The MemFree ​Wastewater ​Treatment ​System in ​Saskatchewan ​– One ​Year Later

It has been a year of firsts for a new wastewater treatment system that is finding a home in Canada. The MemFree Wastewater Treatment System's pilot installation was turned on in early 2017 in Unity, Saskatchewan, and in the time since it started operation the system has been proving itself out.

The installation, which is the first of its kind in Canada, has now operated through all the Canadian seasons, and has tackled almost a year's worth of wastewater from the Town of Unity. It is made up of two MemFree systems that were manufactured by Tecvalco Ltd.

One of the two MemFree Wastewater Treatment Systems installed in Unity, Saskatchewan

The Canadian company is headquartered in Niagara Falls, Ontario, but has its primary manufacturing facility located in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Tecvalco also has the exclusive rights to market and distribute the system in Canada.

Unity began their search for a new wastewater treatment solution when they were told by the province of Saskatchewan that their system at that time could only support 2,500 residents. Faced with the prospect of growth in the near future, the town then spent 18 months researching options.

They finally selected the MemFree system, which is an Australian technology, owned by Arizona-based Soneera Water. In January of 2016, Soneera and the Town of Unity signed the original Supply and Service agreement.

The Town Council chose MemFree, which is a continuous-flow electroflocculation water treatment system, primarily due to economics. They stated that this was the most viable of all the options financially, but added that the system is appealing for other reasons as well -- mainly its small footprint and ease of use.

"The Unity project was an integral first for use of the MemFree system on wastewater treatment in Canada," noted Tecvalco president Mike Menger.

Mr. Menger believes so strongly in the growth potential of this product, that Tecvalco added additional manufacturing capability to their facility. He has every reason to be optimistic, as the test results are proving the technology works.

"Results we are getting show that the technology has proven to exceed Canadian standards for wastewater by 400 per cent," noted Darrell Behan, CEO of Soneera Water. "We are meeting the standards to release water to a fish-bearing environment."

Mr. Behan added that the interest being generated by the Unity installation is enormous, especially in Saskatchewan's smaller communities. Numerous representatives from other communities have made the trip to Unity to see the units in action, and view the results for themselves.

Other Applications

Wastewater treatment is a growing concern in Canada that affects more than just the growth potential of small communities like Unity. According to the Government of Canada's Environment and Climate Change website, over 150 billion litres of untreated and under-treated wastewater is dumped into Canadian waterways every year. The website notes that this is an environmental, human health, and economic issue.

"Once we can show the technology works as well as it does in Unity, we project that smaller communities that understand the challenges and cost of wastewater treatment will be onboard and bring jobs and additional economic activity to central Saskatchewan," noted Mr. Menger. "The Unity project is the first of many examples of how the MemFree system can clean wastewater in all sectors of water usage; from fracking, to industrial, to agricultural, to municipal applications."

While small towns are the prime candidate for this system, the system is capable of much more. It has applications in industrial use, oil and gas, tailing ponds, wineries, breweries, creameries, dairy operations, and more.

Tecvalco has been out evangelizing the technology for the last 12 months, attending tradeshows all over Canada, visiting or talking to hundreds of Canadian communities, and reaching out into many other industries where this revolutionary new technology can have an impact.

The MemFree Wastewater System

Soneera Water's MemFree system was invented in Australia by Dr. Vivian Robinson. After years of research, Dr. Robinson called this breakthrough technology "electroflocculation," and his white paper on the process has been published by several global scientific magazines as the reference paper on the technology.

Dr. Robinson's patented technology is the first, and to date only, successful application of this methodology in a continuous flow commercial environment. Soneera Water and Tecvalco Ltd. are the only companies licensed to market and maintain this technology in North America.

The MemFree technology has found acceptance and success in the Australian market, and was first introduced in North America in 2014 through a pilot project in Arizona. Once it was proven at a variety of wastewater installations, and its U.S. patent was issued in August of 2015, Soneera Water LLC started marketing it in the United States.

The Soneera Wastewater System is a membrane-free, continuous flow electroflocculation system that can treat up to 750 cubic metres of water per day using a single system module. It uses very small amounts of power, ranging typically from 0.03 to 0.07 Kwh/m3, and uses roughly one-fifth the physical footprint of a traditional treatment facility.

There are no chemicals added to process, however, with the addition of a chlorine drip and a UV system, the technology can produce potable drinking water from raw sewage. It is capable of cleaning 97 to 99 per cent of all wastewater types, and treats to the nano-filtration level. It is an automated system that is remotely monitored and programmed.

Source: Market Wired

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Taxonomy

• Treatment
• Water Reuse & Recycling
• Technology
• Reuse
• Water Utility
• Water Management
• Water Resources Management
• water treatment