Xylem Water Solutions Singapore, the local entity of Xylem Inc, a leading global water technology company, and Gross-Wen Technologies Inc. (GWT), a leading company focused on deploying environmentally-sustainable wastewater treatment solutions, announced a Memorandum of Understanding for a new joint research and development (R&D) project to deploy algae-based wastewater treatment solutions in Singapore. The project will focus on the development of GWT’s existing revolving algal biofilm (RAB®) technology, an algae-based wastewater treatment solution that promotes nutrient recovery while reducing the carbon footprint of water utilities.
The project will specifically feature GWT’s algae-based treatment of anaerobic digestor (AD) effluent for carbon footprint reduction and nutrient recovery. This includes atmospheric CO2 capture by algae, low-energy nitrogen and phosphorus recovery, and reduced nitrous oxide emissions from the concentrated AD effluent. The algae produced during the process will be harvested and used to make fertilizers, bioplastics and biofuels.
As part of the project, the R&D team led by Dr Luo Rongmo, Senior Development Engineer, Xylem Singapore Technology Hub, and Dr Martin Gross, President and CEO, GWT, is awarded up to S$247,000 to implement a small-scale RAB® system at Xylem’s Singapore facility during this Proof of Concept Phase of the Carbon Zero Grand Challenge. If successful, this will be piloted in a full-scale system for PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency.
The project will specifically feature GWT’s algae-based treatment of anaerobic digestor (AD) effluent for carbon footprint reduction and nutrient recovery
Dr Luo Rongmo, Senior Development Engineer, Xylem Singapore Technology Hub, said, “We are pleased to be partnering with Gross-Wen Technologies and combining our strengths in the industry to develop a sustainable wastewater treatment process to help Singapore and water utilities achieve net zero emissions.”
Dr Martin Gross, President and CEO, GWT, said, “Our partnership with Xylem in Singapore is an exciting step forward in the global deployment of GWT's RAB® treatment technology. Our R&D project with PUB will serve as a showcase for how algae treatment can be leveraged to decarbonize the wastewater treatment industry.”
The project was one of the Proposal Phase winners of PUB’s Carbon Zero Grand Challenge, which seeks to incentivize innovative solutions that can help PUB achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and scale to water facilities around the globe. If successful in the Proof of Concept Phase, Xylem Singapore could be awarded a further S$2.5 million to demonstrate a ~1 kiloton-scale version of their solution at a PUB facility in Singapore.
