UMD receives $10M to lead USDA Center of Excellence for Water Reuse
A multidisciplinary team, led by Dr. Amy R. Sapkota at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, is dedicating itself to developing innovative, safe and sustainable ways to irrigate food crops in variable climates. With a $10 million grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, awarded over a four-year period, the CONSERVE Center of Excellence links experts from the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest to identify the best nontraditional water sources and new water treatment technologies that farmers can safely use on food crops without compromising public health. The Center’s focus will be on developing water reuse solutions to safely irrigate vegetable and fruit crops that are generally consumed raw, which therefore require the highest quality, contaminant-free water during the irrigation process.
The CONSERVE team includes bioscientists, engineers, economists, social-behavioral scientists, law and policy experts, agricultural extension specialists, educational media developers, computer scientists, and public health experts.
The USDA announced the first year of its plan to help communities improve water resources, including funding for the CONSERVE project, on World Water Day, March 22, 2016.
FilterBoxx to supply sanitary wastewater treatment plant for mining installation
FilterBoxx Packaged Water Solutions was awarded a contract to supply a permanent sanitary wastewater treatment plant for a mining camp in northwestern, British Columbia.
During mid-2015, following regulatory and finance approvals, FilterBoxx initiated pre-design on a plant expansion for a permanent installation. The permanent treatment system will continue to utilize MBR technology to meet the strict discharge regulations for surface water.
The system capacity is 150 m3/d and now includes a sludge dewatering and drying system as part of the expanded supply. These systems will be supplied by FilterBoxx completely pre-assembled and tested/commissioned prior to shipping. Overall footprint of the permanent plant, including sludge dewatering and drying equipment will be 3 modular buildings.
Evoqua acquires Neptune Benson
Evoqua Water Technologies has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Neptune Benson, manufacturer of high-quality water filtration and disinfection products for the recreational, industrial, and municipal water markets. Neptune Benson’s filtration and ultraviolet disinfection products can be found in more than 20,000 installations worldwide, covering 45 countries. The transaction is expected to close this spring and is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Terms were not disclosed.
CST announces U.S. partnership with Great Plains Structures
Building on its 100-plus year legacy as the world’s leading bolted steel tank and silo manufacturer, CST Industries has announced a new dealer partner, Great Plains Structures (GPS). GPS will serve an eight-state territory in the Upper Midwest region of the United States, offering a responsive, service-focused and capable team working for the interests of CST customers in that region.
Engineering America partners with Permastore LTD
Engineering America is partnering with Permastore, a global market leader in modular tank and silo design, to bring PERMASTORE® products and services to the U.S. water, wastewater, and industrial markets.
Engineering America said the strategic partnership with the bolted glass-fused-to-steel tank and silo manufacturer will be key to its long-term growth strategy.
Desalitech equips Pall Corporation’s mobile water fleet
Desalitech, a global leader in high-efficiency reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment, has sold a one million gallon per day ReFlex™ reverse osmosis system to Pall Corporation. The Desalitech system adds reverse osmosis capability to Pall’s Aria™ Fast mobile water treatment solutions.
The sale is the first major project awarded under the recently announced partnership between Desalitech and Pall. Desalitech worked with Pall to design a custom trailer-based ReFlex reverse osmosis system to be compatible with Pall’s Aria products. The Desalitech unit can produce up to 700 gallons per minute of reverse osmosis permeate at water recovery rates of 70 to 98 percent from feed waters with salinities of up to 10,000 ppm TDS.
Waterleau Group acquires Ecovation and Krofta Technologies
Waterleau Group, a global provider of energy recovery and water, air and waste treatment, has completed the acquisition of the anaerobic biological wastewater treatment plant design-build business of Ecovation and the membership interests of Krofta Technologies and its DAF technology from Ecolab. The newly created organization Waterleau USA is based in Victor, N.Y., and its operations provide customers access to a comprehensive portfolio of technologies and a single source for customized anaerobic, aerobic and membrane wastewater solutions for the food and beverage industry.
Ecovation’s access to Waterleau Group’s portfolio of environmental technologies and services will allow the new organization of Waterleau USA to expand its range of treatment solutions and strengthen its position in the North American market.
In its latest acquisition, Waterleau Group is joined by BMI-SBI, the Belgian semi-public investment company co-financing and supporting this transaction.
