Practical Water Solutions (PWS), a South African water-as-a-service (WaaS) company, has started various pilot projects to test NX Filtration’s direct nanofiltration (dNF) membranes for the reuse of industrial wastewater. The former will deploy the latter’s Mexpert pilot system alongside its Abrimix technology to conduct pilot projects at various industrial clients across South Africa.
The focus on wastewater reuse is increasing as South Africa has been experiencing severe droughts. In 2018, Cape Town’s Day Zero became the focus for South Africa’s water crisis. However, the entire country is impacted by high demand and inadequate supply of water. As a result, more stringent regulations are being implemented. For example, in the Gqeberha area, industries are now being required to reduce their water consumption by a minimum of 20%, NX Filtration revealed.
The utility has been offering its clients a WaaS solution based on the Abrimix Suspended Solids Flotation (SSF) technology, and NX Filtration’s dNF technology to enable potable water recovery from wastewater in their industrial processes. To demonstrate the effectiveness of their solution PWS has lined-up a series of industrial pilot projects in various sectors, including dairy, fruit processing, food and beverage, textile and automotive. The first two pilot projects already took place over the past months at the Dairy Group’s Coega Dairy, a collector of raw milk and manufacturer of dairy products in South Africa; and Summerpride Foods, a South African pineapple processor.
Rob Cloete, CEO of PWS, elaborated: “The results of our first pilot projects at Coega Dairy and Summerpride Foods look promising, enabling them to reduce their water footprint by 80% and 100%, respectively. Throughout the coming year, we plan to deploy pilots at industrial customers throughout the country, supporting them in addressing their water challenges.”
Johann Lombaard, sales manager at NX Filtration, added: “Industrial wastewater reuse is one of the sweet spots of our dNF technology. Building on our experience at various European, North American and Asian industrial clients, we are happy that we can now also roll this out in South Africa.
“With our dNF membranes, we can remove microplastics, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and colour from wastewater in one single step, while recovering certain raw materials that can be recycled in industrial processes. In addition, we offer sustainability benefits to our customers, as our technology avoids the use of pre-treatment chemicals and requires significantly less energy than conventional methods.”
