Dutch utility to pilot direct nanofiltration for drinking water

Oct. 20, 2022
Vitens is beginning a pilot program to use NX Filtration’s direct nanofiltration membrane technology to produce drinking or industrial process water from the Dutch IJssel river.

Vitens, the largest drinking water utility in the Netherlands, is starting a pilot program with NX Filtration, a global provider of direct nanofiltration (dNF) technology.

In the pilot program, Vitens will use NX Filtration’s dNF membrane technology to produce drinking or industrial process water from the Dutch IJssel river. The pilot program of Vitens is expected to run from October 2022 to fall 2024.

Today, groundwater is Vitens’ primary source for high quality and reliable drinking water production. As a response to growing demand for water in combination with increasing periods of droughts, Vitens is looking for alternatives for its traditional groundwater sources and for alternatives to supply industries. This led Vitens to start testing new technologies for additional surface water sources in order to safeguard its water supplies to households and industries for the future.

“We have already worked with NX Filtration’s direct nanofiltration membranes in small scale testing environments,” says Doeke Schippers, strategic advisor at Vitens. “Based on these results, we are now ramping-up to a multi-year testing program for the treatment of surface water from the IJssel river. This will provide valuable inputs to develop alternative sources for drinking water supply that will enable our customers to continue to benefit from healthy, safe and affordable drinking water in the future.”

“NX Filtration is honored to cooperate with Vitens in this innovative journey,” says Erik Roesink, founder and CTO of NX Filtration. “In the Netherlands we are currently involved in various pilot projects on drinking water production and wastewater reuse, through which we seek to also bring these benefits to the Dutch water market.”