Water & Wastewater Asia September/October 2019

Water & Wastewater Asia 

INCORPORATING THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE SINGAPORE WATER ASSOCIATION 

MICA (P) No: 076/05/2019 • ISSN: 2010-233X • KDN: PPS 1501/11/2012(022878) • www.waterwastewaterasia.com • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

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WATER & WASTEWATER ASIA 

CONTENTS 

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2019 

3 Editor’s Note 

4 News 

44 SWA Newsletter 

63 Events Calendar 

64 Advertiser’s Index 

11 

MARKET REPORT 

8 Looking beyond the Internet of Things: NB-IoT 

14 

19 

24 

MYANMAR WATER PORTAL 

11 The Amarapura Project: Improving water service in Mandalay City 

IN PERSON 

14 Silvertex: Sometimes, less is more 

FROM THE GROUND 

16 Advanced radar technology optimises separation process 

performance 

19 All Aboard! Landia’s BioMover Mixers head to Beijing 

20 New perspective on sources with ozone treatment of wastewater 

INSIGHT 

22 Continuous Microbial Monitoring: On site, real time & fully automated 

(Part One) 

24 Effi cient sludge thickening and dewatering: How to fi nd the right 

parameters for choosing the ideal solution 

28 The dock “thinks” for itself 

32 Communicative trends in process automation 

34 Balmoral Tanks expands APAC footprint 

36 Improving water access intelligently with technology 

38 Using the vortex layer of ferromagnetic particles in wastewater 

treatment (Part Two) 

OPINION 

40 Business raising its ambition to meet the wastewater opportunity 

42 Atmospheric Water Generators gaining prominence in water-scarce 

areas 

28 

32 

COMPANY PROFILE 

48 Digitising water with BEULCO 

50 From Water-Wise Buildings to river clean-ups: Ecosoftt leads the 

way in water and social enterprise 

52 Reaching new heights with Borouge 

TECH ROUND UP 

54 “A high-rise apartment for bacteria”: How KURAGEL’s 

revolutionising the market 

56 Tsurumi single-phase portable residue drainage pumps 

58 Emerson introduces new 2-wire Coriolis fl ow meter 

60 Show Previews

EDITOR’S 

NOTE 

LOOKING AT WATER’S 

EVER-CHANGING LANDSCAPE 

Much like the ebb and flow of the ocean’s waves, change is a constant occurence, and technology 

and innovaon never stay in one place for too long. It’s always interesng to see how technology 

evolves to meet changing demands, and how it makes the process of treang water and wastewater 

so much easier for plants and organisaons that deal with water. 

NATALIE CHEW 

Assistant Editor 

LET'S CONNECT! 

 

@waterwastewaterasia 

Take, for example, Emerson’s new 2-wire Coriolis flow meter (p.58), aimed at making it possible to 

replace exisng 2-wire flow devices with minimal effort, and the new NSL OilChem Waste Management 

(p.6) which is designed to treat a wide spectrum of industrial wastewater from industries such as 

petrochemicals, pharmaceucal, and automove. 

It was an interesng chat with Dr Low Chin Nam, execuve director of NSL Ltd, and Jeffrey Fung, chief 

execuve officer of NSL OilChem Waste Management, as they shared more about how they made sure 

NSL OilChem Waste Management stayed in line with the environmentally-sustainable pracces enforced 

by Singapore’s PUB, while staying ahead of its competors and on top of the game. 

Besides making work easier and more efficient, technology is also improving for another important 

reason: Alleviang the burden that water-scarce territories are currently facing, or will eventually face. 

Sumit Gunawant Kulkarni, research analyst at Adroit Market Research (p.42), talks about how atmospheric 

water generators (AWGs) are growing in popularity as soluons to counter water scarcity in places such 

as rain shadow areas, where there isn’t much proximity to aquac systems. Besides addressing both 

water and air polluon concerns, AWGs are also a likely low-cost alternave to convenonal electric 

power sources – read to find out more! 

On a similar note, the Amarapura Project (p.11) marks effort made towards improving the lives of those 

living in the Amarapura Township in Mandalay City. Supported by French NGO GRET, in consorum with 

French consulng firm Suez Consulng, the project aimed to communicate with the people living in the 

township and help households gain access to an improved water source. 

A company closer to home is also doing its part – local water soluons provider Ecosot (p.50) uses a 

unique business model to balance business and social enterprise, doing its part to bring sustainable 

soluons for water and sanitaon to underprivileged communies. The company seems to be on the 

right track so far with what it’s doing, if its recently-won Zayed Sustainability Prize is any indicaon! 

Technology as a whole is geng more and more advanced, but there are also those who set out to 

prove that innovaon doesn’t have to be complicated. Take Silvertex (p.14) as an example: Produced by 

Silvertex Aqua, Silvertex aids in the process of disinfecon in the water treatment process… And looks 

a lot simpler than one might imagine. Along the same vein is KURAGEL (p.54), produced by Japanese 

company Kuraray and made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). How it works? Simply add it into any exisng 

aeraon tank and you’re all set. 

Change is a constant occurrence indeed – and the same can be said for technology. Whether complicated 

or simple, technology and innovaon are ever-changing, and ever-evolving, to suit our needs. 

Water & Wastewater Asia 

is the official publication of the 

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Water & Wastewater Asia • September / October 2019

4 | NEWS 

PT. Grundfos Pompa inaugurates its branch office in 

Surabaya, Indonesia 

PT. GRUNDFOS POMPA recently inaugurated 

its new office building in Surabaya, Indonesia. 

The new branch office in Surabaya will help 

Grundfos cater to key customers across key 

segments including Industry, Water Utility, 

Commercial Building Services and Domestic 

Building Services. 

core. In addition to being comfortable, it is 

also equipped with supporting facilities such 

as service workshops (after sales service), 

training rooms and product displays. All this 

will further support our reach and service 

to the Eastern Indonesian market more 

freely.” WWA 

Kim Jensen, regional managing director 

(Grundfos Asia Pacific Region) and Giancarlo 

Roggiolani, general manager (Grundfos 

Indonesia & Philippines), along with the key 

management team members from Indonesia, 

customers and partners were all present at 

the inaugural event. 

Kim Jensen, regional 

managing director 

(Grundfos Asia 

Pacific Region) and 

Giancarlo Roggiolani, 

general manager 

(Grundfos Indonesia 

& Philippines) 

Commenting on the inauguration, Roggiolani 

said, “Our new branch office in Surabaya 

has been designed to keep efficiency at its 

MICRODYN-NADIR launches a fresh look as 

part of MANN+HUMMEL 

MICRODYN-NADIR, a membrane 

manufacturer, has launched its new 

corporate brand look to reflect its global 

outlook. The bright green colours align with 

its parent company, MANN+HUMMEL, but 

also demonstrate its ties to the environment 

as a membrane manufacturer for water, 

wastewater, and process products. 

“Our customers remain the focus 

of everything we do as we reposition 

ourselves in the global market and boost our 

capabilities. We are proud to be partnering 

more closely with our parent company,” said 

Walter Lamparter, MICRODYN-NADIR CEO. 

Throughout the colour changes, acquisitions, 

and new product lines, the company vision 

remains unchanged: make the world a better 

place by supplying superior membrane 

solutions that lead to clean water. 

MICRODYN-NADIR has been part of 

A look at the newly-updated website 

MANN+HUMMEL since 2015, operating 

as the water business unit within the Life 

Sciences & Environment (LS&E) segment 

of the global filtration titan. The company’s 

investment in LS&E allows MICRODYN-NADIR 

to continuing in a growth pattern. The new 

corporate brand reflects the future plans the 

company envisions as part of LS&E. 

The fresh look includes a redesign of the logo 

and an updated website, product packaging, 

and trade show presence. WWA 


NEWS | 5 

A holistic revamp of Malaysia’s water industry 

DR XAVIER JAYAKUMAR said during his 

speech at the soft launch of the Malaysia 

International Water Convention 2019 (MIWC) 

that the country was expected to see its 

water resources reduced by 20 per cent to 

25 per cent from 2025 to 2030. Despite that 

looming threat, Malaysia’s water industry 

was not equipped to effectively address a 

water shortage. 

500 conference participants, 

100 exhibitors, and 5,000 trade 

visitors from the region. 

The National Water Services Commission 

(SPAN) and Water Supply Department have 

been commissioned to conduct a full audit 

on the current water systems in all States. 

Dr Jayakumar stated, “We need to sit down 

and reorganise plans on water resources 

for the next 25 years”. He wants to conduct 

a holistic revamp of the water industry, 

including upgrading water meters, reservoirs, 

tanks and underground pipelines. 

MIWC will be held on 1 to 3 October at the 

Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition 

Centre in Kuala Lumpur, organised by 

Malaysian Water Association and supported 

by Ministry of Water, Land and Natural 

Resources (KATS) and Ministry of Energy, 

Science, Technology, Environment and 

Climate Change (MESTECC). The event will 

welcome more than 70 international experts, 

Themed “Advancing Innovation, 

Embracing Transformation 

and Securing the future” with 

core focus on water 4.0, digital 

adoption, IOT, intelligent water 

management system; the event 

promises an excellent return 

on investment with a range of 

progressive and stimulating 

formats that includes Exhibition, Conference, 

Workshops, Water Innovation Awards, Technical 

Tours, Young Water Professionals programme, 

Gala dinner and complimentary Innovation 

Talk sessions for the discerning trade visitors. 

Visit MIWC 2019, to gain more insights into 

Malaysia’s water challenges, explore the 

solutions and be a part of the collaboration 

opportunities from revamping Malaysia’s Water 

industry. WWA 


NSL OilChem Waste Management has officially opened its second industrial wastewater treatment plant designed to treat a wide spectrum of industrial wastewater 

NSL OilChem Waste Management Officially Opens 

$40 million Industrial Wastewater Treatment Complex 

NSL OILCHEM WASTE MANAGEMENT PTE LTD, the environmental 

services arm of NSL Ltd, has officially opened a brand-new industrial 

wastewater treatment plant designed to treat a wide spectrum 

of industrial wastewater from industries such as petrochemicals, 

pharmaceutical, and automotive. 

To meet the challenges of industrial wastewater management in a more 

effective manner, NSL OilChem Waste Management collaborates closely 

on the R&D front with the Nanyang Environmental and Water Resources 

Institute at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) as well as other 

academic institutions. 

The $40 million wastewater treatment complex is the company’s 

second treatment plant and has a capacity of 1000 cubic metres 

per day – one of the largest in Singapore. 

“The NSL OilChem Waste Management’s industrial wastewater 

treatment complex will be an important facility in Singapore’s 

growing chemicals industry where there is demand for increasingly 

challenging industrial wastewater treatment,” said Dr Low Chin Nam, 

executive director of NSL Ltd. 

Located in Tuas, the wastewater treatment complex underscores 

the company’s commitment in Research and Development (R&D) 

capabilities to deploy state-of-the-art technology to address 

complex wastewater issues. 

The plant is able to treat two types of industrial wastewater: 

• Wastewater with high mineral content (TDS), high chemicals 

content (COD) from pharmaceutical, petrochemical, chemical and 

automotive industries 

• Wastewater with high biological oxygen demand (BOD) from the 

food and beverages industry 

With a robust R&D panel set to find innovative technologies to treat 

challenging trade effluents and a well-equipped laboratory that can 

conduct a range of treatability studies, NSL OilChem Waste Management 

is confident that is can tailor optimum and cost-effective wastewater 

treatment solutions that are in line with the Public Utilities Board (PUB)’s 

environmentally sustainable practices. 

Dr Low elaborated, “We collect wastewater from different industries, the 

characteristics of this wastewater are highly variable and it is thus our 

challenge to ensure its treatability in our process to, most importantly, 

meet PUB discharge requirements.” 

Jeffrey Fung, chief executive officer of NSL OilChem Waste Management, 

added, “To run this plant is not easy, we spend a lot of time thinking 

about treatability, cost sustainability, safety and compliance issues. The 

hardware is all in place, the next challenge is people – where do we find 

the people who can run this plant? The most important thing we look 

for is the passion in the job - if you come in just to do a job and earn an 

income, this is not the place for that.” WWA 


NEWS | 7 

Raffles Institution hosts First Youths’ Symposium on 

Sustainable Water Future 

Hosted by Raffles Institution (RI) 

and supported by PUB, Singapore’s 

National Water Agency, the 

Singapore Youth Water Conference (SYWC) 

is the first student-oriented symposium 

focused on the topic of water. 

The conference aimed to create a deeper 

awareness and knowledge of water security 

and sustainability issues in youth aged 

15 to 18 years old, and was attended by over 

200 students from 11 schools. 

With a theme of “The Future of Water”, the 

SYWC was also organised as a follow-up to 

this year’s Singapore International Water 

Week (SIWW) Spotlight 2019 event that was 

organised in partnership with Ecosperity 

Week, to encourage youths to continue the 

dialogue from SIWW and share their thoughts 

on the pressing challenges faced by the 

water industry today and in the future. 

In addition to the conference, students 

from various schools including Hwa Chong 

Institution and Nanyang Polytechnic had 

the chance to exhibit their solutions to 

water challenges and sharing of water 

conservation messages, such as the use 

of environmentally-friendly hydrogels for 

stormwater management, synthesising 

biochar from plants to remove common 

pollutants in wastewater, and educating 

their peers on the water treatment 

process through a fun card game. 

Highlights of the students’ solution exhibit 

included a study conducted by RI students 

Liu Kaizhong, Melvin Loh, Bek Ming Huan, 

Justyn Lae and Yeo Eng Xuan, on the 

effects that laccase enzymes produced 

by the tree oyster mushroom (Pleurotus 

Ostreatus) could have on the degradation 

of textile dyes, and further effects on 

chemical oxygen demand levels. The study 

Students Choy Xin Yun, Vaishaanth Nagaraj and Liao Xinglin at the Singapore Science & Engineering Fair (SSEF) 

found that laccase enzymes were a more and surface area, and was more effective 

viable, cost-effective method that could be in removing heavy metal ions from water as 

deployed by less developed countries. compared to raw SMC, which highlighted 

strong potential for commercial use. 

The students explained, “We wanted to focus 

on this because we wanted to target LDCs – Explained Nagaraj, “Heavy metal ions 

less developed countries. Many people focus have a harmful effect on the human body. 

on using more expensive technologies and What we’re trying to do in our project is 

we’re trying to find a cheaper method for this.” discover and synthesise a material that is 

effective in removing these heavy metal 

Another study that attracted a high level ions from water, so this water is now 

of interest was conducted by RI students safe for human consumption.” 

Choy Xin Yun, Liao Xinglin and Vaishaanth 

Nagaraj. The group explored the efficiency His groupmate Liao added, “In the end, this is 

of different types of biochar produced not just an academic project, it’s something 

from spent mushroom compost (SMC) in we want to commercialise. Our scope is not 

removing heavy metal ions such as lead and just in Singapore, it can go overseas – in other 

copper from water. The group found that countries, this will see lots of interest.” WWA 

all SMC biochar had higher pore density 


8 | MARKET REPORT 

Looking 

beyond the 

Internet of 

Things: NB-IoT 

Metasphere has successfully trialled its Point Orange IoT 

RTUs in Australia and New Zealand 

The delicate art of conservation has 

never been more important for one 

of our most precious resources 

– water. We can’t live without it, but as 

climate change’s perfect storm gathers – 

rising urban populations; falling supplies of 

unadulterated fresh water – we must work 

out how to make the most of every last drop. 

For many countries, cities and remote areas 

right across the continent of Asia, water and 

wastewater management are now absolute 

top priorities. As Patrick Decker, president & 

CEO of Xylem, recently said, “These urgent 

threats are not some far-off problem in the 

future… We need step-change, and digital 

innovation is the answer.” 

With our unquenchable thirst for water, 

we’ve shaped our own civilisations around 

its outlets – rivers, lakes, wells, natural 

springs – and used our genius and ingenuity 

to dispose of, treat and re-use wastewater 

ever more effectively. We’ve dug and drilled 

wells, laid pipes, gouged out canals, sucked 

and siphoned it out of every little and big 

hole over the millennia – for drinking, 

transporting, washing, diluting, draining 

and all water’s myriad other purposes. But 

the 21 st -century art of water conservation 

and management is unrecognisable from 

the past, as revolutionary technology’s 

shockwaves reverberate through this ancient 

human endeavour. 

The high-tech revolution can be found in 

the now-ubiquitous Internet of Things (IoT), 

whose ‘smart’ fingertips are setting every 

conceivable ‘thing’ aglow with connectivity, 

from ‘smart’ meters to vending machines to 

cattle to toilets to pet-tracking to… Well, 

you name it. 

And the recent accelerative thrust behind 

the IoT revolution is provided by the Narrow- 

Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), with the 

Asia-Pacific region (APAC) in the NB-IoT 

vanguard. APAC is the largest regional IoT 

market in the world, and by 2025 it will 

account for the highest number of Mobile IoT 

connections – more than one billion of the 

world’s 1.9 billion, according to GSMA, the 

organisation representing mobile operators 

worldwide. 

What exactly is NB-IoT? It is a form of 

Low-Power-Wide-Area-Network (LPWAN) 

technology developed to enable a wide 

range of new IoT devices and services. 

For the first time, NB-IoT offers significant 

improvements in the power consumption of 

user devices, system capacity and spectrum 

efficiency, allowing low-power devices to 

be linked wirelessly in a network, efficiently 

connecting sensors that can be installed in 

remote and hitherto inaccessible places. 

Using NB-IoT can considerably extend the 


MARKET REPORT | 9 

battery life of remote telemetry units (RTUs), 

with some equipment able to run for at least 

a decade on a single battery. This benefit 

translates immediately into huge potential 

for water and wastewater-supply utilities, 

allowing for the deployment at multiple sites 

of low-cost devices on their networks for 

many purposes, including utility metering, 

flow and pressure monitoring, water-level 

monitoring and quality control. 

The technology is supported by all major 

mobile equipment, chipset and module 

manufacturers, and sits comfortably 

alongside 2G, 3G and 4G networks, also 

benefiting from their inherent security and 

privacy features, including support for useridentity 

confidentiality, entity authentication, 

data integrity, and mobile-equipment 

identification. NB-IoT users can rest assured, 

therefore, that they have a highly secure 

platform. 

The ‘Point Orange IoT’ 

battery-powered RTU 

was unveiled in June 

this year 

It’s unsurprising, therefore, that NB-IoT is 

now the go-to technology worldwide for 

applications and services in industries as 

diverse as agriculture – where it can track 

and monitor crops in real-time to improve 

yields – health, science, retail and city living. 

