Zero Energy Water has harnessed the inherent properties of graphene to create a patented industry-compatible membrane that significantly improves flux and reduces energy consumption in water purification and desalination.
Industry Compatible - Zero Energy Water membranes will be used to create industry standard filter modules to allow plug and play upgrades to both new and existing reverse-osmosis applications.
Cost Comparable - Zero Energy Water membranes will cost approximately the same amount to produce as existing membranes.
Longer Lasting - Zero Energy Water membranes are projected to last longer than membranes currently offered in the market place.
Zero Energy Water’s new porous membrane represents a new class of filtration that we are calling Hydro-Pico-Filtration (HPF). Hydro-Pico-Filtration provides an alternative solution to reverse osmosis applications, specifically allowing for a lower energy solution for the separation of compounds and ions from water, the result being ultra-pure water or water with enhanced ionic concentrations. Compared to ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and semi-permeable separations (RO), Hydro-Pico-Filtration flow rates are dictated by the spacing between the graphene plates in combination with electrical charges and Van der Waal’s forces. The result is that Hydro-Pico-Filtration rejects almost everything except water molecules, filtering total dissolved solids at almost the same rejection rate as semi-permeable membranes but with the much lower energy profile referenced previously.
Zero Energy Water’s Hydro-Pico-Filtration (HPF) technology works similarly to cross-flow, reverse-osmosis filtration. After accounting for osmotic pressure, activation pressure for HPF is about 60 PSI (P0) with flux overtaking semi-permeable desalinization membranes at an over pressure 400 PSI (total pressure minus osmotic pressure). Flux across the hydro-pico-filter is approximated by classic filtration relationships, such as Q=k(P-Po)x where x is approximately 0.5. The result being a continued increase in flux as pressure increases. A flux of up to 270 GFD at 800 psi in a sea water desalination test has been documented by an external lab.
As previously stated, Hydro-Pico-Filtration membranes offer higher flux when compared to polyamide-based Reverse Osmosis membranes under the same conditions. The diffusion pressure curve is also different from the filtration pressure curve with a cross over at approximately 400 PSI where the flux of the Hydro-Pico-Filtration membrane surpasses the flux of the Reverse Osmosis membrane and continues to increase as the pressure differential increases.
Properties of Zero Energy Water’s Hydro-Pico-Filter membrane:
Hydro-Pico-Filtration is limited to the treatment of water - either water suspensions or organic suspensions containing water. The key benefit of a Hydro-Pico-Filter is the rejection of all but water molecules. This includes uses impacted by boron, chlorine, fluorine or organic solvents. Hydro-Pico-Filtration is based on graphene composite materials. These materials maintain stability when exposed to organic solvents making Hydro-Pico-Filtration ideal for industries currently not suitable for polyamide based Reverse Osmosis systems. For example, Hydro-Pico-Filtration can be used in various applications such as:
There are other applications in the water purification industry where the cost to remove TDS at high concentration using an RO system is energy intensive. Significant energy savings can be achieved by Hydro-Pico-Filtration systems as the flux at higher pressures can be as much as ten times higher than a traditional polyamide based semi-permeable membrane. Chemical industries (including petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals) have many different applications suitable for the Hydro-Pico-Filtration technology due to its selective removal of water and tolerance to a wide range of pH and organics concentrations.
Although Hydro-Pico-Filtration and Reverse Osmosis systems share the same design and operational applications, there are some significant differences:
Saltwater and Brackish Water Desalinization
Industrial Reverse Osmosis
Oil/Water Separation
Water Treatment
Industries
Mining
Municipal
Desalinization
Food Preparation
Shipping in small quantities for evaluation purposes.
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