다우케미칼(Dow Chemical)의 사업 부문인 다우 워터 앤 프로세스 솔루션(Dow Water & Process Solutions)은 진보적인 파일럿 제품에 대한 투자를 통해 R&D를 성사시키는 등 노력을 입증했다. 다우케미칼은 지속적인 연구의 일환으로 자사의 초미세여과(UF) 기술에 초점을 맞춘 신제품의 결과를 밝혔다. 다우케미칼의 초미세여과 기술은 스페인 타라고나(Tarragona)에 위치한 Global Water 기술 센터에서 수행되었고 장기간 강의 하류에 지속적으로 같은 질의 물을 역삼투방식으로 공급하는 기술을 보여주었다.

초미세여과(UF) 기술을 통해 이루어지는 급수의 품질을 모니터 할 목적으로 만들어진 파일럿 프로그램에서 생성된 데이터는 기존 솔루션의 성공을 입증하고 자사의 신제품을 시장에 출시하기 전에 품질을 입증하는 데에 사용된다.

Dow Water & Process Solutions, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, is demonstrating its dedication to research and development (R&D) through investment in progressive product piloting. As part of this continued research, the company has announced the results of a recent piloting focused on DOW™ Ultrafiltration (UF) technologies, which was carried out at its Global Water Technology Center in Tarragona, Spain, and has seen continuous quality feedwater supply to the reverse osmosis (RO) system downstream over a prolonged period.

The data generated from the pilot program -- aimed to monitor the quality of the feedwater produced by the UF system -- is used to both prove the success of its existing solutions and to validate and qualify new products before their launch into the market. The results of piloting confirm the sustainable and stable operation of DOW UF commercial modules as a pre-treatment for the RO system downstream for more than 300 accumulated days.

In order to provide real wastewater conditions, the pilot system was fed with secondary effluent from the Vilaseca (Tarragona, Spain) municipal wastewater treatment plant. Typically, due to wastewater feed quality and characteristics, the RO system cannot be fed directly from the secondary effluent of the wastewater treatment plant without interruption. Therefore, to guarantee the required feed quality to the RO system, a DOW UF SFP-2880 system was integrated upstream.

The tests carried out on the UF modules following the end of the piloting demonstrated the absence of broken or damaged fibers, as well as no reported loss in tensile strength and mechanical properties. The permeate produced by the system downstream is suitable for a number of applications, including irrigation, agriculture and golf courses. Precisely, the agricultural sector represents 80 percent of water use in the country, so integrating advanced technologies, such as DOW UF elements, into the sector can help increase efficiency.

Another important finding from the study is the associated cost reduction resulting from the combination of DOW UF and DOW FILMTEC™ RO technologies. For instance, DOW UF systems require a lower footprint when compared to other methods of conventional pre-treatment technologies, such as sand filtration. In addition, less chemical cleanings are required in the Dow FILMTEC RO system downstream due to the more suitable feed water provided by the DOW UF system, resulting in longer membrane life, higher plant availability and lower replacement rate of cartridge filters.

The combination of on-site simulation and laboratories enable high-class testing and optimization of water treatment and reuse applications, as exemplified with the DOW UF pilot unit. Research related to areas such as improving quality of desalinated water, minimizing costs and energy consumption, extending the useful life of membranes and increasing the materials' efficiency is deployed in various pilot units able to asses up to 40 products at real-world scale in order to test all new technologies and applications before their launch to the market.

[출처 = Water World / 2015년 8월 10일]