And the technology is changing business 

and consumer lives across Asia, whether it 

be tracking traffic and weather conditions 

for tourists climbing Mount Fuji in Japan, 

providing automated fish-feeding in 

Indonesia, optimising waste management 

with smart litter bins in Singapore, or 

tracking the temperature of fresh/frozen 

foods and medicine in Thailand. 

In the world of water and wastewater, on this 

new and exciting global frontier one horse is 

galloping ahead of the rest: Metasphere, a 

remote telemetry specialist servicing major 

urban water-supply utilities, in Australasia 

and SE Asia with the use of NB-IoT in their 

network monitoring and data-logging 

systems. 

But with that perfect storm brewing, of more 

people and less usable fresh water, supply 

and resource recovery utilities will need 

ever-smarter solutions to safeguard their 

assets. Which is where NB-IoT can help, 

providing indispensable services – timely 

flood warnings, water quality warnings, for 

example – and offering a range of practical 

uses that meet the challenges of 21 st -century 

water management, specifically those 

relating to communication and data. 

NB-IoT systems can be deployed remotely 

to monitor water supplies and resource 

recovery infrastructures, including rivers, 

channels, control gates and sewage outlets. 

Near real-time data on water levels and 

quality is received via RTUs involving gauges 

and sensors, thereby enhancing utilities’ 

responses to changes in the system. The 

data itself comes via a SCADA system 

(Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) 

– or Metasphere’s own web-hosted ‘Palette’ 

data-trend and alarm-monitoring platform. 

From an early stage, Metasphere has 

been involved in trials with mobile-phone 


10 | MARKET REPORT 

operators Vodafone (Australia, Ireland and 

UK), Telefónica (called O2 in the UK) and 

Telstra. In Australia, Metasphere has been 

testing RTU devices with NB-IoT with both 

Vodafone and Telstra – and with the latter, 

testing has included CAT-M1 (also known 

as LTE-M, another LPWAN technology that 

is part of the 4G standard). 

In the UK, Metasphere has helped supply 

Vodafone and O2 (who share mobilephone 

infrastructure in the UK) with its 

RTU telemetry devices, testing on NB-IoT 

for Vodafone and CAT-M1 for O2. Through 

its single global modem which spans both 

technologies, the intuitive Metasphere 

innovation promises flexibility and simplicity 

with remote, configurable solutions that are 

either CAT-M1 or NB-IoT. 

Telstra and Vodafone in Australia are now 

adding NB-IoT to their networks, both 

helped by Metasphere, who tested NB-IoT 

logging devices for Telstra before deploying 

them for Sydney Water in May 2018. The 

units have been performing admirably well, 

across networks in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth 

and Brisbane. 

Vodafone Australia’s Executive General 

Manager of Enterprise, Stuart Kelly, says 

the new economically viable technology 

has provided more openings for increased 

connectivity between devices, and shown 

considerably improved battery life: “NB- 

IoT offers customers a range of benefits, 

including greater power efficiency, which 

means less need for investment in hardware 

and resources relating to sourcing and 

replacing batteries. The result is increased 

longevity for assets, reducing the need for 

site visits while devices are being used in 

the field.” 

Testing also revealed significant NB- 

IoT-related improvements to coverage, 

compared with previously deployed 2G, 3G 

and 4G technology. Coverage is boosted 

within a mast area through enhancements 

in RF spectrum usage and modulation 

schemes. Devices transmitted and received 

signals through at least two double-brick 

walls, meaning networks can be connected 

in previously impenetrable places such 

as basements and sewerage systems. 

Metasphere has seen data being pulled 

from three storeys underground (without 

an external antenna) and similarly so from 

below manhole covers and inside buildings. 

When Vodafone Australia tested distance 

coverage of up to 30km in the suburbs of 

Melbourne was recorded, demonstrating 

further how useful NB-IoT is to utility 

companies gathering data across wide 

networks. 

Paul Hart, Metasphere’s Commercial Director, 

said the company was “delighted to have 

successfully trialled our Point Orange IoT 

RTUs on both Telstra (NB-IoT and CAT-M1) 

and Vodafone (NB-IoT) networks across 

Australia and Vodafone and Spark’s NB-IoT 

networks in New Zealand”. 

“Interest in and uptake of our IoT RTUs by 

water-sector clients,” he added, “has been 

significant, with clients keen to use them 

for monitoring flow, pressure, surface and 

groundwater level, rainfall and water quality 

– along with other critical information.” 

Metasphere’s accurate and dependable 

telemetry devices, partnering with Telstra 

and Vodafone’s fully licensed spectrum and 

3GPP-based secure mobile networks, have 

improved services across many of Australia’s 

key water-supply and water-resource 

recovery utilities. 

Telstra is also working with German firm 

Software AG to develop a digital, automated 

water management solution for utility 

providers in Australia, harnessing the 

combined forces of an NB-IoT network with 

digital water meters, pressure sensors and 

IoT analytics. 

At Busselton Water in Western Australia, 

which supplies 26,000-plus customers with 

drinking water, Telstra aims to collect data on 

pressure, consumption, and alerts such as 

pressure drops from state-of-the-art digital 

meters managed via its IoT platform and 

Software AG’s ‘Cumulocity’ IoT Accelerator. 

The venture is currently at proof-of-concept 

stage, but Telstra plans in time to offer the 

solution to water utilities across Australia. 

Software AG, meanwhile, has big plans for 

transforming healthcare through its IoT 

technology, having done so for Singaporebased 

Fullerton Health, which operates more 

than 500 healthcare facilities and a network 

of healthcare providers across Asia. 

Vodafone’s NB-IoT deployment now also 

covers China, South America and Europe, 

and Metasphere is testing its IoT RTU 

devices across a wide geographical area, too, 

with reports of units operating successfully 

immediately upon first activation. Its 

‘Point Orange IoT’ battery-powered RTU 

was unveiled in June this year, and the 

Metasphere ‘Point Blue IoT’ ATEX-certified 

unit is due for release late 2019. 

It may not be too long before NB-IoT 

becomes a household name and we find 

this revolutionary technology connecting 

everything and every one of us to a better 

future. WWA 


MYANMAR WATER PORTAL | 11 

The Amarapura Project: 

Improving water service in 

Mandalay City 

By Kyaw Nyunt Linn 

Initiated by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in 

partnership with Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC), 

the Amarapura Project aims to provide new access to water 

services for at least 2000 households in the Amarapura Township 

and implement incentive measures for these households to connect 

to the networks. 

The project is supported by French NGO GRET, in consortium with French 

consulting firm Suez Consulting. The AFD has also provided a grant of 

2.5 million Euros (SGD $3.9 million) to the MCDC to finance this project. 

The Water Association conducted 

an interview with GRET’s Thibaut 

Le Loc’h, coordinator of the 

Water, Sanitation and Solid Waste 

Management programme in Myanmar, 

to learn more about his efforts 

and thoughts on improving water 

service in Mandalay City through 

the Amarapura Water and Sanitation 

Project. 

access to the water service for poor households; and sensitise 

the population on safe water use and hygiene in the Project area. 

BEFORE IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT, HOW WAS 

THE WATER SITUATION IN AMARAPURA? 

More than 80 per cent of the population of the project area still 

rely on their own private water resource for their supply, usually a 

shallow tube well, but around 60 per cent of them purchase purified 

bottled water for drinking purposes. The problem is that the poorest 

households cannot afford bottled water and therefore have to drink 

the water from tube and open wells, which is of poor quality. 

In terms of sanitation, preliminary 

investigations showed that almost 

90 per cent of the inhabitants have 

their own latrine but the conditions 

of these facilities are such that they 

rarely prevent human health and 

environment hazards (no improved 

sanitation facilities and low standards 

in desludging practices). 

WHAT WAS THE ENGAGEMENT 

METHOD USED TO REGAIN 

TRUST TOWARDS MCDC AND 

THE LOCAL MUNICIPALITY? 

A social engineering strategy has 

been designed in order to ensure good 

communication about the works, the 

Project and the water service in the 

Project area; foster connection to the 

networks through a social marketing 

approach; ensure fair access to 

the service for all by supporting 

MCDC in implementing adapted 

mechanisms, in particular to facilitate 

Comparison between the cost of piped water with drums and 

purified bottled water 

WHY DID THE LOCALS 

NOT CONNECT TO THE 

NETWORKS? 

Extensive investigations (surveying 

almost 1000 households) conducted 

at the beginning of the project showed 

that a lack of communication was 

often the main reason for people not 

to connect. 

Moreover, lack of knowledge about the 

benefits brought by drinkable water 

and the complexity of the procedure 

to apply for a new connection was 


12 | MYANMAR WATER PORTAL 

regularly quoted by interviewees, and some 

people expressed a lack of trust towards 

the MCDC. Interestingly, the cost of the 

connection and of the service was very rarely 

mentioned as an impediment to connecting. 

AFTER IMPLEMENTING THE 

PROJECT, WHAT WERE THE 

CHANGES IMPLEMENTED AND HOW 

HAS THE CURRENT SITUATION 

IMPROVED? 

Monitoring equipment has been procured 

and installed: a borehole inspection camera 

to inspect the tube wells, piezometers 

to monitor the level of the aquifer, large 

diameter flowmeters to monitor the quantity 

of water supplied by the different BPS, etc. 

Equipment related to the detection and the 

repair of leaks has also been provided within 

the framework of a specific component of the 

project aims to implement a comprehensive 

Non-Revenue Water (NRW) strategy in a 

District Metered Area (DMA) created in a 

central ward of the City. 

The MCDC is being supported to create a 

simple computerised customer and meter 

database, define a procedure to regularly 

update this database and link it to the 

generation of commercial indicators. The 

overall objective of this support is to 

demonstrate the usefulness of this tool to 

generate commercial indicators (related 

to consumption, invoicing, etc.) that is 

useful to monitor the service, to improve 

the management of the meters’ park, to 

detect irregularities and, at a later stage, 

to ease the implementation of improved 

service invoicing modalities. The rationale 

behind this is that it is easier to manage a 

service if its strengths and weaknesses are 

well identified. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE PROJECT? 

For the time being, our first objective is to 

complete the works in Amarapura, to support 

as many people as possible to connect to the 

Speech by Dr Khin Maung Lwin about the benefits of drinkable water 

networks, and to assist MCDC to take over 

the operation of the water system and the 

management of the service in order to deliver 

a high-quality service to its customers. The 

second objective is for this pilot project to 

benefit MCDC through the implementation 

of the larger-scale projects currently under 

preparation or ongoing in the water sector 

in Mandalay by sharing the lessons learnt, 

providing tools and methods, etc. 

WHAT FURTHER SUPPORT 

IS NEEDED TO IMPROVE THE 

SITUATION IN AMARAPURA? 

After completion of this project, at least 2000 

households should have gained access to an 

improved water source. However, in terms of 

sanitation, the situation remains unchanged 

and hazardous, entailing greater exposure to 

pollution, infectious and chronic diseases. 

GRET is actively looking for partners to 

implement an integrated project combining 

wastewater, drainage and solid waste 

management in the project area, in order 

to contribute to the achievement of the 

Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 11 

approved by the United Nations in 2015. WWA 

Implementation of piping works 

All photo credits to GRET. 


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14 | IN PERSON 

Silvertex: 

Sometimes, 

less is 

more 

In the age of the Internet of Things (IoT) 

and the ever-growing push towards 

Industry 4.0, plant owners constantly 

seek better, more advanced solutions to 

their problems – inadvertently forgetting 

that sometimes, the best solutions might 

just be the simplest. Here, Silvertex 

Aqua offers an ingenious solution 

to aid the process of disinfection in 

the water treatment process, where 

biocides or UV light are commonly used. 

A 

silver-coated 3D textile, Silvertex works without energy or 

repeat doses to protect water against bacterial contamination 

and biofilm growth, over a period of up to two years. The 

material was developed in collaboration with the Technical University 

of Dresden and is produced in Germany. 

Birgit Dursch, founder and executive partner of Silvertex Aqua, 

explained, “Silvertex is not a membrane, filter or disinfectant. We 

use the microbiological effect of silver ions in liquids, and we can 

keep water quality good for a long time with a very low amount of 

silver ions in the water.” 

How Silvertex works is based off the principle of avoidance – the 

metallic silver attached to the silver-coated thread acts as a reservoir 

for generating and regularly releasing Ag+ ions in the water to 

decontaminate the water and inhibit the growth of bacteria. 

Dursch said, “The antibacterial effect of silver has been well known 

since the middle ages – these dark, shiny fibres on the Silvertex mat 

are silver-coated plastic fibres, and with this 3D mesh structure, we 

are able to bring a huge silver contact surface into the water. One 

square metre of this material brings us about 24 square metres of 

silver contact surface, and for this we need a very low amount of 

silver, about 6-12 grams per square metre.” 

In this way, Dursch explained, the textile acts as a substitute for 

biocides, and reduces biofilm growth in drinking, production, cooling, 

process and industrial water systems. 

Birgit Dursch, Founder and Executive Partner of Silvertex Aqua 

“In the area of drinking water, you normally have a gap between 

water production and consumption: You produce water, but not all 

the water will be consumed in time. So, you store the water, you fill it 

up into water trucks or big tanks. And the water stands in pipes – in 

this way the water gets contaminated, the bacteria, viruses, fungi 

and spores are able to grow in the water again, in the water that the 

customer is drinking. Otherwise, the customer will have a problem 

with biofilms in the water supply network. 


IN PERSON | 15 

There are two ways to install Silvertex: suspended on a plastic mesh, or on a frame in the water 

In the area of processed water, we have 

the same problem with storage water. 

Companies that produce things like rubber 

or pharmaceuticals need a huge amount of 

water, they have to store a huge amount, and 

this allows bacteria to grow. So, they have to 

disinfect the water, but disinfection makes the 

water quality worse. Secondly, disinfection by 

biocides is a harmful method of disinfection, 

chemical disinfection or UV light needs a 

power supply, and it is only a quick disinfection 

without any long-term effect – they have to 

disinfect again and again, and normally they 

don’t know how much disinfection is needed 

to bring the right quality to the water. We are 

experiencing that an increasing number of 

companies would like to reduce the number 

of chemical biocides that they use.” 

SILVERTEX IN INDUSTRIAL 

APPLICATIONS 

This is where Silvertex comes in: According 

to Dursch, the formation of biofilms is a big 

problem for cooling towers in industrial 

applications. 

“When we have no bacteria in the water, 

biofilms cannot form, and this is very 

important to the industrial application 

because one problem in the cooling towers 

is bacteria like legionella, the water-borne 

bacteria. We have two issues with the cooling 

tower areas: the first issue is water-borne 

bacteria, because water gives aerosols into 

the air, and the second issue is to avoid the 

formation of biofilms in the water supply 

system or the technical equipment.” 

She added that using Silvertex to disinfect 

water is simpler than most would think: 

Just install the mat and you’re done. In fact, 

she claims it’s so easy to use that anybody 

can do it, “It’s not a digital product, it’s not 

Industry or Water 4.0 or anything like that – 

but every person is able to use this material. 

Think about the employees in a company. If 

they have to install or change the material, 

anybody can do that. You don’t need an 

expert, you don’t need a power supply, and 

it’s not harmful.” 

However, Dursch admitted that there 

were obstacles towards more widespread 

acceptance of the product. “It’s the perception 

that people already have of silver – when we 

talk about silver, some people think about 

nanosilver, which is a harmful substance. 

We don’t work with nanosilver. And when we 

use the word silver some people think it’s 

very expensive, but they don’t know that we 

only need 12 grams per square metre. When 

you imagine the price of silver it’s between 

30 to 50 Euro cents per gram, it’s not very 

expensive.” 

A close-up of the Silvertex textile 

GOING FORWARD 

Silvertex enjoys commercial success back 

home in Germany, but its plans for the future 

include expansion into the Asian market, and 

a recently-established joint venture (Silvertex 

Plus Ltd) with KhaiEL GmbH Incorporated, 

a company specialising in technology for 

industries including custom manufacturing 

and wastewater treatment. 

Shared Dursch, “The Asian market is a very 

huge market for our solution, because in the 

Asian region the people have to have water 

storages in households, and the water supply 

in the rural areas, it’s a big issue. During the 

expo exhibition in Shanghai this year, in May, 

I met a lot of companies from Singapore 

and they told me they have a big problem 

in industrial water, in the microbiological 

contamination of cooling towers and cooling 

water circulation systems. I learnt a lot about 

the issues and goals of Singaporeans to save 

water and so I think our material can play a 

part in solving this problem.” WWA 


16 | FROM THE GROUND 

Advanced radar technology 

optimises separation process 

performance 

Emerson’s Varshneya Sridharan explains how the latest guided wave radar transmitters can minimise 

product cross-contamination and increase throughput by accurately measuring a thinner top liquid layer 

to the top of a tank, improve measurement reliability by overcoming the challenge of double bounces, 

and increase safety through remote proof-testing capability. 

The ability of manufacturers and 

processing companies to produce 

final products that meet stringent 

quality standards can often be influenced by 

how efficiently a liquid separation process 

is performed. To help make the process 

of separating two immiscible liquids in a 

tank or vessel as efficient as possible, it is 

crucial to install instrumentation that can 

perform accurate and reliable interface level 

measurements. 

In most interface applications, the liquids will 

separate and settle naturally because of their 

different densities, with the lower density 

liquid on top of the higher density liquid. In 

the example of oil and water occupying the 

same vessel, the oil floats on top of the water, 

and the interface would be the lower level 

of the oil and the upper level of the water. 

Some applications require the thickness 

of the upper liquid layer to be measured 

– for example, where only the upper liquid 

needs to be poured off and an accurate 

indication of when to stop pouring is 

required. This measurement is also vital 

when controlling the flow of both liquids out 

of the vessel and into independent channels, 

to minimise product cross-contamination. 

In oil production, for instance, it can prove 

extremely costly if oil is channelled to the 

water tank, or if water is sent further along 

the process. 

MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGIES 

Various technologies can be employed 

to measure an interface level. These include 

the most basic method – a sight glass on 

the side of a vessel – through to floats 

and displacers, capacitance transmitters, 

differential pressure transmitters and 

magnetostrictive sensors. However, these 

technologies can all have limited accuracy 

and reliability under certain process 

conditions, while their maintenance and 

calibration requirements can be complex 

and time-consuming. 

BENEFITS OF GUIDED WAVE RADAR 

Guided wave radar (GWR) is a well-established 

technology and field-proven in a broad range 

of interface level measurement applications. 

These include oilfield production tanks; free 

water knock-out vessels; water and skim 

tanks; accumulators; desalters; scrubbers; 

and storage and buffer tanks containing oil, 

condensate, water or solvents. Transmitters 

based on GWR technology deliver a topdown, 

direct measurement of the distance 

to the process material surface and the 

interface, and provide many advantages 

compared to other technologies. For 

example, changes in pressure, temperature 

and most vapour space conditions have no 

impact on the measurement accuracy of 

GWR transmitters. Also, compensation is 

not required for changes in the dielectric 

constant, conductivity or density of the 

liquid. 

