Technology Scouting: Water Purification
Contents
Introduction
Water purification is the process of removing contaminants from surface water or groundwater to make it fit for specific purposes. The contaminants may be particulate matter, dissolved minerals or microorganisms. Technologies commonly employed to purify water are distillation, ion exchange, adsorption, filtration, membrane filtration, ultraviolet (UV) radiation or a combination of more than one of these. The technologies most applied currently are membrane filtration and UV radiation. Nanotechnology is significantly advancing water purification technologies, especially in membrane processes.
Technical Classification
The following technical classification has been arrived at, based on its commercial usage and popularity.
Note: Please note that the classification is only an indicative of the water purification market. It is not an exhaustive classification of water purification techniques.
Nanotechnology in Water Purification
- The global market for nanotechnology products used in water treatment was worth an estimated $1.4 billion in 2010
- The market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7% during the next 5 years to reach a value of $2.2 billion in 2015.
Source: BCC Research
Company Profiles
NanoH2O
NanoH2O, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures and markets reverse osmosis (RO) membranes that lower the cost of desalination. Based on breakthrough nanostructured materials and industry-proven polymer technology, licensed original TFN technology from University of California, Los Angeles, NanoH2O’s QuantumFlux membranes dramatically improve desalination energy efficiency and productivity. QuantumFlux seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membranes, Standard 61 certified by NSF International for the production of drinking water, deliver the highest flux and the highest salt rejection of any SWRO membrane on the market. QuantumFlux membranes are available in standard 8-inch (20 cm) diameter elements that fit easily into new and existing desalination plants, purifying water from a broad range of sources with improved productivity and water quality. NanoH2O is the 2011 Aquatech Innovation Award Winner in the Water Supply category. Quantum Flux membranes are installed in over 50 commercial sites across six continents, representing over 80,000 m3 per day (21 million gallons per day) in cumulative capacity.
The startup has developed its technology based on research from the University of California at Los Angeles. Its formula adds a nanomaterial to a conventional polymer membrane for desalination in order to alter its structure and make it easier for the water to pass through while it blocks out salt and other minerals. The water is potable afterward, but utilities sometimes add back some of the minerals that are filtered out before delivering the water to homes and businesses.
Company Snapshot
| Company Name | NanoH2O |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Technology Description | Membrane Technology (QuantumFlux) |
| Key People | Jeff Green (Founder & CEO) Bob Burk (Founder & CSO) |
| Revenue | $4.90 million |
| Employees | 26 |
| Address | 570 Westwood Plaza Suite 6532 Los Angeles, CA, 90095-7277 USA |
| Products | Quantum Flux membranes |
Corporate History
| Date | Activity |
| 2005 | Company founded by Jeff Green (Chief Executive Officer) and Robert Burk (Chief Scientific Officer) |
| 2006 | Filed first set of patents on nanocomposite membrane technology |
| 2008 | Achieved twice the flux of traditional polyamide membranes with >99.7% salt rejection on bench scale tests |
| 2009 | Successfully completed one year of long-term testing at U.S. Navy Desalination Testing Facility in Port Hueneme, California |
| 2010 | Commenced full-scale commercial manufacturing in El Segundo, California |
| 2011 | Introduced the highest flux SWRO membrane in the industry |
| 2012 | Introduced the highest rejection SWRO membrane on the market |
Investment Landscape
| Date | Investors | Funding Type | Amount |
| May, 2007 | Khosla Ventures | Venture | $5.00 million |
| Dec, 2011 | Khosla Ventures Oak Investment Partners |
Venture | $30.00 million |
| Apr, 2012 | BASF Venture Capital America Total Energy Ventures Keytone Ventures Khosla Ventures Oak Investment Partners PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund Comerica Bank Lighthouse Capital Partners |
Venture | $60.50 million |
Source: CrunchBase, PrivCo
Puralytics
Founded in 2007, Puralytics has developed a cost efficient water purification system for distributed use. The company’s products, enabled by advances in semiconductors, optics, and nanotechnology, use natural or LED light to induce photochemical reactions to purify a given volume of water.
Puralytics’ purification technology uses only light energy to activate a photocatalyst nano coating. Water is purified by five simultaneous photochemical reactions, breaking down organic compounds, reducing and removing heavy metals and sterilizing microorganisms. There are no chemical additives and 100% of the water is purified.
Puralytics currently markets two product lines; the Shield and the SolarBag, both based upon Puralytics patent-pending technology. Electrically powered, the Shield is a LED based purification stand-alone system or system component. This unit has an extremely small footprint at 28"x19"x8" and provides 500 gallons per day of purified water. The SolarBag is a direct sunlight activated photochemical water purification bag, manufactured and distributed by channel partners, which can purify 3 liters of water when placed in sunlight for 2 - 4 hours. The SolarBag has promising applications in remote military, emergency response, and emerging markets.
Hydration Technologies’ humanitarian water division is helping Puralytics sell the SolarBag to nonprofits that will distribute it.
Company Snapshot
| Company Name | Puralytics |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Technology Description | Light-activated Nanotechnology |
| Key People | Mark Owen (President & CEO) Ed Kolasinski (COO) |
| Revenue | $0.70 million |
| Employees | 8 |
| Address | 15250 NW Greenbrier Pkwy Beaverton, OR 97006 USA |
| Products | SolarBag 3L, Shield |
Corporate History
| Date | Activity |
| 2007 | Mark Owen leaves Phoseon Technology and starts Puralytics |
| Apr, 2009 | Puralytics gets chosen by The Artemis Project as a Top 50 Global Water Technology Company competition winner |
| 2009 | Puralytics pioneers a new photochemical process for water purification and gets a grant from National Science Foundation (NSF) |
| 2010 | Puralytics wins the grand prize of the 2010 Cleantech Open business competition |
| 2011 | Puralytics included in the 2011 Global Cleantech 100 list |
| 2012 | Puralytics gets invited to Global Cleantech 100 Summit & Gala |
Investment Landscape
| Date | Investors | Funding Type | Amount |
| Oct, 2009 | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Grant | $148,796 |
| Mar, 2010 | Oregon Nanotechnologies and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) | Grant | $0.25 million |
| 2009-2011 | Engmann Options LLC Steifel Foundation LLC 10 Angel Investors Management Team |
Venture | $0.83 million |
| 2012 | Currently Seeking | Private + Venture | $3.00 million |
