TARRAGONA, SPAIN, Aug. 10, 2015 -- Dow Water & Process Solutions, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, is demonstrating its dedication to research and development (R&D) through investment in progressive product piloting. As part of this continued research, the company has announced the results of a recent piloting focused on DOW™ Ultrafiltration (UF) technologies, which was carried out at its Global Water Technology Center in Tarragona, Spain, and has seen continuous quality feedwater supply to the reverse osmosis (RO) system downstream over a prolonged period.
The data generated from the pilot program -- aimed to monitor the quality of the feedwater produced by the UF system -- is used to both prove the success of its existing solutions and to validate and qualify new products before their launch into the market. The results of piloting confirm the sustainable and stable operation of DOW UF commercial modules as a pre-treatment for the RO system downstream for more than 300 accumulated days.
In order to provide real wastewater conditions, the pilot system was fed with secondary effluent from the Vilaseca (Tarragona, Spain) municipal wastewater treatment plant. Typically, due to wastewater feed quality and characteristics, the RO system cannot be fed directly from the secondary effluent of the wastewater treatment plant without interruption. Therefore, to guarantee the required feed quality to the RO system, a DOW UF SFP-2880 system was integrated upstream.
The tests carried out on the UF modules following the end of the piloting demonstrated the absence of broken or damaged fibers, as well as no reported loss in tensile strength and mechanical properties. The permeate produced by the system downstream is suitable for a number of applications, including irrigation, agriculture and golf courses. Precisely, the agricultural sector represents 80 percent of water use in the country, so integrating advanced technologies, such as DOW UF elements, into the sector can help increase efficiency.
Another important finding from the study is the associated cost reduction resulting from the combination of DOW UF and DOW FILMTEC™ RO technologies. For instance, DOW UF systems require a lower footprint when compared to other methods of conventional pre-treatment technologies, such as sand filtration. In addition, less chemical cleanings are required in the Dow FILMTEC RO system downstream due to the more suitable feed water provided by the DOW UF system, resulting in longer membrane life, higher plant availability and lower replacement rate of cartridge filters.
The combination of on-site simulation and laboratories enable high-class testing and optimization of water treatment and reuse applications, as exemplified with the DOW UF pilot unit. Research related to areas such as improving quality of desalinated water, minimizing costs and energy consumption, extending the useful life of membranes and increasing the materials' efficiency is deployed in various pilot units able to asses up to 40 products at real-world scale in order to test all new technologies and applications before their launch to the market.
See also:
"World Environmental Day 2015: Dow highlights water consumption amid ongoing scarcity"
"Dow infographic illustrates importance of water in power industry"
About Dow Water & Process Solutions
Dow Water & Process Solutions, a global business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, helps to make water safer and more accessible, food taste better, pharmaceuticals more effective, and industries more efficient by spearheading the development of sustainable technologies that integrate water and energy requirements. The company offers a broad portfolio of ion exchange resins, RO and ultrafiltration membranes, fine particle filters, and electrodeionization products, with strong positions in a number of major application areas, including industrial and municipal water, industrial processes, pharmaceuticals, power, residential water and waste, and water reuse. For more information, visit www.dowwaterandprocess.com.
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