GWR devices provide accurate and reliable 

measurements in vessels with tight geometry, 

in chambers and in tanks of all sizes. As GWR 

transmitters have no moving parts, this 

minimises their maintenance requirements, 

whilst their advanced diagnostics ensure 

that operators are quickly alerted to any 

degradation in performance. 

MEASURING INTERFACE LEVEL 

Transmitters based on GWR technology emit 

low-energy microwave pulses that travel at 

the speed of light and are guided along a 

probe submerged in the process material. 

When a pulse reaches the surface of the 

upper liquid, a significant amount of the 

microwave energy is reflected back to the 

transmitter. The time difference between the 

generated and reflected pulse is converted 

into a distance, from which the level can be 

calculated. As a certain proportion of the 

pulse continues down the probe through 

low dielectric fluids, a second reflection, or 

‘echo’, then occurs at the interface between 

the two liquids. 


FROM THE GROUND | 17 

a certain minimum thickness, so that the 

device can distinguish between the signal 

reflections from the two liquids. Previously 

this minimum thickness has been between 

50 and 200 millimetres, depending on the 

transmitter model and probe style being 

used. However, advanced Rosemount 

GWR transmitters from Emerson provide 

functionality that enables the minimum 

detectable thickness to be reduced to just 

25 millimetres. This significant enhancement 

has been enabled by Emerson’s Peak in 

Peak interface algorithm. This enables 

the transmitter to detect signal peaks 

that are closer together without having to 

decrease its signal bandwidth, which would 

A typical guided wave radar level and interface measurement application 

THE EFFECT OF DIELECTRIC 

CONSTANT 

The dielectric constant of the two liquids 

affects the speed at which microwave 

pulses travel, and therefore also impacts 

measurement accuracy. Consequently, topdown 

GWR transmitters are only suitable 

if the upper liquid has a lower dielectric 

constant than the lower one, and if there is 

a difference of at least six between the two 

dielectric constants. Where the interface 

being measured is between oil and water, 

because water has a significantly higher 

dielectric constant than oil, the interface 

can be easily detected by a top-down GWR 

transmitter. In applications where the upper 

liquid has a higher dielectric constant than 

the lower one, the mounting position of the 

transmitter can simply be inverted, with 

the device installed on the bottom of the 

vessel to provide accurate interface level 

measurement. 

THE EFFECT OF EMULSION LAYERS 

In some applications, the natural separation 

of two immiscible liquids can occasionally 

be imprecise, with an emulsion layer – i.e., 

a mixture of the two products – forming 

between them. The absence of a distinct 

interface between the liquids can influence 

measurement accuracy when using GWR 

devices. Typically, the thicker the emulsion 

layer, the more challenging it becomes to 

accurately measure the interface level. An 

emulsion layer can sometimes break down 

into two distinct layers if given time to settle. 

In these instances, installing a transmitter 

in a stilling well can achieve more accurate 

measurements. 

ABILITY TO MEASURE A THINNER 

TOP LAYER 

When using GWR transmitters in interface 

level measurement applications, the 

upper process material layer must be of 

Emerson’s Rosemount 

5300 Guided Wave Radar 

Level Transmitter, with a 

large coaxial probe, enables 

the minimum detectable 

thickness of the upper 

liquid layer to be reduced to 

25 mm, and measurement 

accuracy to be maintained 

to the top of the tank 



reduce its high sensitivity and its ability to 

overcome liquid disturbances. The ability to 

detect a thinner upper liquid layer helps to 

optimise separation process performance 

and minimise product cross-contamination, 

thereby helping end users maximise 

operational efficiency and profitability. 

MEASURING TO THE TOP OF THE 

TANK 

It is challenging for GWR transmitters to 

accurately measure interface level right 

to the top of a tank, even when using a 

large diameter coaxial probe. These probes 

provide the strongest return signal, have 

no upper dead band, and their accuracy 

is unaffected by obstacles on the tank 

wall. However, measurement accuracy to 

the top of the tank has traditionally been 

impacted by high amplitude noise created as 

microwaves pass through the process seal 

between the transmitter and the probe. Now 

Reducing the minimum 

detectable thickness of the upper 

liquid layer improves insight into 

the separation process 

though, Emerson has improved the design 

of its process seal, thereby eliminating this 

noise and enabling accurate and repeatable 

measurement to the top of the vessel. This 

is beneficial because it allows users to 

optimise their tank capacity, thus increasing 

throughput and profitability. 

OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGE OF 

DOUBLE BOUNCES 

A further challenge when using GWR 

technology in interface level measurement 

applications is the so-called double bounce. 

This is when a radar signal bounces back 

and forth between the liquid surface and 

the tank roof or another object in the tank 

before the transmitter detects it. These 

signals often have a low amplitude and 

are ignored by the transmitter, but the 

amplitude may sometimes be strong enough 

for the transmitter to interpret them as 

a reflection from the liquid surface. The 

latest GWR transmitters overcome 

this challenge through a factoryconfigured 

threshold setting that 

determines the minimum signal 

amplitude limits of key 

parameters such 

as surface echo, interface echo, reference 

peak and end-of-probe peak. In upstream 

oil and gas applications, an echo below the 

threshold is considered as oil, and an echo 

above the threshold is considered as water. 

This increases measurement reliability by 

preventing double bounces from being 

mistaken as an interface level measurement. 

PROOF-TESTING IN SAFETY- 

CRITICAL APPLICATIONS 

Safety instrumented systems in separator 

tanks must be regularly proof-tested, to 

ensure the integrity of devices in safetycritical 

applications such as overfill 

prevention and dry pump protection. Prooftesting 

has traditionally been performed with 

multiple technicians in the field and one in 

the control room, verifying the safety system 

reaction. This requires much time and effort, 

can pose safety risks to workers, can result 

in the process being taken offline, and can 

be prone to errors. However, the latest GWR 

devices can be remotely proof-tested with 

94 per cent test coverage using verification 

reflector functionality, thereby making the 

process quicker, safer and more efficient. 

The verification reflector function uses an 

adjustable reference reflector fitted to a 

flexible single lead probe at a desired height 

to generate a unique echo signature. The 

device constantly tracks the reflector echo 

to determine if the level is above or below 

the alarm limit. A test function built into the 

device software verifies that the transmitter 

is correctly tracking the reflector echo. It 

also confirms that the alarm loop is working, 

with a high-level alarm being displayed in 

the control room. Testing can be performed 

in minutes from the control room during 

operation, thereby reducing downtime, 

minimising risk and maximising safety. WWA 

Mr. Varshneya Sridharan 

is the Product Manager 

for Process Level & Tank 

Gauging at Emerson 

Automation Solutions. 



All Aboard! 

Landia’s BioMover 

mixers head to 

Beijing 

Beijing Anguo Water Treatment Automation Engineering 

Technology Company has awarded an eye-catching 

order for 88 mixers to Landia. 

The POPL-I BioMover mixers, for the Sanhe Yanjiao West WWTP 

and Sanhe Economic Development Zone WWTP on the eastern 

outskirts of Beijing, are for the very gentle treatment of biofilm 

carriers in anaerobic and anoxic tanks. 

Designed for a fill ratio of 30 per cent the Landia BioMover 

mixers, with a propeller tip speed of only 4.2 m/sec, keeps the 

bio media in suspension without damaging the carriers – as 

well as keeping sieves free from clogging. 

Thorkild Maagaard, Landia’s export sales director, said, “It is 

very encouraging to see such a healthy appetite for investing 

in equipment that is long-lasting, highly efficient and extremely 

reliable. China is setting a very good example to the world”. 

He added, “With our dedicated team in China (led by sales 

manager Danny Zhang), we are also able to offer first-class 

support and back-up to our customers”. 

To save time, reduce carbon footprint and reduce costs, the 

88 Landia mixers will make a 15-day journey by train from 

Hamburg in Germany to Zhengzhou, the capital of China’s 

Henan province. The cargo train takes less than half the time of 

shipping by sea and is also less than half the price of air freight. 

Landia has previously supplied its BioMover mixers to an 

advanced water treatment plant in Agra, India – home of the 

Taj Mahal – whilst in China, Landia has earned an enviable 

reputation for its pumps, mixers and understanding of China’s 

wastewater treatment plants. It has, for example, supplied a 

plant in Guilin, southern China with flowmakers, mixers and 

recirculation pumps since 1995. WWA 

Eighty-eight Landia 

BioMover mixers will be 

installed at two treatment 

plants in Beijing


New perspective 

on sources with 

ozone treatment of 

wastewater 

In the Netherlands, drinking water company PWN and water board HHNK set up a project 

to investigate if it would be technically and financially feasible to use ozone with ceramic 

microfiltration to tackle micro-pollutants for both water and wastewater, and to explore 

the reuse possibilities for purified wastewater. 

One of the main reasons for the project was the increasing volume of medicine residues, 

hormones, nanoplastics and pesticides in wastewater. Medicine residue was a key issue, 

but with an aging population the use of medication was increasing and it was not possible 

to prohibit its use. 

Already 140 tons of medicine and 30 tons of X-ray contrast media were found to end up in 

surface water via the sewer, which was a problem on a national level. Warmer temperatures 

and a “dehydration” effect caused by climate change also meant that the concentration of 

medicine residue in the water was to sharply increase. 

“If we can remove the medicine residues from wastewater before it is discharged to surface 

water, we are protecting our sources,” said PWNT Technologist Bram Martijn. 

“Sustainable and long-term solutions always have been key drivers for PWN in both source 

protection and technology implementation.” said PWN and PWNT’s CEO Joke Cuperus. 

“The CeraMac ® technology provided by PWNT applying METAWATER ceramic microfiltration 

membranes will play an important role in these long-term re-use investigations for PWN.” 



STRATEGIC LOCATION 

In 2017, PWNT’s technologies involving ozonation and ceramic 

microfiltration were included in the HHNK purification process in 

a small-scale facility. The location for this pilot was strategically 

chosen. The sewage treatment plant had been defined as a “hotspot”, 

indicating that the concentration of medicine residues in the 

wastewater was relatively high. In addition, the sewage treatment 

plant discharged its effluent to lake IJssel, the most important 

drinking water source for PWN, where PWN in Andijk pre-treats the 

surface water for eventual drinking water and the steel and paper 

industry in the immediate vicinity. 

OZONE AS AN OXIDANT 

It soon became clear that drinking water technologies could also 

work on treating wastewater. Said Ronald Koolen, Project Manager 

at HHNK, “Based on pioneering work in Germany and Switzerland, 

it was known that ozonation and treatment with active carbon are 

currently the most effective techniques for breaking down microcontaminants 

and especially drug residues in effluent. We chose 

ozonation because this strong oxidant gives a higher yield and does 

not create any residual current. But there are also disadvantages, 

and the most important side effect that we had to control was the 

formation of bromate, a substance that is a suspected carcinogenic.” 

OPTIMAL MIX 

Now PWN and HHNK have better insights into how they can prevent 

bromate formation. Said Martijn, “In collaboration with Wetsus (Bram 

Delfos), the University of New Hampshire (Daniel Farley) and expert 

Dr Joop Kruithof, research has been conducted on the effects of 

different ozone dosages in the last two years, to find out how many 

substances would be broken down with what amounts of ozone, and 

how much bromate would be formed. 

The expectation was that adding hydrogen peroxide would slow 

bromate formation. The conclusion was that ozone in combination 

with H2O2 can be dosed in such a way that 16 common drug residues 

are broken down by more than 80 per cent, while bromate formation 

remains very limited. These are encouraging results that help to further 

develop this application and, in this way, keep our sources cleaner.” 

INNOVATION IN LABORATORIES 

In the meantime, the project has improved measurement and analysis 

techniques for medicine residue in water. 

“Laboratories used different measurement and analysis techniques 

for different drug residues,” explained Martijn. “The costs of the 

various measurement and analysis techniques were very high and 

it is therefore not efficient for the laboratories either. That is why 

the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water has, partially thanks 

to this project, made half a million Euros available to laboratories in 

the water chain to invest in innovations that overcome this problem. 

This has led to the development of a measurement method with which 

the removal of medicines from the sewage treatment plant effluent and 

any follow-up treatments can be unambiguously determined, with the 

additional advantage that the samples can be processed in the analyser 

without further processing. That also brings time and cost savings.” 

CLOSING THE WATER CHAIN 

It is clear that project “Ge(o)zond” – a combination of ozone and 

the Dutch word for health – is getting a lot of attention. The Dutch 

Association of Water Boards awarded the project with the prestigious 

‘Water Innovation Award’. According to the jury, ‘The three elements 

of the innovation are: an optimal combination of available techniques, 

the direct application of the purified water for high-quality use and the 

innovative monitoring.’ With this, important steps are taken towards 

source control and the closing of the water chain.” 

Said Koolen, “Until recently, the water boards were mainly thinking 

about the reuse of substances that we extract from the water. Now, 

we also look at the water itself, the product of both PWN and HHNK. 

CONTRIBUTION TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY 

The project’s partners are investigating possibilities for high-quality 

reuse of the purified wastewater. Martijn added, “PWN is already 

producing industrial water from the lake IJssel. What if that water 

quality could be directly supplied in the future in the form of further 

purified effluent from the sewage treatment plant? That would give 

us extra capacity to continue to meet the increasing demand for 

drinking water from the lake IJssel.” 

NEW PERSPECTIVE ON PURIFICATION PROCESSES 

The reuse of effluent in many densely populated areas with water 

scarcity has been a common practice for a long time. Martijn said, 

“What makes this project special and innovative in my opinion is that 

we look at the reuse of water from a different perspective. Instead 

of using all possible technologies to get as much as possible out of 

the water, we reverse the process. First, we ask the question: what 

do we want to reuse the water for? We then look for the technologies 

to get the water quality required for that use. 

EVERYONE’S INTEREST 

“We are just at the beginning,” said Koolen. “The preparations for a 

larger-scale installation with a capacity of 300-1200 cubic metres 

per hour for the conversion of medicine residues are at an advanced 

stage. The HHNK board received the plans for this with great 

enthusiasm. The idea is that HHNK will buy the installation this year 

and that it will be built in 2020 in collaboration with PWN. We have 

shared interests, with the emphasis for PWN on source protection, 

and for HHNK on clean and healthy water. And that is ultimately in 

everyone’s interest.” WWA 


Continuous 

Microbial 

Monitoring: 

on site, 

real time 

& fully 

automated 

In Part One of this two-part 

series, we see how onCyt 

ensures high water quality 

by tackling rising challenges 

through modern engineering.

INSIGHT | 23 

P 

roviding safe drinking water with 

consistently high quality is one of the 

top challenges today – worldwide and 

especially in emerging regions. Water utilities 

face rapidly rising water demands, increasing 

environmental pollution, and more and more 

extreme climatic conditions affecting water 

resources. 

In order to overcome these challenges, 

suitable infrastructure for water treatment, 

storage, and distribution needs to be 

engineered. Modern engineering covering 

the whole infrastructure lifecycle – design, 

construction, operation, and maintenance 

– requires adequate information to ensure 

desired performance. This is why sensors 

for online measurements of chemical and 

physical water quality parameters in real 

time have become an absolute standard 

throughout the water industry. 

MICROBIAL WATER QUALITY: 

INADEQUATE MONITORING 

APPROACHES 

In sharp contrast, microbial water quality 

is still tested very infrequently with manual 

grab samples and laborious, inaccurate, 

and extremely slow detection methods 

such as heterotrophic plate counts. These 

traditional methods have served the water 

industry for over a hundred years and greatly 

contributed to solving major hygienic issues. 

However, they are completely useless for 

modern approaches of ensuring water quality 

through risk management based on process 

monitoring and control (WHO, 2003a; WHO, 

2003b; van Nevel et al. 2017). 

While indicator organism testing (e.g., 

E. coli, Enterococcus) remains an official 

requirement, risk-based concepts such as 

“Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points” 

or “No Abnormal Change” are rapidly being 

implemented and also required in regulatory 

frameworks such as WHO Water Safety 

Plans and European Water Directives. These 

approaches follow established product quality 

standards and management strategies used 

across various industries and documented in 

norms such as ISO-9001. 

This strongly reflects the above-mentioned 

paradigm shift that high water quality – 

hygienically but also in terms of taste, smell, 

discolouration, etc. – can only result from 

well-managed resources and infrastructure. 

However, these requirements are impossible 

to fulfil with current standard methods for 

microbial monitoring. 

FLOW CYTOMETRY: A MODERN 

STANDARD FOR MICROBIAL WATER 

QUALITY TESTING 

An important answer to this problem is 

the new, standardised microbial detection 

method of flow cytometry. This is a rapid, 

laser-based, direct detection method for 

single cells originally only used in medicine 

since the 1970s. Thanks to optimisation and 

standardisation work by the Swiss Federal 

Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology 

(Eawag), the technology became applicable 

for bacteria in water (Hammes and Egli 2005; 

Berney et al. 2008; Hammes et al. 2008). 

The major advantages of flow cytometric 

detection of cells include: 

(1) rapidness (< 15 min time-to -result), 

(2) reproducibility (< 10 standard 

deviations), 

(3) reliability and relevance (all cells 

detected), 

(4) robustness (linear range from clean 

groundwater to treated wastewater), 

(5) versatility (total and viable cells 

differentiated), 

(6) cost-effectiveness (break even with 

HPC samples for more than 15 samples 

per day), and 

(7) ease of use (bench-top instruments 

and standardised protocols for sample 

preparation, instrument settings, and 

data analysis/interpretation). This has 

also been recognised in the water 

industry and flow cytometry is applied 

routinely by many major water 

utilities in Europe (e.g., Switzerland, 

UK, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, 

Sweden) and spreading to Asia and 

North America. This also leads to an 

increasing industry push to finally 

replace expensive and outdated 

methods such as HPC in regulations. 

ONLINE FLOW CYTOMETRY: FROM 

MANUAL WORK TO A SENSOR 

APPROACH 

With a rapid and meaningful detection 

method available, the remaining bottleneck 

became sampling at high frequency. Hence, 

the same Eawag research group developed 

an automation device, which carries out 

all manual steps on site but in accordance 

to the standardised laboratory method: in 

situ sample acquisition, sample preparation 

(i.e., staining, dilution, pH adjustment, 

temperature-controlled incubation), transfer 

to flow cytometer, triggering of measurement, 

cleaning (to avoid cross contamination 

and biofilm formation), and data analysis 

(Hammes et al. 2012; Besmer et al. 2014). 

