Water and wastewater

Water treatment

Danfoss AquaZ
Nordborg, Denmark.
Founded 2006
Employees: 15
Product description: Water treatment

Filtering seawater to make it fit for drinking could become economically viable through the use of a special membrane, designed by nanontech company Danfoss AquaZ. This early-stage start-up, launched by leading Danish components maker Danfoss, says its membrane could be five to 10 times as effective as traditional desalination treatments. The company is harnessing the power of aquaporins, a type of membrane protein that regulates the influx and efflux of water molecules from live cells and has been “programmed” by nature only to let water that is 100% clean in and out of its cells.

Inge
Greifenberg, Germany.
Founded 2000
Employees: 80
Product description: Membrane water filtration

Inge’s lower-cost ultrafiltration system is proving increasingly popular with major treatment facilities that need to purify water to drinkable standards. Using an advanced, very fine nanoscale membrane, Inge’s technology can reliably intercept not only particles but also micro-organisms such as bacteria and viruses. It can thus provide a dependable source of clean water without using the vast quantities of sand or chemicals usually required in ultrafiltration.

Microvi Biotech
Union City, California, US.
Founded 2004
Employees: 11
Product description: Research and development of sustainable water treatment technologies

For any organisation or business needing a more energy-efficient, sustainable way to process water, biotechnology company Microvi Biotech pioneers innovative technologies for unmet needs in water, energy and other industries across a number of markets. The company, which focuses on new technology and how to turn it into reality, is among some of the most promising private technology ventures in the US for 2009.

Miox
Albuquerque, New Mexico, US.
Founded 1994
Employees: 30
Product description: Portable, low-chemical disinfectant production

Using just salt, water and power to create a chlorine-based disinfectant, Miox’s innovative technology allows on-site generation, cutting back on transportation requirements by up to 80%, reducing carbon emissions and fuel consumption, and eliminating the storage of chlorine gas and bulk bleach and the disposal of chemical containers. Originally developed as a solution for the US army’s portable water purification needs, more than 1,500 Miox installations are now in operation in over 30 countries, treating more than 6.5bn gallons of water per day. They are also used in disaster areas.

NanoH20
Los Angeles, California, US.
Founded 2005
Employees: N/A
Product description: Advanced water
membrane treatment technology

Despite recent advances, desalination is energy-intensive and remains an expensive source of freshwater. NanoH2O is doing its bit to address that, using nanotechnology to create advanced membrane materials. By inserting, with few modifications, its nanocomposite membranes into a typical water treatment facility’s system, it aims to make the purification process considerably more efficient and cheaper to run – thanks to the membrane’s enhanced productivity – while still maintaining acceptable salt rejection levels.

Neosens
Toulouse, France.
Founded 2001
Employees: 17
Product description: Water contaminant monitoring

In all water treatment systems, no matter the final use of the water, monitoring the level of contaminants is a crucial element. Where traditional water-testing systems have been expensive and interrupted the industrial process, Neosens’ systems, which include an innovative single wafer of silicon, ensure that at all times the quality of the water is monitored for oxygen, biofilm, chlorine or even legionella in drinking water. Sales of the company’s solutions reached about £1m in 2008 and are expected to triple again in 2009.

Oasys Water
Cambridge, Massachusetts, US
Employees: N/A
Product description: Energy-efficient water purification system

Reducing the need for large amounts of electricity to produce clean drinking water from seawater and other nonpotable water and wastewater sources is a problem Oasys is trying to solve with its Engineered Osmosis technology. It’s a novel treatment that uses water’s natural osmosis between two solutions of differing concentrations, rather than a power-based solution as in traditional systems. Developed at Yale, it uses a tenth of the power of these usual industrial methods. Because of the technology’s low-energy usage, the firm is committed to introducing the system into the developing world.

Wastewater treatment

Aqwise
Herzliya, Israel.
Founded 2000
Employees: 30
Product Description: Biological wastewater treatment

Aqwise increases the efficiency of wastewater treatment by using what is considered to be the next generation of biological processing methods. Its Agar (attached growth airlift reactor) technology optimises oxygen transfer efficiency and maximises the surface area through which treatment takes place. Its systems have been installed around the world within the municipal sector and industry, especially in the food and drinks, pulp and paper and aquaculture areas. Its designers and consultants work on improving the efficiency of existing water plants and designing compact schemes through offices and representation in Latin and North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Arvia Technology
Liverpool, UK.
Founded 2007
Employees: 8
Product description: Wastewater treatment

Arvia delivers an on-site treatment solution for organic pollutants that are dissolved in water. The Arvia process removes and destroys the contaminants in-situ in a way that is chemical-free and does not produce secondary waste requiring further disposal. This is carried out by the coupling of Nyex, a new adsorption medium that isolates the pollutants with electrochemical regeneration. This process works well for non-biodegradable and other toxic wastes that are difficult to treat, and it has a range of other applications, from industrial process streams to dealing with noxious odours. The company is a spin-out from the University of Manchester’s School of Chemical
Engineering.

Epuramat
Luxembourg.
Founded 2005
Employees: 15
Product description: Wastewater treatment

Epuramat offers individual solutions for sewage processing, working with small and medium-sized enterprises, industrial companies and biogas plant operators. It has developed a range of products to filter waste, including a semi-permeable membrane that can filter out small particles. It has also worked on ways of circulating and re-using water to cut down on the need for fresh water. One of the many spin-off benefits is space saving – for example, large pre-sedimentation tanks are no longer necessary in the company’s new designs for sewage plants.

Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies
Vancouver, Canada.
Founded 2005
Employees: 20
Product description: Environmentally-friendly fertiliser

According to the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the accumulation of polluting nutrients, such as phosphorus and ammonia, discharged into the environment from wastewater, is one of the most significant environmental challenges facing the planet. Ostara’s technology, developed at the University of British Columbia, recovers those nutrients and recycles them into environmentally safe, slow-release fertilisers. Not only does this help wastewater treatment plants reduce operating costs but it also provides municipalities and companies with revenue from the sale of the recovered pollutants.

Water conservation

HydroPoint Data Systems
California, US.
Founded 2002
Employees: 100
Product description: Smart irrigation technology

Traditional irrigation systems can often result in over-watering and damage to the land, according to HydroPoint. Its flagship product, WeatherTrak, is unusual in taking expected weather conditions into account by being connected to local weather stations. It works in both residential and commercial markets, counting Google and Wal-Mart among its business customers. In the US, it says, more than 60% of urban water is used for landscape irrigation, and much of that is wasted. Special services are also available for architects, builders and water supply operators.