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Dow to Commercialize ZDD Desalination Technology  MIDLAND,
MI -- The Dow Chemical Company announced that it has signed a
licensing option and evaluation agreement with South Carolina-based
ZDD, Incorporated, giving Dow exclusive rights to elect an exclusive
license to ZDD, Incorporated’s Zero Discharge Desalination (ZDD)
process technology for desalination of seawater and brackish water.
The
patent-pending ZDD process technology utilizes a unique
combination of reverse osmosis or nanofiltration membranes and
electrodialysis cells that enables water treatment facilities to
recover potentially saleable salts and greater amounts of pure
filtered water. It also minimizes or eliminates the production
of concentrated brine, the disposal of which represents a
substantial cost associated with water treatment in coastal and,
in particular, inland locations.
“Desalination is an extremely efficient and viable process
for addressing global water shortages, and this
multi-faceted technology brings additional advantages in
energy efficiency, low cost and zero or near-zero liquid
discharge,” said Karen Dobson, global market manager,
FILMTEC™ membranes. “By gaining exclusive rights to this
technology, Dow can now provide an enhanced component
offering, allowing us to be an even more valuable supplier
to our global OEM customer base.”
As part of the ZDD process, brine streams containing
sparingly soluble salts are treated with electrodialysis
to separate the anions and cations of the salts into two
separate streams. These ions are then paired with
appropriate cations and anions to form salts that are
more soluble in the two streams. Additional pure water
is recovered through this process from the separated
brine streams and ultimately the concentrates are
remixed and the insoluble salts that precipitate are
separated and potentially sold.
ZDD technology was
originally developed by Thomas A. Davis, Ph.D.,
Department of Chemical Engineering at the University
of South Carolina and was licensed to ZDD,
Incorporated by the University as part of its
program to encourage commercialization of its
technologies. Davis, research professor and Walker
Rast, alumnus of the university, are currently the
principals of ZDD, Incorporated. The University has
filed two patents on the technology, one for use
with seawater and the other for inland desalination
and agricultural water treatment.
The ZDD, Incorporated agreement is the latest move by Dow that demonstrates its commitment to maintaining a leadership role in the water purification industry. The company recently acquired Zhejiang Omex Environmental Engineering Ltd. in China, giving it access to Ultrafiltration (UF), Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR) membranes, and Electrodeionization (EDI) technologies. The company also announced a major expansion of its FILMTEC membrane production capabilities in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Dow provides highly
productive and effective separations solutions
based on FILMTEC reverse osmosis (RO) and
nanofiltration (NF) elements, DOWEX™ ion
exchange resins and ADSORBSIA™ GTO™
titanium-based arsenic removal media. Dow is the
only global manufacturer of both membrane and
ion exchange products.
About ZDD Inc.
ZDD Inc.
develops and markets a Zero Discharge
Desalination (ZDD) process to recover
fresh water and chemicals from seawater
and brackish water. The company was
formed in 2001 by Dr. Tom Davis, a
research professor in the department of
chemical engineering at the University
of South Carolina's College of
Engineering and Information Technology,
and Walker Rast, a USC alumnus and
international-business executive. In
2003, ZDD Inc. was admitted to the USC
Incubator, which supports
technology-driven companies that will
stimulate economic development in
Columbia and throughout the Midlands.
More
information about Dow can be found
at
http://www.dow.com/
nrwa08152006a |
2006
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