This whole cycle is carried out 24/7 every 15 

minutes and results in highly resolved time 

series of concentrations for both total and 

viable bacteria in real time. Samples can be 

drawn from multiple parallel water streams 

(e.g., before and after a treatment, parallel 

treatment trains). 

onCyt Microbiology is the official Eawag 

spin-off company founded in 2017 by former 

group members to make this invention and 

the industry-leading know-how commercially 

available to users worldwide. The goals are 

to leave out manual sampling, minimise timeto-result, 

reduce costs and uncertainty, and 

produce highly resolved and truly meaningful 

microbial monitoring data for effective and 

efficient process control. In short, moving 

from infrequent, labour-intensive snapshots 

to an integrated, state-of-the-art sensor 

approach. 

Three application examples from source to tap 

will be presented in Part Two of “Continuous 

Microbial Monitoring: on site, real time & 

fully automated”, which will be published in 

the November/December issue of Water & 

Wastewater Asia. WWA 


24 | INSIGHT 

Efficient sludge thickening 

and dewatering: How to find 

the right parameters for 

choosing the ideal solution 

By Christian Dousset, Process Technology Manager, ANDRITZ 

Sludge thickening and dewatering are key process steps when treating wastewater. Numerous suppliers 

provide dozens of different machines to make this process easier – all claiming that their solution is 

the best, but often not taking account of the fact that several given parameters in a plant determine 

the success of the equipment chosen and consequently, the efficiency and profitability of operations. 

With no one-size-fit-all solution, how do plants find the one to fit their specific requirements? 

THE BEST SOLUTION – CONSIDER 

IT NOT ALWAYS BEING BEST FOR 

YOU 

In wastewater treatment, plants will most 

likely be challenged to find an efficient, 

reliable, and safe wastewater treatment 

solution that is also less costly to install, 

operate, and maintain, all while meeting 

the strictest local requirements. This 

challenge has not become easier, as dozens 

of suppliers are pushing various machines 

for thickening and dewatering, claiming 

that their technology is the best. Obviously, 

there is no ideal, universal solution because 

not every wastewater treatment process and 

its preconditions are the same, and every 

technology comes with process-related 

advantages and disadvantages alike. 

Even if only the economic arguments 

are considered, every project is specific, 

and nothing is set in stone. The variable 

elements could be the cost of sludge 

transport, the sludge’s final destination, 

the structure and quality in which it has 

to be transported, special treatment of 

sludges in a wastewater treatment plant 

requiring dedicated equipment, the plant’s 

geographical location, whether or not a 

building already exists, specific constraints 

such as noise or odour, energy costs, 

availability of special reagents like powder 

and emulsion polymer, as well as qualitative 

discharge constraints like granulation or 

storage capabilities. 

SIZE DOES MATTER – CONSIDER 

YOUR SURROUNDINGS 

The required footprint of a machine is an 

essential factor in wastewater treatment 

plants, both those in planning and also those 

that are already up and running. When space 

is limited, a decanter centrifuge presents 

itself as a potential solution: Not only is the 

space required to install these machines 

smaller than for all other dewatering and/ 

or thickening units (which has an impact on 

the civil engineering costs), this technology 

also features an excellent capacity/size 

ratio. Its versatility in the treatment of 

various types of sludge, combined with 

this advantage, make it a popular solution – 

also for mobile dewatering units. 

But if conditions like a municipality’s 

population and the wastewater it produces 

are likely to change in the future, a gravity 

belt table seems to be a good thickening 

solution thanks to its high hydraulic capacity. 

Another thing to consider when checking 

whether a machine fits into a plant is the 

surroundings. Depending on the location 

and the neighbouring buildings, the noise 

from the machine as well as the ability to 

reduce the often-terrible odour coming 

from the treated sludge should not be left 

unconsidered when choosing the right 

technology. When noise and especially 

odour are of concern, it is better to choose 

a closed system instead of an open one – 

the reasoning behind this is simple: Foul 

odours and distractive sounds are contained 

if the system is enclosed. A common closed 

system for thickening with verified benefits 

in clean rooms and odour prevention is the 

drum thickener – which is also very compact 

in terms of capacity. When searching for 

a closed system for dewatering, a screw 


INSIGHT | 25 

press is the technology recommended. A 

decanter centrifuge also achieves minimum 

odour emissions and is suitable for both 

thickening and dewatering, but it comes with 

the disadvantage of being extremely loud in 

comparison due to the high operating speed 

required for centrifugation. 

In adapting their machinery, technology 

group ANDRITZ often manages to find 

solutions that bypass some disadvantages. 

A decanter centrifuge, for example, can be 

upgraded with special casings to reduce 

vibration and hence the noise it creates, 

sometimes even down to less than 85 dB(A), 

as a recent example from a desalination 

plant in the Middle East shows (the 

decanter centrifuge there is used for brine 

dewatering). However, special modifications 

and research come at an extra cost. 

LITTLE THINGS ADD UP – 

CONSIDER INVESTMENT AS WELL 

AS TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP 

A basic economic principle is never to forget 

about the running costs in relation to the 

investment costs and always to calculate 

which technology is the most economically 

efficient over time. The variable costs in 

sludge treatment arise not only from energy 

consumption and maintenance costs, but also 

from consumables like wash water or polymer 

– and you have to choose which of these 

resources are the least expensive and most 

easily accessible in your area of operation. 

When choosing a thickening solution for 

example, both a gravity belt table and a 

drum thickener come at a moderate price, 

but require a large amount of wash water and 

polymer. When using a decanter centrifuge 

for thickening, the need for both polymer 

and wash water decreases significantly 

compared to the other two technologies, but 

this system requires more power to operate. 

For dewatering, the belt press appears to 

be an attractive solution cost-wise, with 

low investment costs combined with low 

energy consumption, but this technology is 

not suited for regions where water is scarce 

because of the high wash water consumption. 

In this case, a screw press would be better 

suited as its water and energy consumption 

are minimal. On the other hand, this press 

requires more polymer and has a high initial 

investment cost for the capacity it provides. 

A filter press may be intimidating at first due to 

the relatively high investment costs, but it has 

low polymer consumption and is very wash 

water-efficient when used with one of the most 

innovative control systems on the market 

today – the Metris addIQ control system. 

The addIQ control systems are a part 

of Metris, the ANDRITZ brand for digital 

solutions, and they try to reduce the total 

cost of ownership in different ways – be 

this with the automatic filter cloth washing 

system for optimisation of the washing cycle 

and water consumption in filter presses, or 

an automated polymer measurement and 

dosing system called Metris addIQ RheoScan 

that can be used in different machines. 

ANDRITZ Belt press; low-profile design for ease of maintenance

26 | INSIGHT 

A wastewater plant in Southern Europe 

succeeded in achieving annual polymer 

savings of 33.8 per cent in the belt thickening 

stage as well as 16 per cent polymer savings 

in centrifuge dewatering. The referenced 

plant in Southern Europe also cut down on 

another, often scarce resource – the need for 

supervision by a qualified operator. 

TIME IS MONEY – CONSIDER 

MAINTENANCE AS WELL AS 

OPERATOR PRESENCE 

Operators are among a plant’s most 

important resources, and the more complex 

a plant becomes the harder it is to find 

staff who are suitably qualified to always 

keep an eye on the most important process 

parameters, evaluate them, and take the 

right steps to keep process performance at 

the required level. With equipment that needs 

to be monitored and adjusted constantly, 

plants become more and more dependent 

on selected operators who need to be in 

more than one place at the same time. 

In thickening, the gravity belt table shines 

with its performance: Maintenance is easy 

and inexpensive, especially as ANDRITZ has 

simplified the cleaning process by installing 

manually or automatically operated internal 

brushes to clean clogged nozzles. For 

dewatering, the belt press, the filter press, 

and the screw press have proven to be very 

practical as they have a simple mechanical 

design compared to more complex systems 

like the decanter centrifuge and require 

only low to average mechanical skills for 

maintenance, which is also reflected in spare 

part costs. 

Maintenance intensity, complexity, and 

costs go hand-in-hand. The worst-casescenario 

would arise from choosing a 

high-maintenance machine from a supplier 

without local service technicians available, 

thus lengthening the duration of a shutdown 

in case of a malfunction. This is why 

checking the suppliers’ service network 


INSIGHT | 27 

ANDRITZ C-Press (screw press) for efficient sludge dewatering 

and the density of repair centres and 

service technicians in the area is always 

recommended in addition to considering all 

the factors concerning the specific machine. 

FUTURE IS COMING – CONSIDER 

AUTONOMOUS MACHINES 

Another point to take into account – in 

addition to the machine itself – when looking 

at the manufacturer is their competence in 

automation and moving towards Industry 

4.0. Automation solutions like Metris addIQ 

Monitoring and Metris addIQ Connect help to 

optimise sludge flows by providing accurate 

data collected by Smart Sensors and made 

available for access anytime and anywhere. 

A municipal wastewater treatment plant in 

Southern Germany is utilising these systems’ 

easy -to- access performance and trend 

reports, real-time sludge flow and polymer 

dosage monitoring, and long-term process 

data to improve process performance and 

prevent unplanned shutdowns. 

Another example that shows how independent 

and smart automated machines operate, can 

be found in the wastewater treatment plant in 

Liège, Belgium, equipped with two ANDRITZ 

sidebar filter presses. The filter presses both 

feature a fully automatic filter cake scraping 

and a filter cloth washing device, making 

them able to run 24/7 in fully automatic mode 

without the need for operator presence. After 

successful filtration, the fully automatic filter 

cake scraping device scrapes off the remaining 

filter cake if there is only partial discharge or 

the filter cake does not drop off the filter cloth 

at all. The washing device for the filter cloths 

is installed as an additional module. It ensures 

consistently high throughput and excellent 

dewatering results. 

This all is possible today, showing that 

further development of automation solutions 

using Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) 

technologies and digitalisation is paving 

the way to future machines that will operate 

autonomously. WWA 


28 | INSIGHT 

The dock 

“thinks” 

for itself 

The world of bulk material handling 

seems easy at first glance: moving, 

filling, delivering. The art of dealing 

with a variety of different materials, however, 

lies in the details, such as the docking and 

undocking of containers at weighing stations. 

In the process, cross- contaminations and the 

release of dusts can occur. AZO CleanDock 

prevents this problem. Its latest generation 

can do even more: it “thinks” for itself. Directly 

attached to the dock, the integrated controller 

CEC of the modular electrical terminal CPX from 

Festo ensures additional process security and 

shortened commissioning times. 


INSIGHT | 29 

The container glides into places virtually 

soundlessly, approaching its destination 

with even motion before coming to a stop. 

The pneumatic gripping system of the 

active section extends from above, grips the 

container closure of the passive section and 

lifts it. Two to three air blasts indicate that 

the dosing element and target container are 

seamlessly joined. 

The flexible compensator of the passive 

section makes it possible to tare the scale 

positioned under the container precisely 

– independently of the product quantity it 

already holds. Then the filling of the bulk 

material begins. Once this process has 

come to an end, the active and passive 

sections detach from each other elegantly 

and cleanly and the container moves to the 

next filling station. What no one sees from 

the outside: almost the entire filling process 

has been controlled by CleanDock itself in 

a decentralised manner. 

A PIONEERING STEP 

With this system, AZO is taking an important 

step towards fast commissioning, error 

reduction and increased safety in the 

filling of bulk materials together with its 

long-term partner and automation expert 

Festo. In this context, CleanDock itself has 

been conferred intelligence, decentralised 

control and autonomy in processes. Whilst 

the process control system takes care of the 

big picture in terms of control engineering, 

the modular electrical terminal CPX from 

Festo assumes the detailed processes of 

the docking and undocking procedures 

with its integrated controller CEC and valve 

terminal MPA. 

SAFETY HAS HIGHEST PRIORITY 

Two of the greatest challenges of the bulk 

materials industry remain the prevention 

of cross-contamination and the unwanted 

release of dust. On the one hand, the 

objective is product – on the other is 

employee protection. Pharmaceutical and 

food industries, in particular, but also the 

chemical industry in the past few years have 

increasingly put their focus on these topics. 

During the handling of bulk materials, dusts 

from allergenic foods, for example, can 

lead to health impairments in operating 

personnel. In addition, explosion prevention 

and protection play a large role. 

The high number of different containers 

for the transport and handling of raw 

materials, as well as intermediate and 

finished products, make things no easier 

for the designers of bulk material systems. 

Amongst other things, this includes FIBCs, 

drums, sacks and portable containers. As 

in other areas of industry, the factor of 

flexibility gains importance in bulk material 

handling. 

NO DUST IN THE AMBIENT AIR 

“In order for the product to remain where 

it belongs, i.e., in target containers 

and dosing elements, these containers 

and dosing elements must be closed 

before docking. Before docking and after 

uncoupling, no adhering products must 

fall out of the downpipe of the dosing 

element and contaminate the floor or 

release dust to the ambient air,” says Frank 

Pahl, Head of Development of AZO GmbH 

+ Co. KG in Osterburken. AZO achieves 

this objective using CleanDock. Before 

and after filling, the dosing elements and 

containers remain hermetically sealed. With 

the technology used in CleanDock, AZO 

consciously places itself between classic 

docking systems and the containment 

systems known in the pharmaceutical 

industry, such as split valves. 

TIME AND EFFORT REDUCED IN 

A DECENTRALISED CONTROLLED 

MANNER 

The passive section is docked to the 

active section using the pneumatic linear 

actuators from Festo, just like the opening 

and closing of the cone closure in the active 

section to fill the target container, as well as 

the interlocking and clamping of the active 


30 | INSIGHT 

and passive sections. A pneumatic rapper 

is used to loosen possible bulk material 

residue stuck in the dosing element. 

The pneumatic drives are controlled 

by the modular, electrical terminal 

CPX with integrated controller CEC 

and valve terminal MPA. Whilst the valve 

terminal CPV, centrally controlled by 

the process control system, is used in 

the predecessor version of CleanDock, 

the decentralised controller of CPX-CEC 

implements the control sequences directly 

on the dock – this especially reduces 

commissioning time. 

MODULAR, FLEXIBLE, FUTURE- 

LOOKING 

The modular, electrical terminal CPX from 

Festo with integrated controller CEC and 

valve terminal MPA forms a uniform interface 

for decentralised intelligence and enables 

the complete control of machines or complex 

subsystems. As an automation platform 

for electrical systems and pneumatics, it 

integrates pneumatic and electrical control 

chains into various automation systems 

and company-specific standards easily, 

quickly and flexibly. The complete system 

is programmed simply using CODESYS. 

Interfaces are reduced, engineering and 

handling are simplified and the reliability of 

machines and systems are increased. 

Added to this is an essential aspect that is 

gaining significance worldwide for the future 

of systems: modularity. Automation functions 

are increasingly distributed across individual 

modules. The process management level 

merely sets the pace. The key to higher 

flexibility and simplified handling lies in the 

integrated, decentral intelligence. Whilst the 

process control system calls a function, it 

does not need to recognise the process steps 

stored for this purpose in detail. Intelligent 

modules, such as the CPX-CEC with valve 

terminal MPA, assume this task. 

TOGETHER TOWARDS A MODULAR 

FUTURE 

What AZO has already successfully implemented 

here together with Festo corresponds with 

the objective currently being intensively 

discussed and worked out amongst NAMUR/ 

ZVEI (Association of German Electrical and 

Electronic Manufacturers), plant builders 

and operators and research facilities for the 

automation of modular production plants. Due 

to the decentralised, complete automation of 

the individual modules, complexity is reduced 

and the time-to-market is shorted for system 

operators. Single modules can also be produced 

in stock and adapted with manageable effort. 

Plants can be expanded simply with additional 

modules. In this way, plant builders can 

react even more flexibly to the changing 

requirements of worldwide markets. As an 

automation expert, Festo is actively involved 

in the design of concepts and standards 

that drive and simplify the automation of 

modular plants today and in future. WWA 


Water and Development 

Congress & Exhibition 2019 

Sustainable 

Solutions for 

Emerging 

Economies 

Register now! 

www.waterdevelopmentcongress.org 

#DevelopmentCongress 

Organised by 

Co-organised by 

Sri Lankan 

Government 

National Water 

Supply & Drainage Board 

COLOMBO 

SRI LANKA 

01-05 DECEMBER 

2019

32 | INSIGHT 

Communicative trends in 

process automation 

By Peter Lindmueller, Industry Manager, Water & Waste Water, Endress+Hauser 

The current standard for 

signalling the measured 

values generated by the 

instrumentation (measurement 

line) is the analogue current 

interface. This method maps 

the measured value to a loop 

current. 0 or 4mA corresponds 

to the lowest, 20mA to the 

highest reading that you 

want to transmit. Current 

interfaces offer the advantage 

of high interference immunity, a 

starting motor does not bother 

them, for example, but they only allow the 

representation of measured values within 

very narrow limits. The user does not get any 

information on the status or other conditions 

of the measuring point. Sometimes the 

information is enhanced by having an alarm 

relay for the status, but the overall content 

is very limited. 

In the end, it’s difficult to talk about 

communication at all. 

Why are operators and users interested 

in the details of instrumentation 

statuses? Where are the propellants for 

communication, where does the desire to 

know more about the process come from? 

Essentially, there are two reasons behind 

this: 

• There are more and more remote 

installations (satellites) that need to run 

24/7 but are staffed only at certain times 

or not at all. 

• Less staff with deep process and 

instrumentation skills is available. 

Due to both reasons, plant operators 

need to get deeper insight into the plant 

in the future and must be able to assess 

its functioning and the potential of 

defects from a distance. 

There are further trends that drive the 

need for deeper process knowledge: 

• Cost pressure: Plant operation and 

maintenance in the context of limited 

financial budgets. 

• Information needs: A city mayor might 

be asked in a budget round discussion 

if a facility is used to capacity, how 

effective and how efficient it is. Here, 

a qualified answer is expected which 

means that the above mentioned KPIs 

(Key Performance Indicator) must be 

ready at hand. 

• Planning needs: Deployment of expert 

emergency services is expensive. All 

assignments that can be moved from the 

non-plannable to the plannable zone 

allow a more favourable cost calculation. 

• Greater linkage between professional 

and private aspects: Although 

professional and private life do not 

merge into symbiosis, they are getting 

closer. Operators are, for example, able 

to do a remote evaluation 

of the system from 

their home while caring 

for their children. In 

other words: The digital 

twin of the system is 

available on their 

smartphone, tablet, or 

computer displaying the 

real conditions of the plant. 

It is not just about a measured 

value and a status, but about 

much more information on 

the measuring point. 

“How are you?” Describes an information that 

goes much deeper than the pure measured 

value and describes the state of the measuring 

point. This can range from “everything ok” 

to “cannot do any more”, it can contain 

references to the status of consumables 

(e.g. 20 per cent of the bottle’s detergent 

has been used up) and it can of course 

contain information about the measured 

value quality, e.g. my last calibration was 

60 days ago and must be renewed in 

30 days. 

