Evoqua Water Technologies has commercialized its optimized membrane electrochemical desalination technology for adjustable dissolved solids removal capability with its first OEM agreement.
The low-pressure electrodialysis membrane technology enables water output quality to be tuned by power adjustments to minimize footprint and energy consumption. In its first OEM agreement to license the technology, Evoqua will exclusively supply HydroNovation Inc. with a proprietary electrochemical cassette containing Evoqua’s ion-selective membranes for HydroNovation’s HydroDI “salt-free softeners” systems targeting residential point-of entry (POE) application and commercial applications such as food and beverage outlets.
Approximately 11 million traditional salt-based softeners in the United States each release about 500 lb of salt into groundwater annually. Salt discharge from water softeners is a growing issue in the U.S. Southwest, other states and around the world.
The HydroDI System removes both hardness ions and other ions such as nitrates, lead and arsenic from water using electrical potential without the use of any chemicals resulting in bottled water quality from every tap in a home.
Evoqua will continue to develop the optimized electrochemical technology for the municipal, industrial brackish and seawater desalination markets. Research and development of the technology began in 2008 when Evoqua, then Siemens Water Technologies, won a global competition for a three-year matching grant funded by the Singapore Environmental Water Industry organization. The low pressure electrodesalination technology has since continued to be refined to progress to increasingly higher volumes of treatment capacity.
“The development of advanced, cost effective low-pressure membranes that can be modulated to produce tailored water quality is a significant step forward opening new desalination applications for water quality output,” said Paul O’Callaghan, BlueTech Research CEO and founder.
“Evoqua’s innovative, adjustable electrochemical desalination technology offers a highly flexible, cost-effective means to remove dissolved solids,” said Rodney Aulick, Evoqua senior vice president and Industrial Segment lead. “Commercialization of the technology marks a major milestone and we look forward to continuing to enhance the technology for a wide variety of markets where footprint and low energy consumption are at a premium.”
Source: Evoqua Water Technologies
