Breakthrough wastewater treatment collaboration sought

Open-innovation service-provider NineSigma is looking to identify and fund companies working on breakthrough water treatment technologies to collaborate with a group of four Global 500 companies and subsidiaries. Responses are required by 28 May 2010.

NineSigma’s Linked InnovationSM is an initiative to help companies build collaborative R&D communities with global innovators. The Water Treatment Group that is sponsoring the current search includes four multinational companies from the food product and consumer packaged goods sectors.

The group has identified 3 categories of water treatment as a high priority:

REQ# 66372 Industrial-scale Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Alternatives
REQ# 66375 Industrial Water Filtration Systems
REQ# 66378 Industrial Water Effluent Discharge Technologies

The RO request specifically requires improvements in current RO or alternatives. Specifically, the successfully technology will:

  • Achieve water purification comparable to or better than current RO approaches with regard to solids, particulates, microbial loads, conductivity, alkalinity etc.
  • Reduce energy expenditures
  • Reduce capital and operating costs
  • Additionally, it will either improve current RO technology by:

  • Achieving RO recovery rates ≥90%
  • Reducing pretreatment steps
  • Providing new ways to clean/regenerate RO membranes or improving RO membrane anti- fouling capabilities
  • Any alternative technology must:

  • Provide high efficiency throughput for multi-million gallon volumes
  • Avoid the need for pretreatment
  • Provide an efficient means for cleaning or replacing components
  • Contaminant profiles may include: food components (eg, protein, starches, fats, plant material), cleansers (eg, soaps, surfactants, sanitizers), inorganic solids and particulates, high conductivity salts, microbes etc, and pH ranges are typically neutral to alkaline. Engagements could be from 6 months to 5 years.

    The Industrial Water Filtration Systems RFP is similar but less specific.

    The Effluent Discharge RFP is seeking improvements or alternatives to industrial wastewater management and discharge, including repurposing wastewater components.

    The successful technology will:

  • Be applicable to industrial-scale, multi-million gallon water volumes
  • Reduce water discharge costs
  • Meet governmental regulations for direct discharge (USA and/or international)
  • Be adaptable to contaminant profiles as above
  • Reduce energy expenditures
  • Reduce capital and operating costs
  • The Industrial Water Filtration RFP web page has links to the other two RFPs.