Regular calibrations can be: 

• forced by authorities 

• necessary to optimise process flows 

Very often we can distinguish between 

process-optimising measurement 

(operational measurement) and product 

quality determination. While processoptimising 

measurement supports optimised 

usage and dosing of excipients for example, 

the second measurement describes the final 

product quality, or the quality of the raw 

materials used. 


INSIGHT | 33 

What are the technical requirements for getting 

advanced information on a measuring point? 

A variety of data must be provided from the 

measurement lines and these data must be 

transmitted to a central location for further 

display and evaluation. Digitisation (or IoT 

or Industry 4.0 or ...) is the buzzword here. 

On sensor level, information on the sensor status 

is needed. Memosens provides e.g. calibration 

data and trends, operating temperatures over 

ranges of measured values, stress situations of 

the sensor such as the number of CIP or SIP runs. 

This information must now be passed on 

digitally, which requires a fieldbus. If the system 

is rather slow and you have time and leisure, you 

can start with HART – a rather slow method. If 

the process is fast, an Ethernet-based variant 

is more likely to be used (e.g. EtherNet/IP, 

Modbus TCP, PROFIINET). Which fieldbus is used 

largely depends on the DCS system, and which 

language variant this system understands. 

When the diverse data are now available in the 

DCS or PCS (process control system), they 

must be interpreted to determine KPIs and 

derive measures from the data. 

What kind of measures could that be? Everything 

from information to necessary activities: make 

maintenance assignments predictable, get 

away from forced, unplanned maintenance at 

any time of the day or night (measurement 

lines seem to prefer to fail on weekends and 

then at night), get to a planned activity. Even 

a central planning of maintenance and service 

assignments can be implemented. 

Endress + Hauser’s Heartbeat Technology 

Back to the KPIs. Many can be standardised, 

some are specific and can only be used for 

the respective system. At this point, Heartbeat 

Technology comes into the game: Heartbeat 

Technology is able to indicate how long a 

sensor or measuring line can run without any 

further service, taking into account previous 

loads on the sensor, such as high temperatures. 

It makes planned maintenance a reality and 

brings down the costs directly. 

These are all good reasons to explore the 

digital revolution! WWA 

Liquiline multi-parameter transmitter – ready for seamless integration into the process control system 


34 | INSIGHT 

Balmoral Tanks 

expands APAC 

footprint 

The very latest in tank coating technology is 

used on Balmoral’s efusion ® product range 

By Alex Harvey, 

Balmoral Tanks’ Regional Sales Director, Asia Pacific 

Chairman and managing director, 

James Milne CBE, established 

Balmoral Group in 1980 with just 

five employees designing and manufacturing 

glass-reinforced plastic products. 

Today, the group employs more than 

600 people and is made up of several 

companies, including Balmoral Tanks. The 

privately-owned operation specialises 

in buoyancy, flotation, insulation and 

renewable energy products as well as liquid 

storage solutions. 

COATED TANK MARKET 

In 2014, Balmoral acquired the assets 

of an epoxy-coated tank manufacturer 

which had fallen into administration. This 

strategic move provided access to important 

intellectual property and core experience in 

the design and manufacture of epoxy coated 

and stainless-steel bolted tanks. Balmoral’s 

launch into the global coated bolted steel 

market had begun. 

The original plant had been built to primarily 

service the UK and European markets 

however its size and capacity limited the 

company’s ability to expand and grow. 

In 2017 Balmoral Tanks invested in a 

brand-new state-of-the-art facility in the 

heart of the UK, comprising of purposebuilt 

manufacturing operations, training 

school and modern office space; a multimillion-pound 

investment which is evident 

immediately once you set foot on the premises. 


The new facility was developed to ensure 

Balmoral’s tank business had the capacity 

to grow and add further product lines. The 

current facility houses a bespoke fusion 

bonded epoxy coating line, fully automated 

loading equipment, in-line shot blasting 

unit, steel forming equipment, the latest 

punching and laser cutting technology and 

stainless and black steel fabrication facilities, 

catapulting Balmoral Tanks into the forefront 

of the industry in terms of manufacturing 

capability and establishing the company 

as one of the leading global brands of 

performance coated and sectional steel 

bolted steel tanks. 

Ahead of schedule, Balmoral Tanks has made 

a further multi-million pound investment to 

accommodate another coating application 

line. This time, a hotly anticipated state-ofthe-art 

glass enamelling plant. 

As well as the physical plant installation, 

Balmoral’s research and development team 

has been busy configuring a new range of 

glass enamel coatings designed to be used by 

the water, wastewater and renewable energy 

sectors. Further updates on the launch of 

the GFS range will be released later in 2019. 

In conjunction with the company’s tank 

portfolio, Balmoral also designs and 

manufactures a range of roof and ancillary 

systems including pipework, and invests 

a significant amount in its most important 

asset - people. The company employs highly 

experienced people in sales, design, research 

and development and manufacturing to 

ensure that it provides only the very best 

products to the marketplace. 

As a result of this ongoing investment 

programme, business development is a 

key part of the company’s strategy and has 

provided a renewed focus on geographical 

expansion and growth. 

APAC SUCCESS 

One priority has been to identify and appoint 

new distributors around the world, including 

Asia. In the last 18 months, the company 

has appointed new distributors in Thailand 

and the Philippines, building on its original 

partnership for the Malaysian market which 

has been established for over seven years. 

Alex Harvey, Balmoral Tanks’ regional sales 

director for the Asia Pacific market, said, “As 

an established brand in the UK and Europe, 

the Asian Pacific market is of increasing 

importance to Balmoral Tanks. As we grow it 

is important to develop the brand as we have 

in markets closer to home. 

“I joined Balmoral Tanks in 2017, dedicating 

my time to the development of our distributor 

network. Committed and strong distribution is 

key to our success and is something Balmoral 

Tanks has really embraced as we recognise 

its importance. 

“I have been really pleased with the 

momentum gained in such a short time with 

our existing product range. The launch of 

our glass fused to steel product will only act 

as a catalyst for further growth and success 

within the region.” 

Balmoral’s momentum has been rewarded 

through the award of several exciting projects, 

covering the anaerobic digester and palm oil 

sectors. WWA 

Balmoral efusion ® 

digester installation, 

Malaysia

36 | INSIGHT 

Improving water access 

intelligently with technology 

By Leong Chee Khuan, Area Managing Director for South Asia and General Manager for Grundfos Pumps Sdn Bhd 

Water is the world’s most vital 

resource. Beyond its core function 

of sustaining life, it is also a precious 

commodity – one that billions of people in the 

world have trouble accessing. 

While we cannot deny the impact climate 

change has on our water supply, access 

to water can sometimes be a question of 

distribution as opposed to resources. Water 

resources are unequally distributed on the 

planet - countries can be surrounded by 

water sources, but communities still struggle 

to tap into them. 

One of these resources include groundwater, 

one of the most important sources of water 

that we have, in particular for locations with 

dry, arid climates. Sometimes groundwater 

is the only supply of water they can access. 

However, accessing groundwater is a more 

complicated process, as surface pumps 

that use atmospheric pressure to draw 

water are not able to support the weight 

of groundwater deeper than a few metres, 

making it impossible to pull water up to the 

surface from the source. 

Today’s technology and intelligent design 

in the area of water transportation can 

empower communities in countries like 

the Philippines to navigate the challenging 

landscape of improving water access, 

whether the source is groundwater or 

surface water from rivers and lakes. 

BUILDING RESILIENT WATER 

NETWORKS 

Whether it is drawing water from the 

ground, or from a far-flung source 

inaccessible from the community, 

submersible pumps can play an 

important role in supporting the 

water supply system, delivering the 

water from source to user. Designed 

to operate beneath the earth’s surface, 

submersible pumps work differently from 

surface pumps and are capable of moving 

groundwater by pushing it up to the surface. 

While submersible pumps can be an ideal 

solution to delivering groundwater and 

other remote sources of water, there are 

several considerations to ensure the system 

remains reliable and sustainable over time. 

One of them is corrosion – a submersible 

pump can be subjected to severe corrosion 

in the long-term depending on what it is 

submerged in and whether it is of a high 

pH value, which could cause 

the pump to gradually 

deteriorate and affect 

its performance. 

Leong Chee Khuan, Area 

Managing Director for 

South Asia and General 

Manager for Grundfos 

Pumps Sdn Bhd 

Submersible pumps today are designed to be 

resilient against external environments. For 

example, in addition to its high-performance 

efficiency, thanks to its superior hydraulics 

and motor, Grundfos’ range of SP submersible 

pumps are built with AISI 304 stainless steel 

inside and out, making the pump highly 

resistant to corrosion. For sandy underground 

environments, its octagonal bearings and 

sand flush channels remove any sand 

particles with the pumped water. 

In addition to building robust pumps, advanced 

monitoring systems can help monitor the 

health of existing pump installations without 

needing regular on-site inspections. 

With intelligent technology, water 

management can be pre-emptive 

and predictive, ensuring that 

we are constantly monitoring 

the conditions of our water 

systems and attending to 

each and every change 

adequately and addressing 

any issue before it happens. 

Water providers around 

the world are increasingly 

leveraging real-time sensors and 

data analytics to support their 

daily operations. 


INSIGHT | 37 

Beyond monitoring, digitalisation can 

recommend when assets need to be replaced. 

Pumps, sensors, meters, and pump controllers 

can now all be connected to a centrally hosted 

server via an internet-based system. This 

allows for changes in performance and energy 

consumption to be tracked and documented, 

even automatically generating reports and 

trend graphs, giving an indication of wear and 

tear or damage to businesses to plan service 

and maintenance accordingly. 

POWERING WATER 

ACCESSIBILITY 

Technology today not only addresses how 

we can better access different sources 

of water, but also how we can power that 

access. Moving water from source to user 

can require large amounts of energy, and 

as high as 82 per cent of rural communities 

in developing countries across Southeast 

Asia do not have electricity. To tackle Asia’s 

electrification challenge, solar energy can 

be used to power water pumping stations in 

remote locations. With the required energy, 

the pumping stations can then draw water 

from various sources to meet the needs of 

families and communities. 

For example, in Can Duoc, a rural district of 

the Long An Province in the Mekong River 

Delta region of Vietnam, many people live in 

scattered communities across a large area. 

Installing a pipeline to treat and deliver clean 

water requires a comprehensive network 

and significant investment. As a result, for 

40 years, families in this rural district have 

been lacking in clean water as it has been a 

challenge to raise enough funds to build a 

water treatment plant in Can Duoc. 

With these infrastructural challenges in mind, 

Grundfos donated funds for a new water 

treatment plant, and supplied a booster 

system comprising of three submersible 

pumps, with two obtaining power from 

solar technology and one from the grid. 

Erected in just four months, the solar 

technology has been instrumental in saving 

energy for the pumping station. It has also 

helped lower operating costs - up to one-third 

of the electricity bill - for the investors. More 

importantly, this innovative solar-powered 

water treatment solution now serves 3,000 

households in Can Duoc, delivering safe water 

to the communities that need them the most. 

EVERY DROP COUNTS 

While securing water access has profound 

consequences, improving accessibility to 

existing water resources alone is not enough 

to ensure water security in the long run. 

Overreliance on surface water such as rivers 

and lakes as well as groundwater will not be 

sustainable in the future due to the climate 

reality and increasing water demand from 

the population. 

We can contribute in our own way by 

conserving and recycling water. Governments 

also have the obligation to provide safe and 

reliable drinking water sources to people 

through long-term solutions. Strategies such 

as the application of improved rainwater 

collection systems and state-of the-art 

desalination technologies coupled with 

renewable energies can be used in the 

Philippines. By adopting innovative and 

long-term solutions, the Philippines can 

ensure water for all that will protect the 

peoples’ health and help drive sustainable 

development forward. WWA 

Grundfos water supply products, including SP, MS MMS, SQ, SQE, SQFlex and controls

38 | INSIGHT 

Using the vortex layer of 

ferromagnetic particles 

in wastewater treatment 

By Frank May, GlobeCore GmbH, Oldenburg, Germany 

Part one of this two-part series explored how the electromagnetic vortex layer device works in intensifying 

wastewater treatment, making the process more efficient. Part two discusses how vortex layer devices 

can be effectively used in the treatment of chemical wastewater. 

REMOVAL OF PHENOL FROM WASTEWATER 

Vortex layer devices can be applied for efficient treatment of 

wastewater from the production of phenol formaldehyde resins, coking, 

wood processing etc, which contain phenol, methanol, formaldehyde 

and other contaminants. The process of phenol removal involves 

oxidation of phenol (at 0.5-10 g/litre concentrations) in acidic 

environment. 

Some of the oxidants are manganese dioxide, potassium or sodium 

dichromate, ozone, calcium hypochlorite or potassium permanganate. 

Of the listed agents, it is recommended to use potassium or sodium 

dichromate in the amount of 2.5–3.3 grams per one gram of phenol. 

In practice, it is recommended to use a 50–200 g/litre water 

solution of Na2Cr2O7 depending on phenol concentration, with a 

30–50 per cent sulfuric acid solution. 

Phenol is removed from wastewater by mechanical agitator reactors, 

where the oxidation reaction takes 3-4 hours at 95–100°C. A vortex 

layer device significantly simplifies this process, reducing oxidation 

temperature to 20–40°C and minimising process duration, making a 

continuous process possible. 

Wastewater continuously processed with the vortex layer device 

must be: 

• equalised in terms of contaminant composition and concentrations; 

• purified to remove particulate matter; 

• without resins and petrochemical substances. 

The processing of wastewater is as follows (Figure 6). 

Wastewater enters the accumulator tank for equalisation. If the amount 

of acid in the wastewater is insufficient, the portioning device supplies 

the required amount of sulfuric acid from tank number two. 

The pump feeds the wastewater from the accumulator tank into the 

vortex layer device at the rate of up to 15 m 3 /hour. 150-200 grams 

of 1.2-1.8mm-long cylindrical ferromagnetic particles with l/d ratio 

of 10 are used. These particles last four to six hours, with subsequent 

replacement or loading more particles by an automatic loader. Oxidiser 

is fed into the device at the same time; the ingredients are intensively 

mixed, phenol and other organic substances (methanol, formaldehyde) 

are oxidised to form water and carbon gas. 

After phenol is removed, the wastewater undergoes reduction of 

hexavalent chrome formed in the process of phenol oxidation, as well 

as neutralisation in another vortex layer device (pos. 8 in Figure 6). 

To reduce Cr+6 to Cr+3, iron sulphide is used, and the wastewater is 

neutralised with lime milk. 

FIGURE 6: 

Removal of phenol from industrial wastewater using vortex layer devices: 

1 – wastewater accumulator and equalisation tank; 

2 – H2SO4 tank; 

3 – oxidiser tank; 

4, 8 – vortex layer device; 

5, 6 – portioning devices; 

7 – pump 

CYANIDE REMOVAL FROM WASTEWATER 

Application of vortex layer devices for removal of cyanide wastewater 

allows to oxidise cyanides to cyanates, forming non-toxic carbonates 

and ammonia. The process occurs in basic environment at 

рН = 9–10. Lime milk or five to 10 per cent water solution of soda is 


INSIGHT | 39 

used as a basic agent; the oxidiser is five to 10 per cent solution of 

calcium hypochloride or chlorine. The residual amount of cyanides 

after the treatment is 0.005–0.09 mg/litre with initial concentration 

of 30–350 mg/litre. 

The important factors influencing the process of wastewater treatment 

with the vortex layer device are: 

• selection of the optimal treatment process and method; 

• selection and arrangement of process equipment; 

• selection of treatment process modes; 

• control and adjustment of treatment parameters; 

• correct operation of equipment; 

• wastewater equalisation etc. 

Efficient use of vortex layer devices and wastewater treatment depend 

on the quality of its composition and contaminant concentration 

equalization which occurs in a 1.5 – 2-hour cycle. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Electromagnetic vortex layer devices can be efficiently used in 

wastewater chemical treatment processes to recycle wastewater for 

repeated use in the facility without dumping the water into external 

water bodies. The devices are used in wastewater treatment facilities 

to enhance the following processes: 

• reduction of hexavalent chrome (Cr+6) to trivalent chrome 

(Cr+3); 

• sedimentation of heavy metals (Cr+3, nickel, zinc, lead, copper, 

cobalt, iron, manganese etc); 

• neutralisation of acidic-basic wastewater; 

• oxidation of phenol, cyan and petrochemical substances. WWA 

About the Author: 

Frank May, Service Manager of 

GlobeCore (Oldenburg, Germany): 

With more than 30 years of practical 

experience starting-up, commissioning 

and operating different industrial 

equipment, Frank May is now focused 

on the purification of domestic and 

industrial wastewater, as well as the regeneration of insulating oils 

and the maintenance of power transformers. 


40 | OPINION 

Business raising its ambition 

to meet the wastewater 

opportunity 

Most of the data related to the global 

status of water and sanitation is 

shocking: billions without access to 

safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, 

demand for freshwater projected to outstrip 

supply and 80 per cent of all wastewater 

discharged directly into the environment 

without treatment. Whilst universal access to 

WASH and securing freshwater supplies are 

intrinsically complex challenges, requiring 

systemic change and huge investment within 

a generally weak governance setting, the 

wastewater challenge is more shocking when 

one considers the opportunity it presents. 

As highlighted in the 2017 UN-Water World 

Water Development Report (Wastewater: 

The Untapped Resource): “Wastewater can 

be a cost-effective and sustainable source 

of energy, nutrients and other recoverable 

by-products. The costs of improved 

wastewater management are usually 

outweighed by benefits in terms of human 

health, socioeconomic development and 

environmental sustainability.” Business has 

a key role to play in realising this opportunity. 

In 2017, the World Business Council 

for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) 

published its Business Guide to Circular 

Water Management. Central to this was 

the concept of the 5Rs: Reduce, Reuse, 

Recycle, Restore and Recover, a now common 

mantra used to describe how business can 

embrace circularity principles and take 

steps to improve their water efficiency. The 

guide highlighted several examples of how 

businesses were embracing these principles: 

L’Oreal, EDF, P&G and Nestle, for example, 

and often involved optimising existing 

processes or implementing new technologies 

within their own facilities. Whilst resulting 

in efficiency gains at specific sites, the 

contribution to water security in a broader 

basin context, was often negligible. This is 

not because businesses didn’t want to have a 

greater impact, but rather that the regulatory 

environment and the economic conditions 

often don’t enable it. 

An example that illustrates the potential 

scale and benefits that can be realised if the 

regulatory and market conditions are right 

is Aquapolo in Brazil. At its inauguration in 

2012, Aquapolo was the largest water reuse 

project in Brazil. The plant was developed and 

financed through a public-private partnership 

including Braskem, the largest petrochemical 


OPINION | 41 

company in Latin America; Sabesp, the public 

water operator for Sao Paulo and Foz do 

Brasil, a waste management company. The 

facility has the capacity to produce 1,000 

litres per second of reused water, supplying a 

petrochemical complex located in São Paulo. 

