Maher Tleimat is President of Water Reuse Technology, Inc, an engineering company based in Garden Valley, California, that designs distillation systems using the proprietary high performance Wiped-Film, Rotating-Disk evaporator. Maher has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and more than 30 years of experience in distillation and water treatment processes.The Wiped-Film, Rotating-Disk (WFRD) evaporator is the core component of our proprietary distillation-based desalination system. It was developed to decrease the cost of traditional distillation technology. Evaporator design is a critical contributor to equipment cost and operating cost. Current off-the-shelf evaporator technology is comprised of fixed heat transfer surfaces – typically horizontal or vertical tube bundles, or vertical plates. These designs result in overall heat transfer coefficients (OHTC) in the range of 200 to 500 Btu/hr ft2 °F. The WFRD uses a combination of rotating disks and fixed wipers in its evaporator design, thereby achieving up to an order of magnitude improvement in OHTC, and resulting in a very significant reduction in specific energy consumption, as well as reduction in plant size. Another particularly unique feature is the self-cleaning effect of the wipers on the evaporator surface. This significantly reduces service requirements due to fouling, and greatly improves plant availability. Plant availability is an extremely valuable feature of any industrial system.WRT recently adapted and deployed one of its systems for use in treating wastewater from oil and gas wells (produced water). These recent demonstrations were successful. The benefits to industry are very attractive due to potential cost savings, and operating efficiency. The WRT facility is near Sacramento, CA. Demonstrations are readily arranged. www.WRTinc.net