Large scale ceramic membrane drinking water plant demonstrated in the Netherlands

May 12, 2014
Dutch water company PWN Technologies has demonstrated its 120,000 m3/day Andijk III drinking water plant using suspended ion exchange and ceramic membrane filtration technology...

Dutch water company PWN Technologies has demonstrated its 120,000 m3/day Andijk III drinking water plant using suspended ion exchange and ceramic membrane filtration technology.

Costing 60 million euros, this is the largest installation using the company’s ceramic membrane technology, following a trial with utility PUB in Singapore (1,200 m3/day) and a smaller trial currently underway with UK utility South West Water of 140 m3/day (see WWi story).

Andijk III will use the company’s Suspended Ion Exchange (SIX) technology to remove natural and organic materials, as well as sulphates and nitrates from surface water.

The major difference between this ceramic membrane installation and others is the use of PWN Technologies’ CeraMac: using 192 membrane vessels (supplied by Japanese company Metawater) grouped together in a single vessel.

PWN Technologies claim this "block" design enables the operator to literally push it harder and enable an increased backwash of up to 5 bar, to clean the membranes, with a downtime per backwash of only a few seconds.

“This is a major step forward,” said Martien den Blanken, CEO of PWN Water supply company in North Holland. “Andijk III is a new standard in treating difficult surface water.”

Cindy Wallis-Lage, president of global water business at Black & Veatch, called Andijk III an excellent example of "disruptive innovation", adding: “This is what makes a difference. It takes a journey to make innovation move faster: integration and sharing of knowledge as well as collaboration.”

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Read more

UK Ceramic Membrane Trial to Disprove High Capex Concerns High investment costs have prevented widespread use of ceramic membranes for drinking water treatment. An 18-month trial recently started in the South West of England aims to change this. As Tom Freyberg finds out, results from the project could be a game-changer for the industry and traditional polymeric membranes…

Ceramic membrane drinking water trial underway in UK An 18-month trial is underway in southern England to test the feasibility of using ion exchange and ceramic membranes for the treatment of surface water…

About the Author

Tom Freyberg

Tom Freyberg is an experienced environmental journalist, having worked across a variety of business-to-business titles. Since joining Pennwell in 2010, he has been influential in developing international partnerships for the water brand and has overseen digital developments, including 360 degree video case studies. He has interviewed high level figures, including NYSE CEO’s and Environmental Ministers. A known figure in the global water industry, Tom has chaired and spoken at conferences around the world, from Helsinki, to London and Singapore. An English graduate from Exeter University, Tom completed his PMA journalism training in London.

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