Braskem, which uses approximately 65 per 

cent of Aquapolo’s capacity, has signed a 

41-year contract for this supply, guaranteeing 

revenue to cover operating costs. Whilst 

serving the growing demands of industry, the 

project also enabled an increase in the supply 

of drinking water for human consumption, 

which during the water crisis of 2014-2015 is 

estimated to have saved over US$50 million. 

Such cases illustrate business leadership, 

which for SDG Target 6.3 - the specific target 

for increasing wastewater treatment and 

reuse – is critically needed. And the case 

for business to act is clear, with five clear 

business opportunities: 

1. Reduce regulatory risk and potential 

financial penalties related to noncompliance. 

2. Reduce dependencies on municipal 

water supplies and / or private supplies 

from groundwater and surface water 

sources. 

3. Improve production capacity due to 

increased availability of water. 

4. Increase opportunities to trade reused 

water and recovered materials from 

waste streams. 

5. Develop technologies and services that 

enable business and municipalities to 

treat and reuse water efficiently. 

On the last point, the technology space is 

well developed, for municipal and industrial 

markets, however the cost can be prohibitive, 

particularly for smaller industries and 

business if they must cover all the costs. In 

Singapore, a country renowned for being a 

global leader for water technology, they are 

projecting an increase in industrial demand 

for water from 55 per cent today to 70 per cent 

in 2060. To support business in implementing 

water recycling or water conservation 

solutions, they have created a S$26 million 

fund administered by PUB, Singapore’s 

National Water Agency. Another example of 

private and public sector working together. 

Whilst finance is one aspect that enables 

technology uptake, it also requires other 

drivers to create demand. In this regard, more 

needs to be done by technology suppliers, 

governments and regulators to develop 

markets that support wastewater treatment 

and reuse. Specifically, they need to create 

markets with demand for: 

• Context appropriate technologies that 

treat wastewater to a relevant standard 

in an energy efficient and cost-effective way. 

• Recycled water derived from municipal 

or industrial sources with a quality that 

is fit for purpose. 

• Recovered materials derived from 

municipal or industrial sources that meet 

legislative requirements for use. 

In creating these markets, businesses will 

have options to adopt technologies, develop 

business models and form partnerships that 

drive water efficiencies at scale to have a 

greater impact on water security. Business 

can then step up and demonstrate their 

leadership in contributing to SDG6.3. Here 

are five things that business can do to 

demonstrate such leadership: 

1. Improve disclosure related to volumes 

of wastewater treated and reused to 

create transparency, trust and knowledge 

amongst stakeholders. 

2. Establish water circularity metrics 

About the Author 

that drive appropriate actions related 

to wastewater treatment and reuse and 

communicate level of ambition and 

progress. 

3. Collaborate with public and private 

sector partners to establish mechanisms, 

business models and infrastructure that 

enable wastewater reuse at scale. 

4. Enable and support technological 

innovation for increasing and improving 

wastewater treatment. 

5. Promote the concept of valuing water 

considering environmental, societal and 

economical value to create a viable 

market for trading reused water. 

The 2018 report from UN Water on piloting the 

monitoring methodology and initial findings 

for SDG indicator 6.3.1 found that: “there is 

insufficient data available to estimate treatment 

of industrial wastewater that flows into sewers 

and directly into the environment. Data on 

industrial discharges are poorly monitored 

and seldom aggregated at the national level.” 

Business has a role to play in contributing to all 

SDG6 targets, working collectively with private 

sector partners, government and civil society. 

However, for SDG 6.3 specifically, business has 

an opportunity to take the lead in increasing 

industrial wastewater treatment and reuse 

of wastewater from domestic and industrial 

sources. During the coming 12 months, WBCSD 

will be calling on its members, and other 

business, to raise its ambition to meet SDG6.3. 

It’s an opportunity too good to miss. WWA 

Tom is Director for Water for the World Business Council for 

Sustainable Development (WBCSD), leading the Council’s 

member engagement, strategic and project work on water. 

Tom has a background in public health sciences and is 

committed to contributing to social and environmental 

development. He was previously Programmes Director at the 

International Water Association (IWA) – the largest global 

network of water professionals - addressing and responding 

to some of the significant challenges we face in managing 

the water cycle. Tom has worked in both developed and 

developing countries, with experience collaborating with 

a range of stakeholders including utilities, government, 

research institutes, businesses, donor agencies, UN agencies 

and NGOs. 


42 | OPINION 

Atmospheric Water 

Generators gaining 

prominence in 

water-scarce areas 

By Sumit Gunawant Kulkarni, Research Analyst, Adroit Market Research 

Water scarcity is one of the 

major issues of today’s world. 

Water covers more than 

70 per cent of the Earth’s surface. However, 

potable water accounts for a mere 2.5 per 

cent, which is insufficient to cater to the 

needs of an ever-growing populace. Water 

scarcity is evident in geographic locations 

which do not have adequate fresh water 

resources, such as ponds, rivers and 

long coastlines. In order to address these 

issues, countries meet their demands by 

water treatment technologies such as 

desalination, which is a costly affair. To a 

considerable extent these technologies 

are capable of meeting usable water 

requirements, especially when it comes 

to the locations that are in proximity to 

aquatic systems. 

However, they have still not been able 

to establish themselves as an effective 

solution in addressing issues especially 

in rain shadow areas (dry areas on the 

leeward side of a mountainous area). Such a 

scenario has led to the development of water 

capturing technologies from alternative 

non-aquatic sources. Atmospheric water 

generators (AWG) are one example of such 

developments to gain prominence over the 

recent years. These systems are not only 

used for moisture capture, but also for 

purification of gaseous or air streams in 

industries. In other words, AWGs address 

both water and air pollution concerns. 

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 

Atmospheric water generators extract water 

or moisture content from humid air and purify 

it. In 2018, the global atmospheric water 

generator market revenue was valued at 

approximately USD 2.03 billion. 

Growing AWG adoption in steel processing, 

pulp and paper, oil and gas, and power plants 

is expected to increase the market demand 

in the future. In 2017, The International 

Monetary Fund stated that world economic 

growth was more than three per cent, which 

in turn is expected to create more demand for 

oil and gas in the future. As a consequence, 

this is considered to boost the usage of 

extraction equipment and water treatment 

machinery. Growing demand to reuse water 

through eradication of oil contaminants from 

produced water and discharge, to boost use 

of AWGs in the oil and gas sector by 2025. 

Global atmospheric water generator 

industry is fragmented in nature as large 

number of manufacturers are operating 

in developing countries such as India and 

China. Some prominent players are Dew Point 

Manufacturing, Water-Gen Ltd, Konia, Saisons 

Technocom Pvt Ltd, Water Technologies 

International Inc, Ecoloblue Inc, Island 

Sky Corporation, Watair Inc, WaterMaker 

India Pvt Ltd, Air2Water LLC, Ambient 

Water, Eurosport Active World Corporation 

Technologies, Planets Water, and Fujian Yuxin 

Electronic Co. 


OPINION | 43 

CAN RENEWABLE BASED AWGS 

ALLEVIATE ENERGY COSTS? 

Rising environmental concerns followed by 

less efficient electricity distribution network 

in developing countries is likely to speed up 

the adoption of renewable energy sources. 

Atmospheric water generators powered by 

coal-based electricity has resulted in worst 

carbon footprints. In order to tackle this 

issue, many manufacturers are focusing on 

renewable energy powered atmospheric 

water generators. According to International 

Energy Agency (IEA), by 2040, renewables 

will account for nearly 40 per cent of overall 

electricity generation mix. 

Solar powered AWGs are expected to be 

one of the viable options suitable for use 

in humid and hot climatic areas, that have 

unpredictable electricity generation and 

supply and poor water quality. The readily 

available solar energy, makes it a lowcost 

alternative to conventional electric 

power sources. However, the technology for 

harnessing solar energy is currently more 

expensive as compared to the traditional 

electricity equipment. According to the 

International Copper Association (ICA), solar 

power and wind accounted for more than 

10 per cent of global fuel mix in 2017. It is 

expected that global solar and wind power will 

reach over one terawatt of capacity by 2035. 

Rising R&D focus on atmospheric water 

generators technology will provide scope for 

manufacturers to develop generators with 

higher efficiency and lower environmental 

impact in the future. Two of the major factors 

that concern the manufacturers at present 

include requirement of high-power inputs and 

high carbon footprint generation. 

The carbon footprint of atmospheric water 

generators is largely attributed to the 

power source; when powered by coal-based 

electricity the AWG results in an exponentially 

greater carbon footprint as compared to 

desalination and reverse osmosis units. New 

product development initiatives by several 

manufacturers now integrate on-board 

power generation units such as solar panels 

and wind turbines. This increases the overall 

product cost owing to addition of solar 

panels, but reduces the overall electricity cost 

which is the prime concern of atmospheric 

water generator users. 

RECENT COMPANY DEVELOPMENTS 

IN THE MARKET: 

• In May 2018, Water Technologies 

International, Inc, a US-based company 

engaged in distribution and manufacturing 

of advanced atmospheric water 

generators, announced a contract basis 

collaboration with OriginClear, Inc., based 

in the same country with an expertise in 

offering water treatment solutions. 

• In Feb 2019, Bharat Electronics disclosed 

a new product line of atmospheric water 

generators at the Aero India 2019 event. 

This new AWGs are manufactured by 

Bharat Electronics in collaboration with 

MAITHRI, a Hyderabad based start-up 

and CSIR-IICT. 

• In 2019, the University of Texas developed 

a convenient, innovative, and environment 

friendly way of harvesting moisture 

from the atmosphere and converting it 

into drinking water. It is based on solar 

power water purification technology 

which uses hydrogels to clean water using 

solar power. 

• In November 2018, Watergen, an Israeli 

manufacturer launched atmospheric 

mobile water generators under the GEN- 

350 product line. GEN-350 is used to 

release responders during the devastating 

Camp Fire in Butte County, California. 

GEN-350 has a capacity to produce up to 

156 gallons of water per day. 

• In 2017, Watergen working with FEMA 

(Federal Emergency Management 

Agency) and American Red Cross, offered 

four water generators to Florida and 

Texas after Hurricanes Irma and Harvey) 

to provide clean and safe drinking water. 

In addition to this, Watergen also 

signed an agreement with the US 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA). This R&D agreement is facilitated 

by Republican backer Sheldon Adelson to 

improve the process for access to portable 

water during supply shortages. 

LATEST TECHNOLOGICAL 

ADVANCEMENTS 

Metal organic framework (MOFs) based 

atmospheric water generators and sun-towater 

devices have been a few of the recent 

technological breakthroughs in the global 

AWG industry. Atmospheric water sources 

constitute nearly 10 per cent of fresh water 

on Earth. However, improvement of process 

efficiencies for capturing water from ambient 

air at low humidity levels is still at a nascent 

stage. MOF-based devices capture water at 

ambient conditions using natural sunlight. 

Atmospheric water generator technology 

based on metal organic framework (MOFs) 

is capable of harvesting more than 2.5 litres 

of water per day for every kilogramme of 

MOF. Sun-To-Water devices are capable of 

producing more than 40 gallons of clean 

water per day and it can be powered by 

hybrid solar plus grid power systems. These 

devices use energy-efficient fans to pull air 

and circulate it through desiccant technology 

for water absorption. 

CONCLUSION 

To conclude, declining fresh water levels 

coupled with supportive government 

regulations is expected to increase 

atmospheric water generator market 

expansion over the coming years. Growing 

environmental concerns regarding increasing 

carbon footprints are expected to result 

in the rising adoption of renewable energy 

sources in the future. Atmospheric water 

generators are primarily being used in 

industries and commercial building owing 

to high installations costs. High electricity 

consumption coupled with high capital 

cost has been a limitation of AWG market 

growth especially in the residential segment. 

However, increasing production of solar 

and wind energy based atmospheric water 

generators is expected to open new avenues 

in the global industry over the coming 

years. WWA 

► 

Sumit has a bachelor in engineering degree in 

Mechanical Engineering and a post graduate 

degree in Masters of Business Administration 

(Marketing). He is currently working as a 

research analyst and specialises in chemicals, 

materials, food & beverage, energy, and oil 

and gas sectors. 

► 

► 

► 


40 TH SINGAPORE WATER INDUSTRY NITE 

1 st August 2019, e2i West Halls 1 & 2 

NEWSLETTER 

OF THE 

SINGAPORE 

WATER 

ASSOCIATION 

BRINGING 

A NEW VIBRANCY 

TO SINGAPORE’S 

GROWING 

WATER INDUSTRY 

The 40 th SWIN was sponsored by Andritz Singapore Pte 

Ltd. Programme highlights included a sharing session 

by Andritz Singapore Pte Ltd, updates of SWA acvies 

and a sharing by PUB Singapore and Israel Embassy. The 

cocktail networking recepon and buffet dinner was 

well aended by over 150 guests and members, who 

all had a joyous and comfortable networking session 

with a lucky draw and cake-cung segment. Guests 

were mesmerised with a VVIP red carpet entrance for 

professional photos to be taken. 

BANGKOK MISSION 2019 

4 th to 6 th June 2019, Bangkok, Thailand 

Singapore Water Associaon led nine delegates from 

six companies to meet up with Siam Cement Group (the 

largest state-owned enterprise in Bangkok, belonging 

to the King of Thailand), The Federaon of Thailand 

Industry (FTI), Global Ulies Services Company 

Limited (GUSCO) and the Royal Irrigaon Department 

(RID). The delegaon also visited the Chong Nonsi 

Wastewater Treatment Plant where a £200,000 (SGD 

$334,018) potenal deal is currently underway. The 

delegates had the opportunity to have a guided site 

tour around RID Smart Water Operaon Centre.

JAKARTA MISSION 2019 

15 th and 16 th July 2019, Jakarta, Indonesia 

More than 10 delegates from seven companies partook in the two-day SWA Jakarta Mission alongside meengs with 

The Ministry of Public Works and Housing, Indonesian Regional Water Ulity Co. and 20 member companies of The 

Indonesia Water Associaon (IDWA). The delegaon also visited the PAMJAYA and PT Aetra Wastewater Treatment 

Plant. Over 50 B2B meengs were arranged, with some probable collaboraons in the works. 

Embracing Water Sustainability 2019 

25 th July 2019, PUB WaterHub Auditorium 

Co-organised with LVI Associates and venue support from PUB, the workshop held on 25 th July was well-aended by 

more than 80 water industry professionals. 13 water experts were invited as panellists in the two panel discussions 

– “Embracing Water Digitalizaon and Innovaons” and “Talent Management for The Water Cluster. The sharing 

session widened parcipants’ knowledge and horizons on water sustainability as well as established many new 

collaboraons. 

ThaiWater 2019, Singapore Pavilion 

5 th to 8 th June 2019, Bangkok, Thailand 

Thai Water 2019 was held on 5 to 8 June 2019 in 

Bangkok. It is Thailand’s leading Internaonal Exhibion 

and Conference on Water and Wastewater Technology. 

SWA managed the Singapore Pavilion with a total expo 

space of 84 sqm with six Singapore companies.

IndoWater 2019, Singapore Pavilion 

17 th to 19 th July 2019, Jakarta, Indonesia 

IndoWater 2019 Expo & Forum returned for the 15 th me at Jakarta Convenon Center. It is Indonesia’s Number 

One Water, Wastewater & Recycling Technology Event. SWA managed 13 Singapore companies, occupying a total 

expo area of 192 sqm. Four exhibitors were invited to present papers at the show. 

UPCOMING SWA ACTIVITIES 

TRAINING COURSES IN Q3/Q4 2019 

S/N 

1 

Training Courses 

Operaon & Maintenance of SWRO Plants – 

Customised, fully taken up 

No. of 

Days 

2 Design, Engineer & Operate Fresh Water Treatment Plants 3 

3 Design of Industrial & Municipal Waste Water Recycling Plants 3 

For more informaon on the above courses, please contact SWA office: Ms. Cecilia Tan via 

email: cecilia@swa.org.sg or Tel: (65) 6515 0812. 

SINGAPORE PAVILIONS AT OVERSEAS TRADE SHOWS FOR 2019 

1 

Singapore Pavilions – IMAP Approved 

2 

Days 

Dates 

(2019) 

26 - 27 

August 

25 - 27 

Sep 

18 - 20 

Nov 

Date 

Water Philippines 2019, Philippines, Manila 3 20 - 22 Mar 

2 ThaiWater 2019, Bangkok 4 5 - 8 Jun 

3 IndoWater 2019, Indonesia, Jakarta 3 17 - 19 Jul 

4 VietWater 2019, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh 3 6 - 8 Nov 

5 MyanWater 2019, Yangon, Myanmar 5 28 - 30 Nov 

For more informaon on the above trade fairs, please contact SWA office: enquiry@swa.org.sg or 

Tel: (65) 6515 0812.

TECHNOLOGY MISSIONS FOR 2H 2019 

S/N 

1 

Descripon 

No. of 

Days 

Taiwan Internaonal Water Week, Taipei 3 

2 WATEC 2019, Israel 4 

Dates 

(2019) 

25 - 27 

Sep 

18 - 21 

Nov 

For more informaon on the above missions, please contact 

SWA office: enquiry@swa.org.sg or Tel: (65) 6515 0812. 

TECHNICAL SITE VISITS FOR 2H 2019 

BUSINESS SEMINARS FOR 2H 2019 

S/N 

1 

2 

Descripon 

Tuas 3 Desalinaon 

Plant 

Wyeth Tuas Plant 

- (TBC) 

Days 

1/2 

1/2 

2019 

4 

Sep 

15 

Oct 

S/N 

1 

2 

Descripon 

Best pracces in steel 

pipeline corrosion 

protecon 

Improve Producvity 

with Producvity 

Soluons Grant 

Days 

1/2 

1/2 


19 

Sep 

24 

Oct 

TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCES FOR 2H 2019 

S/N Descripon 

Day 

1 Leveraging Smart loT Technology for the Water Industry 

1/2 

2 Nanyang Enviromental And Water Reserch Instute (TBC) 

1/2 

3 Wastewater Treatment in Food Processing (SWA.SFMA & SIMTECH) (TBC) 1/2 


23 Aug 

10 Oct 

8 Nov 

SWA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS 

(joined from June to July 2019) 

ORDINARY MEMBERS 

1) Augur Intelligence Technology Asia Pacific Pte Ltd 

2) Bio-Globe Singapore Pte Ltd 

3) Century Water Systems & Technologies Pte Ltd 

4) De Nora Water Technologies 

5) Primus Tech Pte Ltd 

6) Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl Pte Ltd 

7) SG Enviro Pte Ltd 

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS 

1) Mr. Jason Gao 

2) Mr. Ronald Au 

PUBLISH YOUR 

ANNOUNCEMENTS OR 

ADVERTISEMENT 

Members, who have any press releases or corporate 

announcements to share with the public, kindly contact 

the SWA secretariat at enquiry@swa.org.sg. SWA 

reserves the right to edit the submied text. 

