Wastewater may not be a prime source of profits, but it cannot be ignored — and it is certainly fashionable. The global market for industrial water and wastewater equipment is growing at around 20% annually, according to a recent report from market research company BCC Research (Wellesley, Mass.; www.bccresearch.com). Sales are set to exceed $4.7 billion this year, up from $3.2 billion in 2005, and are forecast to reach over $10 billion by 2012.
“I’ve been in the water and wastewater treatment business for more than 20 years, and this is probably the busiest I’ve ever seen it,” says Thomas Schultz, global sales and marketing manager for petroleum and chemical industries with Siemens Water Technologies (Booth 1719). In the refining industry, record profits on the back of high oil prices are allowing companies to replace or upgrade wastewater treatment systems that may have received little investment since they were installed in the 1970s, Schultz says.
Recent strong business areas for Siemens include oil-water separators and wet air oxidation systems, typically used to treat spent caustic from refineries and ethylene plants. New regulations for contaminants such as selenium, arsenic and copper are driving wastewater investment, Schultz says, and so too is the growing need to re-use and recycle water in dry areas such as the Middle East, Singapore, California and even the tar sands of Alberta.
Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are gaining interest in the CPI as companies look to improve effluent quality and possibly re-use wastewater. Last year Siemens launched an MBR system, known as Petro MBR, specifically for the petroleum industry. Another big name in water and wastewater treatment, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (Paris, France and Houston, Texas), is marketing its Neosep MBR process for both municipal and industrial effluent.
Membrane specialist Microdyn Technologies (Booth 431) has developed a membrane module for submerged MBR applications that it says combines the advantages of hollow-fiber and flat sheet modules. The BIO-CEL module uses a parallel array of large, self-supporting membrane sheets.
The ability to remove oil and organic solvents from wastewater is essential in many CPI applications. Filtration and absorption specialist Biomin Inc. (Ferndale, Mich.) promotes its OilSorb organoclay material, which according to company president George Alther has a higher oil absorption capacity than carbon and has other advantages too.
Amiad Filtration Systems (Booth 941) has supplied six of its EBS self-cleaning filters for an expansion project at a municipal wastewater treatment plant in St. Cloud, Fla. (photo, above). The 200-µm filters use a series of rotating suction nozzles to remove debris from the upstream face of the cylindrical filter mesh.
Chem Show attendees with an interest in water should not miss Thursday morning’s conference session on CPI Water Supply: Conservation, Reuse and Treatment.