Technology

Aromatec holds an exclusive, worldwide license in a new hollow-fiber Forward Osmosis (“FO”) technology originally developed by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU).

FO is an osmotic process that uses a semi-permeable membrane to effect separation of water from dissolved solutes. It works without the application of external, hydraulic pressure. Based on osmotic pressure differences, a draw solute draws water through the membrane until the pressure differences in the two segments are balanced. The working principle is illustrated below.

While FO has been on the market already mainly as a flat sheet membrane with limited market penetration until today, the hollow fiber FO membrane technology of Aromatec, developed at NTU, Singapore, overcomes several essential technical challenges. In particular, it possesses an optimized flow pattern required for an efficient FO process.

Aromatec’s FO is able to deliver high FO flux (meaning highly efficient concentration of feed), low salt back flux (meaning low draw solution leakage into feed) and is easy to be manufactured and scaled up for higher volume applications.”

The inventors of the technology received prestigious academic awards such as the Alternative Water Resources Prize, which was awarded to NTU professors Prof. Wang Rong and Prof. Anthony Fane by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon in 2017.

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The inventors of the technology received prestigious academic awards such as the Alternative Water Resources Prize, which was awarded to NTU professors Prof. Wang Rong and Prof. Anthony Fane by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon in 2017.

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Aromatec has demonstrated that its technology is highly efficient in terms of concentration, i.e., it can generate a high concentration factor for the feed solution, while being able to retain the taste profile / Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), nutrients, etc.

The rights in the technology for applications in industrial waste water treatment, in particular, the de-watering of reject/concentrate from membrane-based water treatment plants, have been sub-licensed by Aromatec to De.mem Pte Ltd, Singapore.