349 Defying Fouling Challenges: A New Frontier in Industrial Wastewater Solutions

Scaling UP! H2O

“Traditionally, the Achilles’ heel of using membrane technology with wastewater, especially industrial wastewater, is the irreversible loss of performance due to fouling.” - Chris Drover

Welcome to Scaling UP! H2O, the go-to resource for professionals in the extraordinary world of industrial water treatment. In today's episode, we're excited to unveil a revolutionary ultrafiltration technology that promises to redefine wastewater treatment. Our guest, Chris Drover, CTO & Co-Founder at ZwitterCo, Inc., introduces us to their groundbreaking Zwitterion-based filtration technology, offering a game-changing alternative to traditional membrane systems.

Discover the unique hydrophilic properties of Zwitterions that make these membranes resistant to fouling, a common challenge in industrial wastewater treatment. Unlike traditional membranes, ZwitterCo's technology excels at removing oil, grease, organic biopolymers, algae, viruses, and bacteria, positioning it at the forefront of ultrafiltration solutions.

If you're grappling with issues related to uptime, cleaning costs, or seeking a more sustainable water treatment solution, this episode is tailor-made for you. Uncover the answers to pressing questions such as: What sets ZwitterCo's technology apart? How does it compare to traditional water treatment methods? What percentage of oil and emulsifiers can it handle in wastewater? Learn about the frequency of membrane cleaning with bleach, real-world applications, and the strategic balance between economic and environmental considerations.

Whether you're dealing with landfill leachate, meat processing, or navigating the complexities of water treatment, join us to gain invaluable insights into a transformative technology designed for industrial water treaters. Scale up your knowledge today to ensure your system scales up efficiently. Tune in and stay ahead of the curve in industrial water treatment innovation!

Timestamps

01:00 - Trace Blackmore thanks you for being part of the global Industrial Water Treatment Community

05:00 - Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals

09:15 - Drop by Drop With James McDonald 12:00 - Interview with Chris Drover, the CTO & Co-Founder at ZwitterCo, Inc.

45:30 - Lightning Round Questions

53:00 - In memory of a water professional we lost not that long ago, Rob Ferguson of WaterCycle, please become a mentor in 2024 and pour your knowledge into the next generation of water professionals

Quotes

"What Zwitterions do for membranes is by building these membranes out of zwitterionic materials, we can give them this really hydrophilic property that makes them virtually immune to the type of fouling, that permanent absorption of oil and organics into the pores of a membrane." - Chris Drover

"A neat thing about Zwitterions is that oils and other organics have a really hard time sticking to them and absorbing them because they're just soaking up water." - Chris Drover

“Traditionally, the Achilles’ heel of using membrane technology with wastewater, especially industrial wastewater is the irreversible loss of performance due to fouling and keeping them performing for long enough to recoup the investment, that's what our market focuses on unconventional waters that have a lot of challenges with membrane fouling.” - Chris Drover

Connect with Chris Drover

Phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Website: zwitterco.com

LinkedIn: in/cdrover

company/zwitterco-inc

Links Mentioned

Tangential Flow Model

What is a Zwitterion?

Tufts University

Aquatech Conference

Rob Ferguson of WaterCycle in episode 43 “The One With The Water Cycle Guy”

The Rising Tide Mastermind

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Books Mentioned

MARS TRILOGY: Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves by W. Brian Arthur

Drop By Drop with James

In today’s episode, I have a useful little quote from the 2021 edition of the “Consensus on Operating Practices for the Control of Feedwater and Boiler Water Chemistry in Industrial and Institutional Boilers” (catchy title!) by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers or ASME.

It says, “Where a choice is available, the reduction or removal of objectionable constituents by pretreatment external to the boiler is always preferable to, and more reliable than, management of these constituents within the boiler by internal chemical treatment, which involves boiler blowdown and chemical feed to the boiler system.”

Chew on that for a minute. “Where a choice is available, the reduction or removal of objectionable constituents by pretreatment external to the boiler is always preferable to, and more reliable than, management of these constituents within the boiler by internal chemical treatment.”

As vital and important as internal chemical treatment is to a boiler, consider all the ways it could fail. Would you rather manage hardness in your boiler with internal chemical treatment or by using pretreatment such as a water softener? Think about the benefits of other pretreatment as well.

I’ve always considered this one particular line within these guidelines to be a very powerful sentence. I’ve used it to help justify my pretreatment recommendations as third-party support for softeners, reverse osmosis, etc.

2024 Events for Water Professionals Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we’ve listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE or using the dropdown menu.