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<br />00 <br />eo <br />CO <br /> <br />'. .) <br />C,) <br />C") <br /> <br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br /> <br />This report presents a preliminary assessment of the Salt Tolerant <br />Emergent Plant (STEP) process for the beneficial use and disposal of <br />Glenwood Springs saline water, Biological, natural resource, and <br />economic aspects of the process are addressed by International <br />Bio-Resources, Inc. (IBR), Engineering aspects, including <br />preliminary conceptual engineering design and the initial costing of <br />the process and its components, are addressed by the Denver <br />Engineering Corporation (DEC). <br /> <br />The purpose of this study was to review the concept for technical and <br />economic flaws that could prevent it from successful development. It <br />is intended as an initial overview, based on a first-round literature <br />search and solicited professional opinions. <br /> <br />THE STEP CONCEPT\L <br /> <br />The STEP process is a pollution control technology. It is designed <br />to collect. make beneficial use of, and dispose of Glenwood Springs <br />saline outflows through the managed production of .salt tolerant <br />plants having low water-use efficiency, Evapotranspiration of water <br />produces a more concentrated saline solution, generating a brine <br />suitable for further concentrating and disposal. concurrently, plant <br />biomass is produced that is suitable as a livestock feed, as well as <br />a feedstock for chemicals and materials manufacture. <br /> <br />As illustrated in Figure 1, the heat, salts, carbon dioxide. and <br />water from Glenwood Springs flows are collected and transported <br />through an insulated pipeline to a site suitable for production of <br />salt tolerant reeds or marsh grasses. These plants function through <br />the process of evapotranspiration to concentrate salts at costs equal <br />to or better than mechanical systems. The production of plant <br />biomass makes beneficial use of the water supply, yielding marketable <br />crops and feedstocks. Concentrated brines resulting from this <br />process are collected, transported, and deposited at appropriate <br />sites for storage, <br /> <br />Access to Glenwood Springs water resources is provided so that other <br />beneficial uses can be made along the course of the transmission <br />pipeline, Tap-offs, located at selected points along the pipeline, <br />are installed to serve independent business operations with <br />geothermal heat, carbon dioxide. andtor salt water resources. Use <br />rights are envisioned as allocated to these resources. on the <br />condition that all saline water return flows are injected into a <br />return pipeline; as such. these operations are considered as <br />beneficia] use loops to the main saline water use and disposal <br />process line, Opportunities are thus made available to the wide <br />assortment of industries and technologies that can put these <br />resources to productive use but that cannot otherwise utilize the <br />entire resource load. <br /> <br />\L This Concept is Proprietary to IBR <br /> <br />E-1 <br />