Breakthrough in Water Treatment System

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Breakthrough in Water Treatment System

One year ago, experts from industry, academia, government, and finance were presented with what could soon be known as the biggest breakthrough in water treatment in decades. A team of researchers at BioLargo Water and the University of Alberta unveiled a working laboratory model of the AOS Filter along with the results from studies that demonstrate its ability to disinfect water 100 times more effectively and 10 times faster than any competing technology . 

Researchers at the University termed its performance 'unprecedented'. Results show that its energy requirements are less than 1/20th of the closest competing technology.

BLGO-2.pngNaturally, the next step was to produce a commercial prototype of this novel platform (referred to as the Alpha version) capable of meeting the needs of industry and manufacturing that can also be scaled up or down in order to deliver the volume needs of specific end-users, or to address contaminants of interest.

In April this year, BioLargo, Inc. announced it was moving forward with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, “NAIT”, to develop a fully automated, sensor-driven functional prototype. Dr. Richard Smith, President of BioLargo Water, commented,  “ NAIT’s expertise in sensor technology and process scale up is a critical component to a commercial ready AOS filter. We hope to have this prototype unit to showcase at our second annual technical symposium scheduled summer 2016 .”

Dennis P. Calvert, President and CEO of BioLargo, Inc. said,  “ Excitement for our AOS Filter’s commercial future is expanding as the water industry searches for high performance and cost saving technical solutions to deliver clean water. Our AOS Technology is transformative and expanding in scope and importance. These next steps in our journey to commercialization will enable us and any of our future partners to begin manufacturing and large scale up efforts as well as to customize the AOS Filter to suit the special needs of larger customers.”

Calvert continued,  “ We are extremely proud of our accomplishments in water treatment that can have a significant impact helping provide affordable abundant clean water to a world in great need, and that can have a big impact on environmental pollution, not to mention breakthroughs in odor control, advanced wound care, and food safety. We are on schedule to showcase the Highest Impact, Lowest Cost water treatment system in the world at the University of Alberta on August 15th and are excited to show industry and government a better and lower cost way to treat water especially at a time when potable water is becoming scarcer and more costly.”

The Alpha prototype AOS Filter has been developed in collaboration with technical personnel at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)’s Center for Sensors and Systems Integration and with NAIT’s Applied Bio/Nanotechnology Industrial Research Chair.

Biolargo’s Steady March to Commercialization

BioLargo’s AOS Filter combines a cutting edge carbon matrix, iodine, and electrolysis in a flow-through cell to rapidly and inexpensively eliminate bacteria and chemical contaminants in water. The company reports that it is at the ‘Generation 1 and phase 1’ of its development plan. Its first Alpha prototype, which will showcase at the upcoming technical symposium, delivers unprecedented rates of disinfection against a wide range of pathogens including  Salmonella, Listeria  and  E.coli .

The Beta version, expected soon after this August, will include optimizations for specific uses by target customers. In BioLargo’s case, that first target commercial target is the poultry industry. Management reports that it is working with industry partners, grant agencies, and financial supporters to pinpoint the focus within the poultry industry to accelerate success among a number of valuable opportunities such as process water recycling, livestock drinking water and wastewater treatment.

BioLargo management reports that the next phase (Generation 1 Phase 2) will focus on optimizing the system to remove soluble organic contaminants such as acids, solvents, sulfurs, algal toxins, pharmaceutical by-products and even oil and gas by-products while simultaneously improving ease of use and efficiency of the system.   Following this, the company indicates it will optimize the system (Generation I Phase 3) for resource recovery of valuable waste stream components like nitrates, phosphates, nutrients, and heavy metals. There is also talk of future developments that will include a Generation II unit with high volume capacity, lower input costs, and gravity feed for high volume industrial and municipal applications, however the company remains silent on any details. Management adds,  “ Without the support of our various grant agencies within industry and the Canadian governments, we could never had accomplished such important breakthroughs ”.

The Water Industry is Massive

According to GE the world’s water market is worth $360 billion annually and growing at a rate of 6%, while Bank of America puts the number closer to $500 Billion and projects a growth rate of 6-7%. By all accounts, the water treatment industry is enormous; in the U.S. alone, the market spans over 16,000 municipal water plants, plus many thousands of large private industrial operations requiring improved and low cost water treatment for a plethora of uses.  

As a result of last year’s symposium showcasing the early lab model of the AOS Filter, discussions with potential strategic partners have advanced. BioLargo is in discussions with potential users from the Oil & Gas industry, the Maritime Industry, and the Food Industry. Management is also in early exploratory discussions with potential partners to tackle home drinking water and emerging nations drinking water needs, but has no definitive plans in this area yet. BioLargo expects the upcoming showcase of their new sensor-driven Alpha prototype to draw substantial attention that should soon advance the development of strategic alliances and commercial business opportunities.

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1 Comment

  1. Such Invention should be launched with market intro world wide because need for good quality water is ever increasing in all geographies...Mass production in Regions should also be planned thru suitable tie ups for manufacturing as job work.

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