A Memorandum of Understanding was announced for a new joint research and development (R&D) project to deploy algae-based wastewater treatment solutions in Singapore by Xylem Water Solutions Singapore, the local entity of Xylem Inc, a leading global water technology company, and Gross-Wen Technologies Inc.(GWT), a leading company focused on deploying environmentally-sustainable wastewater treatment solutions.
The project’s main objective is to advance GWT’s rotating algal biofilm (RAB®) technology, an algae-based wastewater treatment method that encourages nutrient recovery while lowering water utilities’ carbon footprint.
The research will notably highlight GWT’s algae-based anaerobic digestor (AD) wastewater treatment for nutrient recovery and carbon footprint reduction.
This includes reduced nitrous oxide emissions from the concentrated AD effluent, low-energy nitrogen and phosphorus recovery, and atmospheric CO2 uptake by algae. The created algae will be harvested and used to create biofuels, bioplastics and fertilizers.
In order to carry out a small-scale RAB® system at Xylem’s Singapore facility during this Proof of Concept Phase of the Carbon Zero Grand Challenge, the R&D team, led by Dr. Luo Rongmo, Senior Development Engineer, Xylem Singapore Technology Hub, and Dr. Martin Gross, President and CEO, GWT, is given up to S$247,000 as part of the project.
The PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, will pilot this in a full-scale system if it is successful.
The project will specifically feature GWT’s algae-based treatment of anaerobic digestor (AD) effluent for carbon footprint reduction and nutrient recovery.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Gross-Wen Technologies and combining our strengths in the industry to develop a sustainable wastewater treatment process to help Singapore and water utilities achieve net zero emissions,” said Dr. Luo Rongmo, Senior Development Engineer at the Xylem Singapore Technology Hub.
“Our relationship with Xylem in Singapore is an exciting step forward in the global implementation of GWT’s RAB® treatment technology,” stated Dr. Martin Gross, President and CEO of GWT.
Our joint research and development effort with PUB will be used as an example of how algae treatment may be used to decarbonize the wastewater treatment sector.
The project was one of the Proposal Phase winners of PUB’s Carbon Zero Grand Challenge, which aims to encourage creative solutions that can assist PUB in reaching net-zero emissions by the year 2050 and scaling to water facilities all over the world.
Xylem Singapore may get an additional S$2.5 million if they are successful in the Proof of Concept Phase in order to showcase a 1-kiloton-scale version of their technology at a PUB facility in Singapore.
Source: Xylem
