- Read the full chronicle of this online event: Ceramic era, water filtration redefined
In a recent webinar organised in collaboration with Smart Water Magazine, Cerafiltec presented Ceramic Era: Water Filtration Redefined. The first part of the session looked at the global water challenges driving a reassessment of filtration technology, and at the technical and economic case for ceramic ultrafiltration, featuring Bryan Brister, Managing Director for the Americas at Cerafiltec.
Brister opened by outlining three converging pressures reshaping the water sector: a projected supply gap exceeding 40% between available purified water and demand, demand growth of more than 25%, and the accelerating retirement of water treatment plant operators, with the US EPA projecting that between one third and one half of the workforce will leave within five to ten years. Against this backdrop, he argued that the industry needs filtration technologies optimised not for the challenges of the last 50 years, but for those of the next 50, with resilience, operational simplicity and lifecycle value at the forefront.
Brister then introduced Cerafiltec's ceramic ultrafiltration systems, based on sintered alumina plates configured into submerged, low-pressure towers, and explained the material properties that underpin their performance: chemical inertness, thermal stability, and tolerance of aggressive cleaning that would degrade polymeric membranes over time. On economics, he was direct: the capex premium over polymeric systems, once a significant barrier, now sits at 10 to 40%, while ceramic systems deliver up to 40% less energy consumption, up to 60% less maintenance, and a lifespan five times or better than polymer-based competitors, making the total cost of ownership case increasingly compelling for mainstream water infrastructure.
