VATIS UPDATE Article

Aquaporin Asia, Singapore, and Berghof Membranes, the Netherlands, have announced the joint development of a forward osmosis waste water treatment technology based on Aquaporin’s Inside membrane coating and Berghof’s tubular polymeric membranes. The two companies believe that they will be able to provide a cheaper solution for treating industrial process streams and waste water.

Tubular polymeric membranes as produced by Berghof Membranes are particularly suitable for treatment of effluents presenting a high contaminants load.This accounts of the fact that the filtering channel is completely open, making it possible to handle a large quantity of suspended solids. Filtration occurs from the inside to the outside of the channel and it is possible to perform backwash operations.

The Aquaporin Inside technology is a thin film coating that hosts proteins in an environment that retains the molecules’ natural activity of moving water molecules. The coating can be applied to both flat-sheet membranes and hollow fiber modules. The protein is selective for transporting pure water molecules because of the hydrophobic nature of the aquaporin’s water channel. The end goal of the project is to demonstrate the cost saving potential of Aquaporin’s coating Inside forward osmosis technology through industrial test bedding.