Aquaporin Asia Pte. Ltd. (Aquaporin Asia) and Berghof Membrane Technology GmbH (Berghof Membranes) announced the joint development of a tubular based Aquaporin Inside™ Forward Osmosis Technology.The launching of this groundbreaking innovative development took place during SIWW at the network event that was hosted by the Water Alliance in cooperation with Berghof Membranes, member of Water Alliance.
Both companies have a rich history in treating industrial process streams and wastewater. A combined passion for innovation is what binds the companies. Aquaporin and Berghof Membranes both have an office in Singapore to support customers in the Asia-Pacific region. Their local presence and an ongoing forward osmosis R&D project with funded by the Singapore National Research Foundation and administered bythe Public Utilities Board (PUB) makes the Singapore International Water Week an excellent platform to share this revolutionary news.
Unique selling proposition
The ultimate goal of the partners is to increase the profitability of end-users by lowering the costs of industrial water treatment. Aquaporin Asia and Berghof Membranes aim to utilize the inherent low-fouling properties of the tubular membrane geometry to develop forward osmosis modules. Currently, high-fouling wastewater streams are treated at high costs for technology end-users; with this innovation Aquaporin Asia and Berghof Membranes believe that they can provide the best solution for sustainable industrial growth.
Pioneering Partnership
The successful partnership started when Aquaporin Asia and Berghof Membranes decided to initiate an R&D collaboration two years ago. Since then, the partners teamed closely to develop forward osmosis tubular modules with superior performance.
Starting November 3rd 2014, Aquaporin Asia commenced a 3-year R&D project (1301-IRIS-02) titled: “Aquaporin based biomimetic forward osmosis membranes: from lab scale production of membranes to pilot production and industrial test bedding of membrane modules”. The 2.5 million $ SGD research grant is supported by the Singapore National Research Foundation under its Environment & Water Research Programme and administered by PUB. The end goal of the project is to demonstrate the cost saving potential of the Aquaporin Inside™ Forward Osmosis Technology through industrial test bedding, which involves collaborations with numerous external industrial players, including Berghof Membranes.
More information
If you want to know more about the Forward Osmosis technology please visit the website of our R&D partner Aquaporin, http://aquaporin.dk/technology/fo/. More information about the innovations of Berghof Membranes is available at www.berghofmembranes.com.