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS 

1) BlueOcean Memtech Pte Ltd 

2) Centritec Internaonal Pte Ltd 

3) Daalini Engineering Pte Ltd 

4) Delton Marine Pte Ltd 

5) Jeff Supplies Pte Ltd 

6) Koch Membrane Systems 

7) Landmark Plascs Pte Ltd 

8) Phaidon Internaonal 

Singapore Pte Ltd 

9) Pipeline Integrity Consulng 

Engineers Pte Ltd 

10) Polymer Chemical Pte Ltd 

11) SpaceAge Labs 

12) Southeast Asia Ulies 

Investment 

Management Pte Ltd 

13) TMW Technologies 

14) Toyo Pumps Singapore 

Pte Ltd 

15) Veolia Water 

Technologies (SEA) 

Pte Ltd 

16) VEM Motors Asia Pte. Ltd 

INTERESTED TO JOIN SWA? 

We welcome all organisaons who are acvely involved 

and interested in the water and wastewater industry to join 

Singapore Water Associaon as either Ordinary, Associate, 

Instuonal or Individual member. Sign up at hps://www.swa. 

org.sg/membership/sign-up-online.

Digitising 

48 | COMPANY PROFILE 

water with BEULCO 

With the sub-brand iQ water solutions, BEULCO focuses on digitising the 

areas of mobile drinking water supply and drinking water supply systems 

with the aim of making drinking water supply more transparent, safe and 

efficient. 

A 

modern, family-owned company based in Attendorn, 

Germany, BEULCO is proud to call itself one of Europe’s 

top suppliers of high-quality water supply products. The 

company offers solutions and systems for efficient, safe and 

transparent drinking water supply, especially in the field of building 

connection technology and mobile water distribution. 

Water & Wastewater Asia had the chance to speak to BEULCO’s 

Martin Lange, head of iQ water solutions & brand, to find out more 

about the company and its plans for the future. 

WATER & WASTEWATER ASIA (WWA): What are some major 

milestones in the last three years that have contributed to BEULCO’s 

success today? 

LANGE : In the past three years a lot has happened at BEULCO. The 

company has evolved from a pure brass 

component supplier to a provider of water 

supply systems and solutions. The water 

supply market has always been our focus, but 

we have recognised that digitisation offers 

unbelievable potential for the water industry. 

In 2017, we established our comprehensive 

corporate strategy, BEULCO2025, which 

focuses on drinking water and digitisation. 

This resulted in iQ water solutions, with 

which we are now working continuously on 

the development and further development 

of systems and solutions for water supply. 

will change in the future. The Asian market is very open to new 

innovations - here it has long been recognised how important it is 

to work on the water supply of tomorrow. 

WWA : Currently, what markets are you targeting to expand 

further? Why? What are your plans/directions? 

LANGE : Currently, we are targeting Southeast Asia, southern Africa 

and India. The openness and the understanding for forward-looking 

innovations and technologies are present, in order to tackle problems 

such as the insufficient supply of drinking water. Take India as an 

example: India currently has 1.3 billion inhabitants and this number 

is growing rapidly. Here, main challenges are infrastructural, like 

transportation, electricity, poverty alleviation, pollution and above all 

drinking water supply. Around 600 million people have no access to 

clean drinking water, around 200,000 people are expected to suffer 

from insufficient water supply each year, and 

by 2030, water needs are expected to be 

about twice as high as available resources. 

WWA : What trends or potential 

challenges do you think might affect plans 

for expansion? 

LANGE : Different requirements related to 

data protection and regional laws could be 

difficult to handle. The level of development 

of the different markets is a challenge, 

because you have to find out if the level is 

high enough for our digital products. 

WWA : Do you have any success stories in 

Asia that you could share with us? 

LANGE : We are in the process of establishing 

the Asian market, we don’t have any success 

stories just yet, but we are sure that this 

Martin Lange, head of iQ water solutions & 

brand at BEULCO 

WWA : Which markets are new/have not 

ventured into and how do you intend to 

embark on that journey? 

LANGE : Our new focus markets are South 

Africa, India and Singapore, which are all 


COMPANY PROFILE | 49 

very different and require different strategies for us to break into 

the markets. But our first moves are similar: explore the market, 

understand how it works and find a partner who can help us on 

site. 

WWA : How does BEULCO ensure it stays ahead of its competitors? 

LANGE : We remain true to our origins and our values, but are 

open to new ideas and accept the challenges of our customers. 

In recent years, we have internally restructured ourselves, built 

up a flexible, motivated and agile team and created spaces to 

develop and implement innovations, systems and solutions very 

quickly. 

WWA : How do you think the water industry has evolved in the 

past four years? Where is the industry headed? 

LANGE : In general, the water industry has become more open than 

it used to be, and the industry sees meaning in digital innovations 

and understands that the supply of drinking water has an important, 

long-term and existential significance. 

The industry will evolve much faster in the coming years. Numerous 

innovations and technologies already exist to address the challenges 

of today and, above all, of the future. Digitisation is the driving factor. 

Smart cities are being created with regard to mobility and networking 

- but also in the area of water supply. However, this will happen much 

faster in some countries than in others. What we notice in Germany, 

for example, is that we are very far ahead on the innovation base - 

there are systems and technologies that address the issues of the 

future, but it hangs on the basis of implementation. 

WWA : What challenges or trends do you foresee that may impact 

BEULCO? 

LANGE : Rapid change of markets or market environments is certainly 

a worldwide challenge, to which we respond by driving development 

with new and different methods. The digitalisation trend is also slowly 

taking hold in the water industry and affecting everyone working in 

it. Along with this comes the fact that more complete solutions than 

individual products are required, as customers also see themselves 

facing the increasingly complex world, and solutions and systems 

from a single source simplify problem-solving. WWA 

BEULCO is confident in its ability to 

stay ahead of the competition 


50 | COMPANY PROFILE 

From Water- 

Wise Buildings to 

river clean-ups: 

Ecosoftt leads the 

way in water and 

social enterprise 

Ecosoftt Co-Founder Marcus Lim accepting the Zayed Sustainability Prize in Abu Dhabi 

Local company wins big at sustainability awards, shares plans for future 

Local water solutions provider Ecosoftt 

has laid claim to various awards and 

accolades since its inception in 2012, 

but its proudest yet is the prestigious Zayed 

Sustainability Prize, which was awarded to 

the company earlier this year in Abu Dhabi. 

Ecosoftt is the first Singapore organisation 

to win the award, and the first company 

globally to win in the Water Category, which 

recognises impactful and inspirational 

initiatives to global sustainable development 

challenges. 

For Ecosoftt co-founder Marcus Lim, the 

prize is a good way to gauge where the 

company stands in the industry. 

“It’s encouragement that we’re on the right 

track because we have a business model 

that’s quite unique in the industry”, he said. 

“We have a model with for-profit, combined 

with not-for-profit activities. Winning this 

prize confirms that what we’re doing is 

correct, and that there is a big demand out 

there. People who value this kind of stuff 

that we do.” 

Ecosoftt’s unique business model comes 

from the fact that the company is also a social 

enterprise that brings sustainable solutions 

for water and sanitation to underprivileged 

communities. 

“NO TWO PROJECTS ARE ALIKE” 

To date, the company has worked on 50 

projects, with “no two projects that are 

alike”. One especially notable project that 

Ecosoftt embarked on, situated in the holy 

city of Omkareshwar in India, along the 

Narmada river. 

Ecosoftt’s founder Stanley Samuel explained, 

“[Omkareshwar] is a holy city more than 

14 thousand years old, it’s one of the 

significant sites for the Hindu belief, and 

here over 200 drains of untreated sewage 

just flow into the river. We were able to work 

with local communities, intercept the sewage 

across the whole terrain and build four used 

water reclamation systems. 

We used a combination of biological systems 

inspired by nature, which are low-energy, 

low-chemical and highly efficient in terms 

of throughput. We used mediums from the 

area itself, and configured the bioreactors 

to deliver what is called “fit for purpose” or 

quality treated water. 

By treating this water, we don’t let the 

sewage go into the river, and the treated 

water is fed back into the forest. It’s 

reforesting the whole ecosystem there and 

helping to put the water back into the river 

in pristine condition. The beauty of it now is 

that since the last three or four years that 

we’ve started this project, the river water is 

now of potable quality.” 

Other challenges faced while working on the 

project included the terrain itself. “If you 

look at the topography, to do something 

decentralised in a mountainous terrain is 

quite difficult, but we were able to translate 

that challenge into an opportunity by looking 

at gravity flow, so there is less pumping.” 

Another challenge that the team faced 

was the lack of land for infrastructure, but 

Samuel recalled how the people grew to trust 

Ecosoftt and came together to overcome 



this obstacle. “Because of the intent of the 

project we were able to get land donated 

by the community, residents, Channel 

NewsAsia, and many others who visited 

the sites… It was stunning. Many were 

like: “Does this really work?” “Why should 

we trust you?” But they saw the results of 

our first project, and then the other three 

accelerated very fast.” 

Today, the plants are manned by five local 

staff. Lim elaborated, “We have to work 

with the communities, and the people 

there have to give money or donate land. 

Otherwise, there’s no way to start a used 

water treatment plant. A lot of people think 

that the way to get into a market is that you 

have to give benefits to local officials and the 

like. But there’s another way to get business, 

which is to give benefits to the local people 

instead. If you’re benefitting the local people, 

you’ll be welcome – the technology we use 

is 100 per cent designed in Singapore, but 

procurement is all local.” 

LOCAL GROWTH 

Besides working in countries like India, 

Ecosoftt has completed projects back at 

home. Said Lim, “The first project we did 

was in JTC CleanTech Park as a wastewater 

treatment plant on the ground floor of the 

building, in the garden. Our thinking has 

always been that wastewater treatment 

plants are smelly and we don’t want to see 

them, but here we’re putting it at the front of 

house. The idea is that if you use and reuse 

every drop of water within the building, you 

take less water from PUB and discharge less 

into PUB’s network, thereby reducing the 

demand on the national infrastructure. The 

plan now is to scale it up, first to other JTC 

developments, then hopefully the authorities 

can make this a formal policy.” 

Samuel added, “The very proposition that we 

had was to enable clients’ buildings, schools, 

hospitals, to reduce their freshwater intake 

by more than 50 per cent, to recycle and 

reuse more than 80 per cent of the used 

water, and to either give it back to mother 

nature, or to the grid in an environmentally 

friendly way. From there we went to Zero 

Discharge, now we’re working on Net Zero. 

The reason is that less than two to three per 

cent of our footprint is for potable purposes, 

and we’re using a lot of potable water for 

non-potable purposes. We’re able to relook 

this whole equation and reset the balance 

by making sure we are more water-smart. 

Everybody must play a part, so while PUB is 

building the superhighway for collecting and 

treating the sewage collected on the ends of 

the island by gravity, that doesn’t mean you 

can put paint and oil and chemicals into it. 

You have to meet the discharge standards, 

and those standards and norms are going 

to get more and more stringent. Reduce the 

water intake, reduce intake of fresh water, 

recycle as much as you can, and discharge 

in a compliant way. That’s going to be the 

order for the next fifteen years or so.” 

LOOKING FORWARD: SINGAPORE’S 

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE SECTOR 

According to Lim, Singapore’s social 

enterprise sector is still growing, but faces 

challenges of being undercapitalised. “A lot 

of investors, are interested in the sector, 

but they find the sector and business model 

are not proven to the point where people 

feel they will be able to generate adequate 

returns. We need a few successful models 

where we can demonstrate that the social 

enterprise sector can be profitable and 

financially sustainable, and yet be impactful 

at the same time. That will generate a lot 

more interest and a lot more confidence for 

the money and talent to flow into the sector.” 

Samuel added, “Water poverty is a global 

phenomenon. Both rich countries and 

developing ones are affected. Singapore’s 

water story is also very powerful, it’s very 

inspiring and something the world looks up 

to. In terms of the social enterprise space, 

I think Singapore’s clearly leading the way 

for the region to develop business models 

and promote sustainable models across 

sectors.” WWA 

Thanks to Ecosoftt, 

water from the Narmada river 

is now of potable quality 


E 

Reaching new 

heights with 

Borouge 

Water & Wastewater Asia recently sat down with Youssef Taha, 

Vice President of Infrastructure at Borouge, to find out more about 

what the company thinks of emerging trends in the market, and 

how they plan to expand their production of PE black pipe solutions. 

WATER & WASTEWATER ASIA (WWA): What 

are some major milestones in the last 

three years that have contributed to the 

success of Borouge’s Infrastructure business today? 

YOUSSEF: In 2016, we launched our coloured 

PE100 and PE80 solutions for gas applications 

to meet the growth in demand from Southeast 

Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Middle East. 

We have seen growing confidence in PE materials 

by pipe producers in the region, who are 

increasing investments in machinery for the 

manufacturing of very large diameter pipes. 

In the last two years for instance, a leading 

Vietnamese producer invested heavily in a solid 

wall HDPE extrusion line for the production of 

water pipes for construction, supply and drainage 

applications. The line is currently one of only a 

handful in the world which can produce OD 2m pipes. 



In line with global trends toward urbanisation, the rise in the 

development of modern residential and commercial high rises has led 

to a corresponding increase in the demand for advanced plumbing 

networks. We have addressed this trend by expanding our existing 

Hot and Cold portfolio with the launch of new PE-RT materials. We 

are also actively collaborating with value chain partners to promote 

our existing PP-R solutions. 

WWA : I understand BorECO PP materials are specifically 

developed for underground, sewage and drainage systems – what 

are the advantages of using this? 

YOUSSEF : Our BorECO PP solutions have a higher modulus as 

compared to standard PP materials. This makes them very ideal for 

underground sewage and drainage applications because of a good 

balance of flexibility and stiffness - mechanical properties that are 

crucial in enabling the buried pipeline to withstand ground movements 

and high top loads for a long and leak-free service life. In addition 

to these, BorECO PP solutions have an excellent downgauging 

potential – producers can enjoy greater material savings as they would 

be able to manufacture thinner walled pipes that possess the same 

strength and durability as ones with thicker walls. These pipes are also 

lighter and can be transported using less energy, hence reducing the 

environmental footprint. 

WWA : What makes the modern plastic piping system, and how 

have piping systems evolved to suit changing needs in the water 

industry? 

YOUSSEF : The global trends of population growth, urbanisation and 

extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have heightened 

the need for modern water infrastructure networks which address 

water scarcity, safeguard water security and ensure water supply 

reliability. Also, with urban areas becoming increasingly dense and 

packed with tightly clustered high rises, it is important that modern 

infrastructure networks are easy to install, operate and maintain in 

such complex operating environments. 

To meet these requirements, modern polyolefin piping systems are 

currently made from fifth generation bimodal high density PE100 (i.e. 

HDPE 100). In addition to possessing an ideal balance of stiffness and 

flexibility, these materials are also very resistant to stress cracking, 

making them ideal for buried pipelines installed by trenchless (i.e. no 

dig) methods. 

WWA : Which markets are new for Borouge, and how do you 

intend to embark on that journey? 

YOUSSEF : Borouge is increasing its activity in emerging markets across 

Southeast Asia and Africa, where issues such as water scarcity and 

aging water infrastructure have led to a growing awareness of how 

water security can be improved with modern infrastructure solutions 

such as PE100. Water supply pipes made from PE100 can be welded 

together to form leak free networks that are durable enough to 

accommodate ground movements. 

To support our growth plans in these markets and beyond, we will 

be boosting production of pre-compounded black PE solutions for 

pressure pipe applications by investing in a production unit at our plant 

in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, which is expected to be completed within 2020. 

WWA : Are there developments in Asia that you foresee might 

impact Borouge? 

YOUSSEF : China’s National Standards Committee SAC/TC48/SC3 has 

recently updated the country’s national standards governing the use of 

PE materials for water distribution applications. This new development 

- which recommends that utilities providers use only ready-made PE 

compounds for the manufacturing of drinking water pipes – will raise 

China’s national standards for PE water piping, bringing them closer to 

those of the internationally recognised and widely referenced ISO4427 

standard. 

Pre-compounded black PE100 is ready to use, does not require further 

mixing with colour additives and enables the even distribution of 

carbon black particles for fully homogeneous pipes with long-term 

UV protection and excellent mechanical properties. Borouge has a 

long and proven track record in pre-compounded black PE100 and 

is well poised to support the anticipated growth in Chinese demand 

for the material with our increased production capacity come 2020. 

WWA : Going forward, where is the future of the water industry 

in Asia? 

YOUSSEF : Water scarcity exacerbated by population growth, 

urbanisation, climate change and the pollution of water catchment 

areas remains a challenge for the Asian water industry. Water utilities 

will face growing pressure to increase their operating efficiency in 

both the upstream water treatment and downstream water supply 

and wastewater collection segments. 

WWA : How has the water industry evolved in the past few years? 

YOUSSEF : The water industry has evolved as a whole, with significant 

changes seen across various segments of the value chain. Makers of 

pipe extrusion machines are now producing units that can manufacture 

pressure pipes of up to OD 3m and spiral wound non-pressure pipes 

of up to OD 4m. 

For water supply pipelines, there is growing emphasis on the importance 

of using quality materials such as pre-compounded black PE100 

because of the way they impact the costs of producing and maintaining 

the network across its entire operating lifetime (i.e. whole life costs). 

However, with the growing awareness and acceptance of polyolefin 

materials for water infrastructure, PE and PP solutions are poised 

to gain ground over traditional materials thanks to their mechanical 

strength, excellent environmental sustainability and lower whole life 

cost. 

On top of this, we are seeing how PP and PE materials are versatile 

enough to be used for unique types of non-piping water infrastructure. 

For instance, our BorECO solutions have been used for the production 

of rainwater harvesting boxes, which are a temporary collection and 

channelling solution for excess rainwater. WWA 


54 | TECH ROUND UP 

The Kuraray team at INDOWATER 

2019, with Motosugu Yoshihara 

(bottom right), Senior Manager of GEL 

and Carrier Production Technology 

Development 

“A high-rise apartment 

for bacteria”: 

How KURAGEL’s 

revolutionising 

the market 

A gel that reduces excess sludge 

simply by being added into 

activated sludge might sound 

a little too good to be true, 

but Japanese manufacturing 

company Kuraray assures us that 

this isn’t so. Water & Wastewater Asia 

finds out more. 

