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Technology holds the key; collaboration opens the door
HP NANDA President, DuPont Water Solutions Business
Pushing advanced water treatment solutions to new frontiers and uniting global resources with local partnerships, we can solve water scarcity challenges together.
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t’s often true that technological advancement has helped us to solve soc iet y ’s g reatest challenges. That’s true for water, too. Given t he complex it y of our societies, the local nature of water issues and how water touches every aspect of our lives, uniting others to rise to these challenges is not always easy. Sustainability Development Goal #6 calls to: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” Resource #1, but often in the shadows Water is fascinating, worthy and, quite simply, resource #1. With it, possibility flows, but not everyone appreciates that. A recent documentary, completed by Brave Blue World Foundation, aimed to shift thinking around solving water challenges globally and inspire greater urgency, as well as optimism. The documentar y, suppor ted by us, shows the people behind the scenes of the water industry - eliminating waste; working to circular, rather than linear water usage; valuing used water; re-using it – even making beer from it – and creating bio-refineries from wastewater treatment plants to harvest all the nutrients, metals
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and energ y that are other wise flushed away. Science is global, solutions are local Solutions to water issues are usually local and most effective when they are customised to solve local challenges. To do so, we must try to better understand these challenges by engaging the community through our local presence and tapping into innovation and experience from our substantial global network of scientists, researchers, employees and fellow collaborators. Recent ly, i n Uzbek ista n, we helped a nitric acid plant reuse most of its process water. In Nairobi, the Little Sisters of St Francis have an autonomous water supply for their hospital and community that avoids the health issues from overfluoridated groundwater. We also upgraded the Sanibel and Captiva island com mun it y ’s cher ished membrane plant to expand its capacity for tourism spikes. Key to the success of projects like these come from deep technical expertise - deep understanding of science and focusing on boundarypushing innovation programmes; persistence and commitment to work for years to solve technical challenges; and cultivating a ‘can do’ culture. Such solutions take
Solutions to water issues are usually local and most effective when they are customised to solve local challenges.
resources, t ime and incessant curiosity. The jewel in the deep tech crown is the Tarragona R&D facility in Spain. It’s unique in that we use the natural environment to replicate the challenges that our customers face on a daily basis, with source water from the municipality, the sea and industry. Advancing our aspiration with strategic acquisitions We recognise that we need more tools in our technology tool kit to solve evolving water challenges globally. In 2019 we made four important acquisitions in water purification, conservation and re-use: • Complementary ultrafiltration (UF) technology, which enhances performance for many water
streams including pretreatment for desalination. • Membrane bioreactors and submerged UF to, among other things, enhance wastewater reuse. • Closed-circuit reverse osmosis, which can enhance water recovery to as high as 95-97%. • Advanced membrane aerated biofilm reactors (MABR), which can take secondary wastewater treatment to the next level with energy savings and smaller footprint. These are complimented by a host of market-leading technologies. We recognise the challenges in the world are so big, no one individual, organisation or country can solve them. Only through collaborating with others, challenging traditional boundaries in the supply chain and creating lasting impactful solutions that harness the great potential of technology, will we open the door to the possibilities that flow when water is abundant yet precious. I am an optimist; we can see that day.
DuPont Water Solutions is deeply committed to this goal and aspires to be “The most prolific innovator and market shaper in water technology, to solve global challenges in water purification, conservation and reuse”. The DuPont Tarragona R&D facility in Spain can treat 10,000m3 of water per day – enough to supply a city of 100,000 inhabitants. R&D runs right from the lab to piloting at full-scale, often with the staff of an enduser as part of the team. In fact, we undertook 150 such co-creation projects with customers in 2019. For the industry, it is a large technology application centre. For us, it is the rosetta stone translating R&D to real world solutions.
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