新加坡南洋理工大學的科學家們開發出一種新型納米過濾器，這種過濾器可以將污水處理中所需的能源消耗量降低5倍。
通常情況下，污水處理過程中水凈化的最后一個步驟，超濾（UF）膜過濾掉小顆粒之前，需要使用反滲透（RO）膜。
在反滲透過程中，水在高壓下被推動經過精密膜，從而將水分子與殘余污染物分離開，這些污染物非常微小，比人類頭發絲的寬度還小1000倍，如鹽、重金屬以及像苯這種有毒化學物質。
這種高水壓，通常是10bar以上，意味著大量的能源消耗。
南洋理工大學的專利技術，納米過濾中空纖維膜在超濾和反滲透中都可以應用，能夠將這兩個過程結合。
它只需要2bar的水壓（這個壓力相當于家用壓力鍋的壓力）就能過濾掉相同類型的污染物。它產生的水幾乎與通過反滲透過程的水一樣純凈。
新加坡南洋理工大學南洋環境和水資源研究所花費了兩年時間開發出了這一突破性的技術，目前，該技術正由南洋理工大學的衍生公司De.Mem進行商業化運作。
De.Mem在越南和新加坡擁有12家污水處理廠，該企業將在新加坡建設一個試點生產廠制造這種新型膜。
南洋環境和水資源研究所執行主任，南洋理工大學教授Ng Wun Jern說，對新加坡來說，這項新技術標志著另一個巨大的進步，因為它是市場首創。
“隨著城市化進程的加快和全球人口的快速增長，更多的城市和社區在滿足日益增長的清潔水和污水處理需求方面，將面臨前所未有的挑戰，”Ng教授說。
“如果我們試圖解決日益增長的清潔水需求，那么世界所需要正是像南洋理工大學新型納米過濾中空纖維膜這樣的創新技術，它能夠讓我們以較低的成本，處理污水，生產清潔水，而且該技術還具有高可靠性和易于維護的優點。”
南洋環境和水資源研究所膜技術中心主任，南洋理工大學教授Wang Rong領導研究團隊設計了新型納米過濾膜，他表示他們的這項技術已經成熟，可以進入商業生產階段。
“污水處理產業面臨的主要挑戰之一是，目前的反滲透過程是能源密集型，需要停機維護，”Wang教授解釋道，他是南洋理工大學土木與環境工程學院的主席。
“我們的新型膜非常容易制造，只需利用低成本的化學物質，比傳統的化學制品便宜30倍，這使其適合大規模生產。”
De.Mem公司的首席執行官Andreas Kroell先生說，這種新型膜填補了目前污水處理方面的市場空白。
“我們在實驗室里已經看到，當我們用新型納米過濾膜處理工業廢水時，生產出的清潔水質量可以與反滲透過程相媲美，而且只需要很低的壓力，從而降低了成本，”Kroell說。
“這樣一個有效且高效的技術具有巨大的市場潛力，可以應用于許多De.Mem的項目中，包括工業廢水的處理。”
在將該技術投入大規模生產之前，De.Mem公司將會在它的工廠進行實際應用，測試這個新型膜技術，以驗證它的有效性和效率。
Energy saving filters for wastewater treatment
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University （NTU Singapore） have invented a new type of nanofilter that could reduce the energy needed to treat wastewater by up to five times.
Typically, for the last steps of water purification in a wastewater treatment process, an ultrafiltration （UF） membrane filters out small particles before a reverse osmosis （RO） membrane is used.
In reverse osmosis, water is pushed through an extremely fine membrane at high pressure to separate water molecules from any remaining contaminants which are tiny – about a thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair, such as salt, heavy metals and toxic chemicals like benzene.
This high water pressure, typically 10 bars and above, means that the water pumps need a lot of energy.
However, NTU's proprietary nanofiltration （NF） hollow fibre membrane does away with both ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis, combining the two processes.
It also requires only 2 bars of water pressure, similar to the pressure found in a typical home pressure cooker, to filter out the same type of contaminants. Yet it produces water that is almost as pure as through reverse osmosis.
This breakthrough technology took NTU's Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute （NEWRI） about two years to develop and is now being commercialised by an NTU spin-off company De.Mem.
De.Mem which owns over a dozen water treatment plants in Vietnam and Singapore, will be building a pilot production plant in Singapore to manufacture the new membranes.
NTU Professor Ng Wun Jern, the executive director of NEWRI, said the new technology marks yet another huge step forward for Singapore, as it will be the first of its kind to hit the market.
"With the increasing urbanisation of cities and fast growing global population, more cities and communities will face an unprecedented challenge to meet its growing demand for clean water and wastewater treatment," Prof Ng said.
"If we are to address the ever increasing demand for clean water, what the world needs are innovative technologies like NTU's new nanofiltration hollow fibre membrane that allow us to treat and produce extremely clean water at a low cost, yet have high reliability and are easy to maintain."
NTU Professor Wang Rong, the director of NEWRI's Singapore Membrane Technology Centre who led the team in designing the new NF membrane, said they had designed it for commercial scale-up and production.
"One of the main challenges faced by the industry is that current reverse osmosis processes are energy intensive, with down time needed for maintenance," explained Prof Wang, who is also the Chair of NTU's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
"Our new membrane is also easy to manufacture using low-cost chemicals that are 30 times cheaper than conventional chemicals, making it suitable for mass production."
Mr Andreas Kroell, Chief Executive Officer of De.Mem said the new membrane fills a gap in the current market for water treatment solutions.
"We have seen in the labs that when we treat industrial wastewater with the new nanofiltration membranes, the quality of clean water produced is comparable to reverse osmosis but requires much lower pressure, hence lowering costs," Mr Kroell said.
"Such an effective and efficient technology has significant market potential and can be used in many of De.Mem's projects that involve the treatment of industrial wastewater."
De.Mem will test the new membrane modules in real world usage in its plants to verify its effectiveness and efficiency before scaling up to a full industrial production line.
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