Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Technical Sessions
Time: 1:15 – 5:00 PM
T5: Going Full Circle: Advancing the Circular Water Economy Through Brine Valorization
IWC Rep: John A. Korpiel, P.E., Xylem, Pittsburgh, PA
Session Chair: Adam Sutherland, P.E., Stantec, Nashville, TN
Discussion Leader: Richard Stover, Ph.D., GP Water (independent consultancy), Waltham, MA
Industries face growing pressure to reduce water use, lower environmental impacts, manage costs, and strengthen sustainability. To address these needs, new technologies are being developed to support a more circular water future. This session will explore innovative ways to recover salts and critical minerals from brine and examine how valorization can create resource opportunities.
T6: It’s Cool to Optimize Cooling
IWC Rep: Rebecca Osteen, Southern Company, Birmingham, AL
Session Chair: Wes Sipe, Michael Baker International, Moon Township, PA
Discussion Leader: Edward Beardwood, Beardwood Consulting & Technologies Inc, London, Ontario,
Canada
This session will explore the improvements in techniques, consumable corrosion inhibitors, and materials. We will delve into the cooling process itself and examine economic impacts of electrochemical processes in chemicals for cooling water treatment.
T7: Reuse or Lose: Making Water Do a Second Shift (and maybe a Third)
IWC Rep: Derek Henderson, Duke Energy, Raleigh, NC
Session Chair: Kevin Dufresne, Geosyntec, Guelph, ON, Canada
Discussion Leader: Ashwin Kumar, Stantec, Houston, TX
Come clock in for a water-reuse session built for the long haul. We’ll start the shift with a real, large-scale industrial case study that closed the ZLD loop—where conventional treatment approaches simply weren’t feasible. Next, we’ll move into a “team-building” segment on carbon capture, spotlighting the process steps that most influence water use and reuse targets. Then we’ll take a break for hard-earned lessons from a decade of operating with alternative water supplies in a refinery process-water system. We’ll end the shift with a look at modular treatment strategies that help facilities adapt, scale, and strengthen day-to-day water management practices. You wouldn’t want to call in sick for this session!
T8: WaterWaster 2: “Dirty” Water? Clean Solutions
IWC Rep: Brad Wolf, Berkeley Researcch Group, Pittsburgh, PA
Session Chair: Rena Bae, P.E., Stantec, Houston, TX
Discussion Leader: Shrikanth (Shri) Vaikundam, Veolia, Katie, TX
This session brings together papers showcasing different approaches to treating and managing complex industrial wastewater streams. No two wastewater is the same and solving diverse challenges require innovative problem solving. Across diverse applications (landfill leachate, semiconductor manufacturing waste, industrial wastewater treatment plant, and refinery lagoon systems), the presentations highlight how different technologies (membrane bioreactors, advanced oxidation, electrochemical recovery, and membranes) are used to overcome limitations of conventional treatment. Collectively, these papers emphasize the creativity and sleuthing skills needed in wastewater treatment. Move over Sherlock, wastewater treatment practitioners are here.