CAMBRIDGE, MA, May 10, 2010 -- Oasys Water Inc., today announced the commercialization of a high performance forward osmosis (FO) membrane as a next step towards the introduction of disruptive, lower cost desalination and water reuse technology. Forward osmosis is well known to be an emerging alternative for lower cost desalination, but thus far two developments have limited its widespread adoption; a recoverable solute and a membrane with both high flow rates and high salt rejection. Last year, the company announced a solution for solute recovery; a patented ammonia carbonate formulation producing high osmotic pressure which is recoverable using low-grade heat. Today, the company is announcing that it is commercializing an FO membrane developed by Yale University and is disclosing performance specifications for the production of these membranes at full scale.
This advancement now paves the way for commercialization of next generation desalination products using the company's patented Engineered OsmosisTM platform. "We are excited about the performance of this first generation FO membrane using thin film composite polyamide chemistry and we've tested modules produced on existing membrane manufacturing lines without modifications. By releasing performance specifications we are further encouraging the development of new FO membranes and accelerating the deployment of lower cost desalination," says Lisa Sorgini, Vice President of Markets and Strategy for Oasys Water.
A publication in this month's Environmental Science and Technology (ES&T) journal entitled High Performance Thin-Film Composite Forward Osmosis Membrane authored by Professor Menachem Elimelech, Chair of Chemical Engineering at Yale University, details the specifications and performance of the FO membrane. Through an exclusive license and sponsored research agreement, Oasys has rights to patented technology from Yale and is now expanding the collaboration to further promote industry standards for forward osmosis.
"Yale continues to lead in the scientific understanding of forward osmosis and we look forward to incorporating future developments into our products. We believe that open collaboration with academia is critical to educating the public on FO," adds Oasys Chief Technology Officer, Rob McGinnis.
About Oasys Water
Oasys (Osmotic Application Systems) is a Cambridge, MA based company developing a suite of proprietary energy and resource recovery products to address the growing, global water crisis. Engineered OsmosisTM (EOTM) is a platform for reducing cost in the production of clean water, power and energy through more efficient and sustainable utilization of resources. For information, please visit: http://www.oasyswater.com.
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