Water purification technology which started in a Queen’s laboratory is one step closer to commercial reality.
Below is an excerpt from this article: https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/fresh-funds-fresh-water
With GCC’s aid, Dr. Jessop’s technology was shown to be highly effective at remove clean water from waste streams and water containing massive amounts of contaminating salts. This was achieved through a process called forward osmosis.
The forward osmosis technology formed the basis for the GCC spin-off company, Forward Water Technologies (FWT), in October 2012.
GCC has made significant investments in the development of Dr. Jessop’s technology. This includes funding the construction of an engineering scale pilot unit by FWT in Mississauga capable of treating over 1000 litres of wastewater per day.
The success of that pilot resulted in a recently announced joint investment by the not-for-profit Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) and other private investors to help bring the technology to full commercial readiness.
“We are on the brink of a critical phase in the long path to commercialization, and to garner both financial support and commercial expertise from organizations such as BIC is extremely critical,” said C. Howie Honeyman, Chief Executive Officer of FWT.
This proprietary forward osmosis system is a highly energy efficient process that has successfully removed many pollutants and impurities from wastewater streams. At the end of the process, the fresh water is available for re-use or discharge to either sewer or surface water systems. The technology could be of interest to municipalities, factories, the energy sector, and the chemical industry to name a few.