerals from a desalination process concentrate stream, and (3) Evaluation of the effect of feedwater quality and volume on a desalting plant design and concentrate disposal cost. TASK F -- CONCENTRATE ISSUES -- Research and development studies will evaluate the various problems related to concentrate disposal, and develop innovative techniques to reduce concentrate impacts on the environment. Regulations controlling concentrate disposal should be evaluated on a state-by-state basis. Thorough research findings must be provided to back up any suggested changes in regulations. In Fiscal Year 1998, Reclamation expects to make award of two (2) to three (3) financial assistance agreements in amounts of $75,000 to $100,000 for these projects. Examples of these projects include (1) Concentrate disposal systems development, (2) Methods to recover by-products, (3) Salinity modeling and toxicity analysis of concentrate discharges to the environment, and (4) Wetlands and other non-conventional disposal methods. See Numbered Note 26. (0310)

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