The winners of the 2015 Aquatech Innovation Award were announced at the opening ceremony of the Amsterdam International Water Week and 25th edition of Aquatech Amsterdam - overall first place went to an innovative technology able to treat highly saline wastewaters and reclaim almost every drop of water at the same time.
The winning entry, the DyVaR process of Dutch company Salttech BV, is of particular relevance to the oil and gas industry and provides a zero liquid discharge treatment option – the variant of the technology entered into the competition was named DyVaR O&G ZLD.
Amsterdam International Water Week and Aquatech was opened in a ceremony with prominent international guests and keynote speakers, including Mr Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and Ms Melanie Schultz van Haegen, Minister Infrastructure and the Environment, Government of the Netherlands.
Award jury chair Dr Cees Buisman commented:
“Highly saline waters are being produced in the oil and gas sector in increasing quantities. They require treatment to meet environmental regulations and to recover water for reuse, but the high salinity makes this a technically challenging task, especially if it is to be done cost-effectively. ‘The problem of how to get rid of these brines is immense.”
Proven winner
Already proven in locations in North America and the Middle East, DyVaR uses evaporative and cyclonic technologies to separate out salts and other components, recovering almost all of the water and making it available for reuse. ‘They solved the problem for any combination of salts, which for many other technologies is not possible,’ Buisman added.
Corrosion is one aspect of the challenge of dealing with highly saline waters. ‘They solved this by using polymer materials,’ Buisman explained, adding that the other key aspect is scaling, which has been solved by the use of cyclones. He described the combination as “a very big innovation” which is also being recognised by the market in terms of orders.
Aquatech Innovation Award 2015 – the results
Overall winner, and category winner - Waste water treatment
DyVaR O&G ZLD, Salttech BV
Category winner Not-yet-to-market
PearlAqua by AquiSense Technologies - a world-first UV LED water disinfection system from US company AquiSense Technologies;
Category winner - Process control technology & Process automation
Hach Prognosys predictive diagnostic system by Hach - an instrument predictive diagnostic system
Category winner - Transport & Storage
AQS-SYS, Aquarius Spectrum Ltd. - an automated system for detecting when leaks develop in supply networks from Israeli company Aquarius Spectrum
Category winner Water supply / water treatment
MPC-Buoy: Monitor, Predict & Control Algal Blooms by LG Sonic BV - an ultrasonic system for treating algal blooms from Dutch company LG Sonic
The Aquatech Innovation Award is continuing to grow in size and in terms of its status - more than 70 companies entered this year’s competition. Visitors to Aquatech Amsterdam and the Amsterdam International Water Week will be able to find out more about the winning entries this week at the new InnovationLAB feature in the exhibition, part of an increased focus on innovation at the show.
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