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Selective and stable NF membranes: continuation of the EU funded FP5 project RENOMEM:
The objective of this project was to develop novel, highly selective, alkali, acid and solvent stable nanofiltration membranes for treating aggressive industrial wastewater streams. Consortium of five industrial partners (Agfa, FuMA-Tech, Mekorot, Israel Aircraft Industry and BPT) and four institutes (GKSS-Germany, Lappeenranta Technical University -Finland. University of Genova-Italy and Ben Gurion University-Israel, jointly worked on the achievement of the project’s goals from March 2001 to August 2004.
Following the project completion BPT started the commercialization of the nano-filtration (NF) membranes, the Nano-Pro™ line. The membranes, designed specifically for the chemical process industry, address the growing demand of environmental legislation to minimize wastewater discharges and to recycle most of industry’s water and chemical resources. The unique chemical stability of these NF membranes enables their use in aggressive chemical applications, such as for the recycling of spent concentrated acids or bases and for the treatment of wastewater streams containing strong organic solvents.
BPT established membrane production facility and in cooperation with two European firms (GMT- Germany and Oltremare-Italy) is planning to bring to the market Nano-Pro™ membrane elements in spiral wound and plate and frame configurations during the first half of year 2007. The cooperation with the Italian firm Oltremare is partly funded by a binational Italian-Israeli project - NANO-PRO.
A highly cost-effective wastewater treatment system - HMT™ (Hybrid Membrane Technology), an additional outcome of RENOMEM, provides full solutions for the treatment and recycling of complex industrial water and wastewater streams containing hazardous organic matters, minerals and organic solvents. Treated wastewater is separated into: (a) high-quality water for reuse in the factory (80-90%), (b) concentrated & purified stream of minerals for reuse or an easy disposal and (c) minimal size of organic concentrates (less than 3% of the wastewater volume) for final and economic destruction by oxidation or incineration. This performance is achieved at only a fraction of the cost of the accepted wastewater treatment technologies such as Wet Air Oxidation (WAO) or Incineration.
The HMT™ technology was successfully tested during the last two years by several agro-chemical and pharmaceutical firms (Makhteshim, Teva, and Chemagis). This evaluation was partly funded by the Office of the Water Commissioner of Israel. Orders and supply of commercial plants are expected within year 2007.
RENOMEM partners: University of Genova Italy (UNIGE) and University of Lappeenranta Finland (LUT) foresee a continuation of R&D and process development activities with the local industries as soon as commercial Nano-Pro™ membranes will be available.
For additional information contact Dr. Motty Perry (motty@bpt.co.il)
Open 21st "Water and Soil Times" – November 2006 Newsletter
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