Excerpt from ”TRANSCRIPT OF SPEECH BY PRESIDENT THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM AT SINGAPORE WORLD WATER DAY"This is something we have to think about t...
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
This is something we have to think about the years ahead, beyond saving what comes out of the tap in our home. Changing our diets, buying less fast fashion and changing our clothes less often. And maybe in future, when we come to events, we reuse the previous year’s T-shirt. And if possible, don't give out at every event cotton bags, because cotton bags actually need tremendous amounts of water to produce. If we all do those small things, it makes a big difference.
Then there are some big things we're doing, and this again is credit to the PUB. Every drop of water in Singapore reflects innovation. And we know about NEWater, we know about desalination. Every drop of water reflects the fact that PUB, through innovation and working with companies, has allowed Singapore to be much more secure - much more water resilient.
But PUB is now thinking further. Because when we think of recycling, when we think of desalination, it's very good, but it uses a lot of energy. Now PUB is looking at ways in which it can reduce the amount of energy required in desalination and water recycling, which is a very important task. FOR IMMEDIATE REPORTING
I'll just mention two examples. In desalination, a lot of energy is used in pre- treating the water - the water may have algae, it may have a little bit of oil in it, there may be other pollutants in it. Pre-treating the water is very important, but it's a very energy-intensive process. What PUB is doing is now experimenting with new technologies, such as using ceramic membranes to replace the multi-stage process to treat water. And that will cut down quite dramatically the amount of energy that is required in desalination. If we can do it well, this solution can be used by other countries as well. That's what Singapore does - take the leap, innovate, and the solutions can be used by other countries.
Another very interesting innovation that PUB is pursuing, together with Nanyang Technological University and a company called Aquaporin Asia, is in water recycling. Reverse osmosis – that’s the technical term – is at the heart of water recycling. They are trying to make reverse osmosis more energy efficient by using membranes that mimic the human body. What they're doing is lining the membranes with proteins and lipids, so that they become more permeable for water.
This sounds a bit technical, but it's very important. The innovations that PUB is undertaking with our universities and with companies, are really an important part of the solution to making Singapore both a climate-friendly and water-friendly place.