{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"454 Water Recycling, Innovation, and Industry Wisdom with Dr. Kelle Zeiher","description":" Industrial cooling is one of the biggest levers industrial facilities can pull on water use\u2014and it\u2019s getting harder to ignore as data centers and other high-heat operations grow. Returning guest Dr. Kelle Zeiher (Project Manager at Garratt Callahan) breaks down what water reuse looks like when you move past slogans and into the realities of pretreatment, concentrate management, footprint, and cost.  Cooling water reuse: the scale of the opportunity  Dr. Zeiher reframes \u201cdrought\u201d beyond rainfall, emphasizing aquifer recharge and the limits of focusing only on household restrictions. She contrasts domestic use (~12%) with the much larger share tied to cooling (~50%), then connects that to why optimizing industrial cooling matters\u2014especially when operations sit in arid, desert-like regions with limited water availability. She also shares a data-center statistic that puts \u201cthe cloud\u201d into physical terms: ~53 gallons of purified water per gigabyte of data stored to keep environments cool enough for microchips.  Higher cycles, RO blending, and the concentrate question  The conversation moves into practical tower strategy: driving cycles up as far as the water and metallurgy allow. Dr. Zeiher describes a case moving from three cycles to six with RO blending and pretreatment, resulting in millions of gallons saved annually. From there, the engineering problem becomes unavoidable: higher cycles create a concentrated cooling-water stream, and RO adds its own waste stream. The key operational question is how to manage both streams without trading water savings for disposal and reliability issues.  Minimal liquid discharge, and the AEROS approach  \u201cZero liquid discharge\u201d (ZLD) remains a theoretical target, but Dr. Zeiher is clear about the realities: ZLD can require large equipment and high energy demand. She shares a cost example where a 20 gpm ZLD concept came in at nearly $8 million in capital. Her team\u2019s approach focuses on minimal liquid discharge (MLD)\u2014recovering roughly 80\u201390% of water rather than 98\u201399%, while reducing energy intensity and footprint. She introduces AEROS (Aqueous Recovery Optimization System): rapid precipitation\/conditioning, followed by sequential mechanical and membrane filtration, then an RO polishing step to return purified water.  Industry wisdom: proof-first projects, relationships, and AI  You\u2019ll also hear Dr. Zeiher\u2019s \u201cproof-first\u201d pathway\u2014bench-style testing, then a 5\u201310 gpm flow-through evaluation in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (with BioLargo)\u2014plus a process guarantee framework and how credits can apply toward a final system. She closes with leadership lessons on documentation, continuity of customer care, and practical guidance for working with AI: feed it strong technical inputs, then apply human critical thinking before recommendations reach customers.  Listen to the full conversation above. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!    Timestamps   02:40 \u2014 End-of-year reflection becomes a professional challenge: keep learning fast enough to keep systems stable and clients confident. 05:50 \u2014 \u201cDry December\u201d as a discipline story\u2014used to tee up Trace\u2019s broader point: habits beat calendar-based resolutions. 12:00 \u2014 Water You Know  13:10 \u2014 The events page pitch: planning early protects training time and reduces last-minute operational fire drills. 17:00 \u2014 Dr. Kelle Zeiher returns after Episode 351; AWT Louisville hallway energy turns into a deep dive on reuse. 18:40 \u2014 Mystery novels as technical storytelling: The Cupcake Caper, real lab practices, and a pen name built for a non-scientific audience. 20:50 \u2014 Data centers and water: 53 gallons per GB stored reframes \u201cthe cloud\u201d as heat management with real resource costs. 23:40 \u2014 Macro water math: 50% of U.S. water use tied to cooling vs. 12% domestic\u2014why industrial optimization moves the needle. 27:50 \u2014 \u201cPretreatment is everything\u201d: RO\u2019s tiny flow channels make debris control and scale prevention non-negotiable. 30:10 \u2014 Cycles example: 3 to 6 cycles with RO blending\/pretreatment, plus the caution that RO-softened blends can increase corrosion risk. 31:30 \u2014 ZLD vs. MLD: energy-heavy evaporation\/distillation compared to a lower-energy recovery target that still returns most water. 33:50 \u2014 AEROS explained: rapid precipitation + filtration + RO polish, with solids handling designed to keep water moving back to the front end. 37:00 \u2014 Customer pathway: bench demos \u2192 Oak Ridge pilot (5\u201310 gpm) \u2192 engineered system; upfront testing credits toward purchase. 43:20 \u2014 Performance accountability: process guarantee includes refund\/take-back if promised performance can\u2019t be met. 47:40 \u2014 Trust and continuity: plant presence, documentation, and relationship handoffs prevent \u201csolution drift\u201d when people change roles. 54:40 \u2014 Working with AI: feed it strong data, then apply human critical thinking so recommendations don\u2019t outpace experience.     Quotes \u201cWater is not a limitless resource. It\u2019s a finite resource, and we simply purify it and reuse it over and over again.\u201d \u201cWe have to learn to work with AI when it\u2019s still a toddler before it grows up into the 6th grade bully and beats you up for your lunch money.\u201d  \u201cPersistence overcomes almost anything.\u201d  \u201cAn AI will give you a great outline for a presentation, but it won\u2019t give you a full presentation.\u201d    Connect with Dr. Kelle Zeiher Phone: (630) 660-3457  Email: kzeiher@g-c.com   Website: Water Treatment Expertise Since 1904 I Garratt-Callahan  LinkedIn: https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/kelle-zeiher-6bab221\/     Guest Resources Mentioned   The Cupcake Caper (Undercover Cat Mysteries) by Kelle Z Riley  Process Heating and Cooling Show Paper (Cooling Tower Cycles & MLD)  Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI Paperback by Ethan Mollick   Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World Paperback by Jenn Granneman (Author), Andre S\u00f3lo (Author)  Empower Your Investing: Adopting Best Practices From John Templeton, Peter Lynch, and Warren Buffett Hardcover by Scott A. Chapman CFA  Membrane Technologies for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment: Advances, Challenges, and Applications in Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) and Minimal Liquid Discharge (MLD) Systems  Comparative techno-economic and environmental analysis of minimal liquid discharge (MLD) and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) desalination systems for seawater brine treatment and valorization  Forever Chemicals: A Look at the History, Regulations, Emerging Trends and Technologies to Solve the PFAS Crisis    Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned  AWT (Association of Water Technologies)  Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses  Submit a Show Idea  The Rising Tide Mastermind 351 Maximizing Water\u2019s Potential: Tech and Water Treaters in Perfect Harmony    Water You Know with James McDonald  Question: How much heat energy does it take to heat 1 pound of liquid water by 1 degree Fahrenheit?    Events for Water Professionals  Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we\u2019ve listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.    ","author_name":"Scaling UP! H2O","author_url":"http:\/\/scalinguph2o.com","html":"