Partnering with membrane-based separation and purification solutions company Memsift Innovations, a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company conducted tests on its TS-30 Improved Membrane Distillation (IMD) system to revolutionise their liquid waste management practices and establish a global standard for sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Memsift advanced thermal separation process and IMD technology are said to have advantages over conventional industrial liquid waste treatment and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) solutions. Memsift IMD system employs a thermodynamic principle-based thermal separation process and its own membrane, which reduces the cost of industrial liquid waste treatment.
In 2019, this global pharmaceutical group initiated a technical feasibility study in collaboration with Memsift. The study aimed to assess the feasibility of utilising the TS-30 IMD system to treat liquid waste. The initial results were reportedly promising, suggesting the potential to reduce liquid waste volume by over 90% while recovering nitrogen fertiliser.
Building on the feasibility study, a full-scale onsite pilot programme was launched in early 2022 and has been in continuous operation for over a year. This pilot demonstrated the system’s capability to consistently treat liquid waste and produce high-quality water.
With the success of the on-site pilot, the pharma company is said to embrace this technology on a commercial scale, marking a step towards closing its liquid waste loop. This move will reportedly enable the company to achieve more than 90% cost savings in waste disposal but also reduce its carbon footprint by up to 80% compared to conventional disposal and incineration methods, resulting in an estimated reduction of 490 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
In a statement, Memsift founder and CEO Dr J. Antony Prince said that collaboration with technology startups like his own will address Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) on water conservation and SDG13: climate change while preserving resources and a clean environment for future generations. The commercial implementation of this project is slated to begin in Q1 2024.