Dober Acquires HALOKLEAR
Dober, a specialty chemical and software company, has agreed to purchase the assets of the HaloKlear product line from HaloSource Inc., Bothell, Wash. These assets primarily focus on green biopolymers utilized to remove contaminants from water generated within several markets including construction, mining, environmental remediation, industrial, and oil and gas.
“The Dober team is excited to expand our biopolymer offerings by adding the HaloKlear technology. These market-leading chitosan (biopolymer) technologies will complement our plant-based biopolymers that we have been producing for over 25 years,” said John G. Dobrez, Chief Executive Officer for Dober. “Our GreenFloc division is ecstatic to have these offerings added to their product profile as it helps our quest to provide the water treatment industry with solutions to help create cleaner water for a more sustainable future.”
Advanced Drainage Systems opens distribution center in Florida
Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. (ADS), a global manufacturer of water management products and solutions for non-residential, residential, infrastructure and agricultural applications, has opened a new distribution center in Panama City Beach, Fla. The Panama City Beach location is the company’s fourth in the state and will increase the local supply of the company’s products and improve customer service.
Having recently undertaken several major construction projects, the Panhandle of Florida is a rapidly growing area. This new location is an example of the company’s commitment to servicing customers’ water management needs with local inventory.
ADS water management solutions are used in a diverse range of construction projects, including streets and highways, non-residential, residential and industrial projects, golf courses, athletic fields and other construction projects. The company has a network of 61 manufacturing locations and 31 distribution centers in strategic locations worldwide.
FilterBoxx announces large operations & maintenance contract
FilterBoxx Water & Environmental Corp. has been awarded a three year operations and maintenance contract for a significant oil and gas producer at its SAGD site in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
FilterBoxx will operate a total of seven treatment plants, four potable plants and three wastewater plants - including all ancillary equipment as well as the distribution and collections systems. “FilterBoxx has been operating and maintaining camp-based utility systems in Western Canada since 2006. As a result of this experience, FilterBoxx has developed a highly trained and rigorous Plant Operations and Maintenance group recognized by our customers for Safety, Environmental Stewardship and Plant Performance Optimization,” commented FilterBoxx CEO Larry Novachis. “We offer cost-effective superior services which has led us to become one of the largest private operations groups in Canada,” he added.
In addition to operations, the company’s engineering and environmental team will also play a significant role in this project with process engineering support, as well as ensuring environmental compliance for the SAGD site.
Evoqua opens Ultrapure Water Technology facility
Evoqua Water Technologies has officially opened a first-of-its-kind validation, testing and demonstration facility for the microelectronics industry’s ultrapure water technology needs within the company’s Rockford, Ill., center of excellence.
The new Evoqua Ultrapure Water Technology facility provides microelectronics customers with the ability to perform operational demonstrations and testing of the advanced Vanox® POU system that supports the industry’s manufacturing process. The system uses an advanced oxidation process for total organic compound (TOC) reduction in semiconductor manufacturing, especially for geometries of less than 28 nanometers (nm).
In addition, the system demonstrates the capabilities in meeting the next generation geometries of less than 10 nm. The new Ultrapure Water Technology facility includes technology capabilities for filtration being developed/validated for the lower particle level requirements. The facility allows the microelectronics industry to test and validate TOC reduction on its process water streams.
This new technology facility adds to Evoqua’s existing microelectronics development capabilities, including an advanced ion exchange resin development and analysis laboratory.
Spiral Water expands operations, moves headquarters
Spiral Water Technologies, a developer of advanced filtration solutions for difficult-to-treat waters, has moved its corporate headquarters to an expanded facility in San Rafael, California. The Bay Area company, whose award-winning system has attracted international attention, will use the expanded space to accommodate its growing operations including research and development, and production.
Spiral Water’s flagship technology is its Automatic Self-cleaning Filter, the next generation in filtration technology that was developed to address specific issues in treating challenging waters. With its proprietary design, the Spiral Water system offers significant benefits to customers in a wide array of industries. It can filter up to 100 times dirtier water than traditional automatic filters while using only 10% of the energy required by existing systems and at a fraction of the footprint and weight. This results in lower CAPEX and OPEX while achieving 99.9% water recovery.
