lowered in the reverse osmosis process, primarily as the result of its operation at ambient temperatures.

Let us now consider a translation of these various advantages into dollar-and-cent projections. The costs which I presented for stateof-the-art distillation systems were for existing 1-million-gallon-a-day plants. When these costs were projected to 10-million-gallon-a-day plants by various architect-engineering companies, it was estimated that the costs would be reduced for sea water systems to approximately $235 per acre-foot (chart 4), a cost reduction which derives primarily from increase in plant size.

These estimates and all others presented herein have been calculated in accordance with the standard procedure developed by the Office of Saline Water for such purposes. By comparison, the cost projection for reverse osmosis in a 10-million-gallon-a-day sea water plant is $143 per acre-foot, the major portion of the comparative difference in cost being derived from lower energy cost. I hasten to add that this projection to a 10-million-gallon-a-day plant is a long extrapolation from the 1,000-gallon-a-day plant that we now have in operation. Nevertheless, such a promising cost projection surely warrants vigorous scale-up of the process in an attempt to bring such cost improvement to fruition.

Reverse osmosis promises to yield even greater cost savings in application to lower salinity systems-brackish or waste water. In utilization of distillation processes for desalination of low-salinity waters, costs are not greatly reduced compared to sea water. In the case of reverse osmosis, however, a further major improvement is derived both in capital cost and in fuel cost, which results in a projection in 10-million-gallon-a-day plants of $68 per acre-foot. This latter number begins to approach the cost of water from natural sources in many areas of the United States. Thus, impetus for aggressive development of this process is provided further.

Senator ANDERSON. That figure of $68 is compared with the $50 figure that you used a while ago?

Mr. KEILIN. Yes, sir.

Calculations on cost have been made with the assumption of exist: ing prices for fuel, as set forth by the Office of Saline Water standard procedure. Should a less costly fuel source become available, as from à large nuclear powerplant, reverse osmosis costs would benefit as would any other process. Indeed, the reverse osmosis process is particularly suited to matching, in dual power/water plants, with a nuclear energy source. It has recently been calculated that, matched to a given nuclear powerplant, more water could be produced at less cost for a given level of marketable power than could be produced by a distillation plant. Furthermore, because the reverse osmosis plant operates on electricity, not steam, it would not be necessary to locate a huge desalination plant at the powerplant site. Small reverse osmosis plants could be located at the place of water need and operated on transmitted power from a large nuclear-power producing plant.

In developing the reverse osmosis process to its present state, Aerojet's efforts have not been limited to the laboratory. One of the most important steps in the development of any chemical process is that first one which moves the process from the laboratory into a working field model. This step, again with the helpful guidance and funding

of the Office of Saline Water, has been achieved with great success. Engineering experiments have been carried out in a 1,000-gallon-a-day pilot plant, operating on various brackish waters containing 5,000 parts per million, 0.5 percent, for over 2 years. The work has culminated recently in a continuous 512-month test, exhibiting low maintenance and operational requirements. Operations on sea water at the 1,000gallon-a-day level have recently been initiated. On a smaller scale, the utility with sewage waters has also been demonstrated under contract with the Public Health Service.

One of the most important aspects of developing the reverse osmosis process to its ultimate is the low cost manufacture of the membranes. The membranes are unique and require an unusual fabrication procedure. Aerojet has, with its own corporate funds, developed a continuous process for manufacture of high quality membranes at low cost. We are now capable of supplying the needs of the Nation for membrane for many years of utilization of this process.

The program has been of such high success that the project is ready to proceed to larger experimental plants. With the support of this committee and the U.S. Congress for President's Johnson's program, the Aerojet-General Corp. is prepared to serve the Office of Saline Water by construction of a 50,000 gallons a day experimental plant to operate on brackish water. This could be undertaken immediately and awaits only available funds. Similarly, we expect shortly to be ready to move ahead in the area of sea water purification on a larger scale. The renovation of sewage wastes in now ready to be moved from the laboratory where it has had a most successful preliminary feasibility study and into the field in a 1,000 gallons a day plant to demonstrate utility in actual operating conditions just as has already been done in the brackish water applications.

There is much to be done in improving the process. The surface has only been scratched. It might be pointed out, for example, that only a very small fraction of 1 percent of the funds which have been expended in developing the distillation process over the years, has been spent to date developing reverse osmosis. There is a great future in research on new membrane systems which will lead to even greater performance and economy. It is our firm belief that, with support of this program in the manner that it warrants, vast improvements will be effected in the state of the art of desalination technology and that it will be brought about by the reverse osmosis process. I thank you for your kind attention.

Senator ANDERSON. Thank you, Mr. Keilin, and Mr. Gore, for your presentation. I think that this shows that there are still firms that have faith in their own processes. I have found out which would be the best many times this morning. And I think that is what we need, the ability to demonstrate what can be done.

I hope you won't mind if we send you some questions later on to be answered if the staff finds it necessary.

Thank you both for being here.

I think the last speaker is Mr. Ken Davis of the Bechtel Corp.
He doesn't seem to be here.

We will adjourn until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

(Whereupon, at 12:40 p.m., the subcommittee adjourned, to reconvene at 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 19, 1965.)