Developed by Japanese company 

Kuraray, KURAGEL is a polyvinyl 

alcohol (PVA) hydrogel which features 

higher bacterial retention as compared 

to ordinary carriers, and enables more 

efficient wastewater treatment. 

According to Mototsugu Yoshihara, senior 

manager of the gel and carrier production 

technology development department, 

KURAGEL has three main points that set it 

apart from the competition, “Firstly, the main 

material of KURAGEL is polyvinyl alcohol and 

gel, so it includes much more water, about 

90 per cent – it’s very hydrophilic, and has a 

very high affinity with biomass like bacteria. 

This accelerates the retention of 

bacteria on the surface of and 

inside the KURAGEL. Secondly, 

the shape is spherical and the 

KURAGEL’s specific gravity is 

slightly higher than water – it’s 

slightly heavier than water – so 

it flows easily inside the tank. 

The third point is the most 

important: The KURAGEL has 

a co-continuous structure with 

pores that are less than 20 

micrometres in size. Activated 

sludge is usually composed of 

bacteria, metazoa and protozoa, 

with metazoa and protozoa 

making up 95 per cent of the 

material, and these are larger than bacteria 

so these microorganisms cannot enter the 

KURAGEL. So, the surface area of KURAGEL 

makes it much more effective in retaining only 

bacteria, which can then be treated.” 

Due to its porous structure, each KURAGEL 

sphere is able to retain one billion bacterial 

cells, and can dramatically increase the 

capacity of wastewater treatment plants. 

This is aided by the properties of PVA gel, 

which has a very high water content due 

to its extensive porosity and allows for 

the favourable permeability of oxygen and 

nutrients to the bacteria colonised inside 

the beads. 

Mototsugu laughed, “The bacteria are 

very happy to live here, it’s like a high-rise 

apartment for them!” 

USING KURAGEL 

KURAGEL is well suited for use in biotreatment 

processes such as the treatment of sewage 

and polluted river water, and in industrial 

wastewater treatment systems. It is also 

suitable for the removal of nitrogen, and the 

strength to withstand mechanical agitation 

for efficient denitrification. 

Another of KURAGEL’s strengths lies in how 

easy it is to retrofit. Mototsugu explained, 

“KURAGEL has a very high performance 

rate, so we can make treatment systems 

very compact, and the footprint becomes 

very small. In a typical wastewater treatment 

plant, you don’t have space to add more 

equipment. In this case, we can simply add 

KURAGEL into the existing aeration tank to 

increase performance and without the need 

to put in a new tank.” 

Depending on the characteristics of the 

wastewater to be treated, the plant’s 

treatment ability can be enhanced up to five 

times over that of conventional activated 

sludge by using the KURAGEL system, 

allowing for the potential upgrading of 

existing overloaded systems or for design 

of new process units with greatly reduced 

footprints.

TECH ROUND UP | 55 

Furthermore, KURAGEL can help plants reduce excess sludge. KURAGEL 

controls the generation of sludge by preferentially promoting the proliferation 

of microorganisms such as bacteria that purify wastewater. In addition, 

Kuraray’s wastewater treatment system utilises the self-oxidation mechanism 

of microorganisms to significantly reduce sludge. 

“This is another advantage of using KURAGEL in industrial water systems – 

we can reduce excess sludge because in the KURAGEL system, it only takes 

in bacteria and not metazoa and protozoa, so the bacteria can decompose 

by themselves. What this means is that there is less bacteria in the activated 

sludge tank due to the KURAGEL system retaining bacteria, so there is less 

activated sludge produced.” 

CHALLENGES MET 

According to Mototsugu, KURAGEL was a natural next step in the 

company’s technological roadmap. Considered a pioneer in the business of 

manufacturing PVA resin, Kuraray’s selection of product offerings ranges 

from EXCEVAL (a specially-modified PVA resin that is water-soluble and offers 

high water resistance), MOWIFLEX (a PVA-based polymer compound suitable 

for thermoplastic processing) and films including the KURARAY POVAL FILM, 

used in polarising plates, and its water-soluble cousin, used in agriculture 

chemicals, transfer printing and thermoplastic mould release applications. 

PVA gel beads after aerobic cultivation 

Mototsugu shared more about the challenges the Kuraray team met in 

creating KURAGEL, saying, “The most important point of KURAGEL is the 

microstructure of the PVA gel. If there are no pores, or the pores are too 

small, useful bacteria cannot grow in the carrier. If they are too large, large 

microorganisms like protozoa and metazoa can enter. The first problem was 

to adjust the pore size of the gel to an appropriate size. Next was to produce 

the gel at a reasonable pace, with stable quality. 

It was also difficult getting our overseas customers to accept KURAGEL. At 

first, it was difficult because we don’t have actual references in each country, 

so it took some time for the customer to understand what we had created 

and how efficient it was. But now we have some references in each country 

so we’re expanding the KURAGEL system. We’ve made a very good effort to 

expand the KURAGEL system in Asian markets.” 

A look at the microscopic structure of the PVA gel beads 

THE FUTURE OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT INDUSTRY 

The wastewater treatment industry is still growing, according to Mototsugu, 

and needs to find the sweet spot between being a local business and reaching 

out into global markets. 

“Between global and local, water treatment is more ‘glocal’. Each country 

has different wastewater treatment programmes, so we try to bring our 

wastewater treatment programme to different countries. Therefore, we 

have to develop technologies for each area… For example, the Indian 

government now promotes making sewage plants, so we developed a very 

compact sewage system for the Indian market. And now for Indonesia, many 

rivers still contain ammonia, so we developed the technique for removing 

ammonia from the river. Technologies should be developed to solve different 

situations.” WWA 

A water treatment plant using KURAGEL to treat river water in Indonesia 



Tsurumi single-phase portable residue drainage pumps 

Countermeasures against Zika virus and Dengue fever 

Since its foundation in 1924 in Japan, 

Tsurumi Manufacturing Co., Ltd. has 

been engaged in the manufacture, 

supply and sales of pumps, environmental 

devices and related equipment, with 

submersible pumps being key products. Just 

regarding pumps, Tsurumi has a wide range 

of product lines from compact household 

pumps and light-duty pumps for small septic 

tanks to medium and heavy-duty construction 

dewatering pumps that are used for mining 

and civil engineering, tunneling and largescale 

construction projects, and heavy-duty 

wastewater pumps for water treatment 

plants and flood control pumping stations. 

CAPABLE OF DRAINING SHALLOW 

PONDED AND STAGNANT WATER 

Tsurumi’s residue drainage pumps suck and 

drain shallow ponded and stagnant water. In 

addition to being compact and lightweight, 

which makes them readily portable, these 

pumps run on a single-phase power supply, 

so they are easy to handle in every way. They 

can pump water down to one mm in depth 

and some models come equipped with a 

reverse-flow preventing mechanism and/ 

or suction attachment. These features are 

used to drain shallow ponded water from 

construction site floors, excavated pits, 

water collection and feed tanks, and puddles. 

EFFECTIVE TOOLS IN THE FIGHT 

AGAINST ZIKA VIRUS AND DENGUE 

FEVER 

Tsurumi’s residue drainage pumps are also 

effective tools in the fight against Zika Virus 

and Dengue Fever. These contagious diseases 

are borne and spread by mosquitoes, 

which lay their eggs in ponded water. So, 

depriving mosquitoes of the places they 

need to breed is a surefire way to prevent 

contagion. Because these potential diseases 

are prevalent in the tropics and subtropics, 

many construction sites in Southeast Asia 

are proactively using Tsurumi’s residue 

drainage pumps to remove ponded water and 

eliminate these health threats at the source. 

ORIGINAL QUALITY DESIGNED IN 

JAPAN 

Tsurumi pumps are designed in Japan. 

Though compact in size, they come loaded 

with field-tested and proven proprietary 

technologies like an original anti-wicking 

cable, motor protector, dual inside 

mechanical seals with silicon carbide 

faces and Oil Lifter. Moreover, consumable 

parts are made of wear-resistant materials 

that enable continuous duty. Therefore, 

every Tsurumi pump is designed to deliver 

outstanding durability, stable performance 

and high reliability even in dry-running 

operation. WWA 

1: Tsurumi’s residue drainage pumps remove 

ponded water where disease-carrying 

mosquitoes like to breed 

2: The HSR series can pump water as shallow 

as 5mm from the bottom of the pump and 

drain water to one mm in depth 

3: The LSC series can drain water to one 

mm in depth, and a valve seat and swing 

check valve prevent suctioned water from 

backflowing 

1 

4: The LSP series can pump pooled water 

from shallow recesses using the suction 

attachment – a syphon breaker mechanism 

prevents backflowing and the seal water from 

draining out 

2 3 4

TECH ROUND UP | 57 



EMERSON 

introduces new 2-wire 

Coriolis flow meter 

Emerson has released the Micro Motion 4200 

2-wire loop-powered Coriolis transmitter, a 

new design that makes it possible to replace 

existing 2-wire flow devices with minimal effort and 

without incurring additional power or cabling costs. 

The device can accommodate the largest line size 

(4”) of any 2-wire flow meter on the market and is the 

only such product to offer an onboard real-time clock 

for improved diagnostics. The unit is available in a 

remote-mount option for applications that require the 

transmitter to be located separately from the sensor. 

The 4200 transmitter provides a viable migration 

path where Coriolis meters were previously 

not practical as a 2-wire solution, either due 

to restrictions on running additional 

Emerson’s new Micro Motion 4200 2-wire 

wiring or a lack of power sources. By 

loop-powered Coriolis transmitter 

using existing wires and eliminating the 

need for AC panels and transformers, 

the 4200 shortens engineering and 

planning time and reduces installation 

safety hazards. The unit is also an ideal solution for 

greenfield applications where it’s necessary to minimise 

wiring costs without compromising on measurement 

performance. 

The new meter provides highly 

accurate and repeatable mass 

flow and density measurements, 

which enables users to optimise 

production, improve safety by 

preventing spill hazards due to overfilling, improve 

cost allocation and product usage, improve 

throughput and optimise reaction time. To 

ensure reliability, the device comes standard 

with Smart Meter Verification, the only 2-wire 

Coriolis meter diagnostic tool on the market 

that checks the structural integrity of the 

tubes. The data historian, with up to 14 days 

of storage and a real-time clock, facilitates 

trouble-shooting by time-stamping process 

data, audit trails and reports. A touch control 

display provides a simplified user experience and 

reduces commissioning time. The 4200 is also 

SIL 2-capable with single use and SIL 3-capable 

with multiple meters. 

“Coriolis 2-wire flow meters offer an 

accurate and repeatable flow and 

density measurement that can maximise 

plant efficiency and reduce waste,” said 

Anthony Gentile, product marketing 

manager at Emerson Automation 

Solutions. 

“By replacing unreliable legacy 2-wire flow 

meters with Coriolis 2-wire, 

the existing wiring can be 

reused, lowering planning, 

engineering and installation 

costs.” WWA 

The Micro Motion 4200 delivers accurate, reliable 

measurement without the need 

for additional wiring 


60 | SHOW PREVIEW 

Mandalay, and the use of environment 

friendly wastewater treatment solutions – the 

mobilisation of microorganisms essential 

for the degradation of environmental 

pollutants. 

Held at the Myanmar Expo Hall, from 

28-30 November 2019, MYANWATER 

2019 aims to be a driving force, spurring 

the development of Myanmar’s water 

and wastewater industries with emerging 

technologies and innovative products 

and solutions. This three-day event is set 

to bring together industry professionals 

including officials from government and 

private sectors, developers, manufacturers, 

engineers, consultants, agents and 

distributors. 

MYANWATER 2019 Expo set 

to return for 6 th edition 

this November 

Myanmar’s No.1 International Water 

Supply and Treatment Industry 

Exhibition and Conference is 

returning to Yangon for its sixth edition this 

November. Serving as a strategic platform 

for key stakeholders of the industry to 

discuss and share ideas and solutions on 

developing Myanmar’s water and wastewater 

treatment systems, the Expo will feature a 

comprehensive range of the latest products, 

equipment and technology. 

A mountainous and forest-clad nation with 

plateaus, valleys and plains, Myanmar is 

endowed with abundant water resources. 

With the population increasing rapidly, 

authorities and policy makers are pushing 

for Myanmar’s urbanisation development, 

aiming to bring the country on par with 

neighbouring and regional cities. Dubbed 

as “Asia’s Final Frontier”, the Government 

has implemented several initiatives 

to develop the water and wastewater 

treatment industry. These initiatives include 

installing smart sensors to monitor the 

condition of pipelines and water meters, the 

building of water treatment plants such as 

the one being done in Pyigyidagun Township, 

The best platform to connect, network and 

build lasting business relationships, this 

trade show will enable exhibitors and visitors 

alike to stay ahead of the curve and keep in 

tune with current and future market trends. 

Through the many co-located seminars 

and technology symposiums, professionals 

will be able to discover the best solutions 

to transform Myanmar’s water utilities for 

the better. 

The International Exhibition is organised by 

AMB Tarsus Events Group, a leading trade 

show organiser in the region. The Group’s 

portfolio covers leading shows in Bangladesh, 

Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, 

Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, focusing on 

industries such as building and construction, 

water and wastewater treatment, food and 

beverage, hospitality, automotive parts 

and accessories, livestock and agriculture, 

and many more. Other water and wastewater 

treatment exhibitions organised by the 

Group include CAMWATER in Cambodia, 

LAOWATER in Laos, and LANKAWATER in 

Sri Lanka. 

MYANWATER 2019 will showcase a wide 

range of products, services and technologies 

from over 150 companies and brands hailing 

from 12 countries. WWA 


The IWA 

Water and 

Development 

Congress & 

Exhibition 2019 

Water is one of the most critical 

issues facing the world today, 

with developing and emerging 

economies facing some of the biggest water 

challenges and representing some of the 

biggest opportunities to get our water future 

right. In the Asia Pacific region, home to 

two-thirds of the world’s poor, water quality 

is at a critical stage, as growing volumes 

of untreated wastewater from households, 

cities, agriculture and industry continue to 

be released into the natural environment. 

The International Water Association (IWA) 

will host its biannual leading water event, 

the IWA Water and Development Congress 

& Exhibition in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 

1 to 5 of December 2019, bringing together 

water science and research with the public 

and private sectors, financial institutions, 

policy makers and civil society, to drive water 

cooperation and sustainable solutions for 

emerging economies. 

The IWA Water and Development Congress 

& Exhibition 2019 provides a platform 

for national, regional and international 

cooperation on water. It is also a unique 

hub for water and sanitation professionals 

to develop the necessary capacities, 

knowledge and, fundamentally, connections 

across disciplines to implement available 

solutions and best practices at scale, and 

take innovations from research to the 

marketplace. 

The IWA Water and Development Congress 

& Exhibition is an agenda-setting meeting 

that addresses the challenges and 

solutions needed to achieve the Sustainable 

Development Goals. The meeting will feature: 

• Keynote speakers: thought leaders from 

within and beyond the water sector provide 

spark the critical debates the water sector 

needs to address; 

• Dynamic Forums: leaders from cities, 

government, utilities, regulators and science 

bring together current trends, latest research 

and leading practice; 

• Thematic Tracks: science, technology and 

practice that challenge current norms and 

inspire new approaches and technologies; 

• Workshops and Technical Sessions: over 

200 sessions that highlight global examples 

of best practices in water management; 

• International Exhibition: a one-stopshop 

connecting the right people with the 

right solutions from more than 150 leading 

international companies and institutes. 

The International Exhibition floor will 

be the networking hotspot during the 

event. For organisations looking to stand 

out as a leading brand, the IWA Water 

and Development Congress & Exhibition 

offers a unique opportunity to profile your 

organisation and showcase your technical 

and service solutions amongst water 

professionals from over 90 countries. 

Over 3500 people, a global audience of 

practitioners, utility managers, academia, 

government officials, consultants and media 

are expected to attend. WWA 


EVENTS CALENDAR 2019 / 2020 

SEPTEMBER 2019 

Asian Utility Week 2019 

3 to 5 September 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

https://www.asian-utility-week.com 

CamWater 2019 


Phnom Penh, Cambodia 

http://www.camwaterexpo.com 

IWWEF 2019 


Jakarta, Indonesia 

http://www.iwwef.co.id 

OCTOBER 2019 

Malaysia International Water 

Convention 2019 

1 to 3 October 


https://www.miwc.tech 

IDA 2019 Water Congress on 

Desalination 


Dubai, UAE 

https://wc.idadesal.org 

Bentley The Year in Infrastructure 


Singapore 

https://yii.bentley.com 

NOVEMBER 2019 

VietWater (Ho Chi Minh) 2019 

6 to 8 November 

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam 

https://www.vietwater.com/en-us 

MyanWater 2019 

28 to 30 November 

Yangon, Myanmar 

https://www.myanwater.org 

DECEMBER 2019 

IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition 

1 to 5 December 

Colombo, Sri Lanka 

https://www.waterdevelopmentcongress.org 

JANUARY 2020 

WFES Water 2020 

13 to 16 January 

Abu Dhabi, UAE 

https://www.worldfutureenergysummit.com/wfes-water 

InterAqua Tokyo 2020 

20 to 31 January 

Tokyo, Japan 

https://www.interaqua.jp/eng 

FEBRUARY 2020 

World Water-Tech Innovation Summit 2020 

25 to 26 February 

London, United Kingdom 

https://worldwatertechinnovation.com 

MARCH 2020 

Asia Water 2020 

31 March to 2 April 


https://www.asiawater.org 

APRIL 2020 

WQA Convention and Exposition 2020 

1 to 3 April 

Orlando, USA 

https://www.wqa.org/convention 

IE Expo 2020 

21 to 23 April 

Shanghai, China 

http://www.ie-expo.com 

JUNE 2020 

Aquatech China 2020 

3 to 5 June 

Shanghai, China 

https://www.aquatechtrade.com/china 

IFAT Munich 2020 

4 to 8 June 

Munich, Germany 

https://www.ifat.de/index-2.html 

Indo Water Expo & Forum 2020 

9 to 11 June 

Surabaya, Indonesia 

http://www.indowater.com 

JULY 2020 

Singapore International Water Week 2020 

5 to 9 July 

Singapore 

https://www.siww.com.sg 

OCTOBER 2020 

WEFTEC 2020 


New Orleans, USA 

https://weftec.org 

Myanmar Water 2020 


Yangon, Myanmar 

https://www.myanwater.com 

9 th IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition 2020 


Copenhagen, Denmark 

https://worldwatercongress.org 


ADVERTISERS INDEX WATER & WASTEWATER ASIA September / October 2019 

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IWA Water & Development Congress & 

Exhibition 2019 31 

MYANWATER 61 

Sumitomo Corporation 13 

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