October 2, 2024 • 10 mins
Green Chemistry takes center stage as Rhys and Divya dive into the world of sustainable chemical manufacturing and the importance of the 12 principles from the US EPA. Discover the challenges and potential of market adoption and the exciting developments in green alternatives like Hydrex and bio-based polyacrylamide flocculants.
Shift focus to Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes as we explore emerging innovations in ceramic and graphene oxide membranes, and the implications of upcoming EU PFAS restrictions.
Don't miss the buzz about the WEFTEC conference in New Orleans, where Bluetech Research is proudly hosting a range of events, including Jamming for Water, the Breakfast Briefing and the Innovators Forum.
Reports & Resources:
- Download the reports on Green Chemistry and UF Membranes from the BlueTech Platform
- WEFTEC 2024: Registration
--
Presented by BlueTech Research®, Actionable Water Technology Market Intelligence.
Watch the trailer of Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey. Get involved, and learn more on the website: braveblue.world
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Divya (00:05):
Good morning, Rhys, and welcome everyone to another
episode of Blue Notes.
Rhys (00:10):
Hi Divya, good to be here again.
How are you doing?
Divya (00:13):
Good, good, doing well.
Caught up in the October flurry,I think.
Um, as it always is, the last,last few months of the year.
Um, on various projects,actually busy completing a lot
of projects, starting a lot ofprojects with the aim to
complete it by the end of theyear.
So yeah, very, very busy, butit's good to be busy.
Rhys (00:35):
Yeah, it's fall.
Autumn's always a busy time forus, especially with WEFTA coming
up.
And yeah, we can chat a littlebit more about that later.
It's been quite a dramatic weekon the weather front as well
with Storm Helene in the States.
Divya (00:48):
Yeah
Rhys (00:49):
very damaging hurricane and less damaging of course, but
we had the heaviest rainfall ina single day here 56 years.
Uh last week.
Yeah, that was so that caused abit of flooding and disruption
It was very localized.
So the rivers didn't rise toomuch, but there was there was
disruption.
So yeah, it's it's it's avolatile climate.
(01:12):
All right.
Just another sign of that Isuppose
Divya (01:15):
Exactly.
Another, another evidence thatclimate change is you know,
we're, we, we are witnessingthat and, um, speaking of
climate change and everythingall to do with sustainability,
let's maybe jump into what'sbeen keeping us busy lately.
To start with, we're just aboutto wrap our wrap up our research
on green chemistry.
So let's define what we mean bygreen chemistry.
(01:38):
In the report, we say greenchemistry is a sustainable
approach to chemicalmanufacturing.
It starts with designingproducts or processes that
minimize or eliminate the use orthe creation of hazardous
materials.
What I found really interestingwas the fact that the US EPA has
a specific criteria.
They call it the 12 principlesof green chemistry.
(01:58):
And you can look this up in thereport or visit the US EPA's
website.
And you know, the 12 principlesall seem like the right
direction, all seem to head inthe direction of achieving net
zero and sustainability goals.
But interestingly, there's acatch.
At least I found that aspect ofit very interesting in the
report.
Our, our report, Reece, do youwant to maybe elaborate on that?
(02:19):
Mm.
Rhys (02:19):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So that's, that's right.
That 12 point list is quiteuseful.
It's, it's all about increasingenergy efficiency, preventing
waste using renewable feedstocksand so on.
And there are a lot of productsout there already on the market
that fit into that greenchemistry ambition, but there
are issues the, the, the, withany resource recovery or green
(02:44):
greener alternative, the marketneeds to be there as well.
And that's, slow to develop atthe moment.
It's, I think it's fair to saythat greener chemical
formulations are a bit laggingbehind the standard ones in
terms of performance and cost atthe moment.
But you know, they have a lot ofpotential and there's, there's a
lot of products out therealready on the market being used
(03:08):
at the moment.
So, you know, we've got, uh,examples like coagulants,
flocculants.
There's one that product fromthe earlier called Hydrex which
is extracted from black acaciatree bark, and that's a green
alternative to traditionalcoagulants.
Similarly Chimera, SNF, theyoffer bio based polyacrylamide
flocculants Solvay, Solvay is,is, is, is developing a oxidant
(03:33):
made from hydrogen peroxide.
Moving towards renewablefeedstocks like green hydrogen.
So there's, there's a lot ofactivity and some of it is still
in the R& D stage and some of itis beginning to get into the
market now, but it's, it'smaking a relatively small market
impact at the moment.
Divya (03:51):
And you know what, what, what was interesting for me as
well when I read the report waswe interviewed quite a few
people, right?
We spoke with suppliers, wespoke with end users,
particularly utilities.
And overall, as you say, thereis interest in such, such
chemicals, um, and you know,there's an interest in
sustainable practices.
But then you have to considerthere's cost considerations,
(04:12):
there's supply chaincomplexities and performance
concerns.
They're all hurdles towidespread adoption of green,
green chemistry.
And you also need the regulatoryincentives to advance these.
These, these chemicals.
Rhys (04:27):
Exactly.
That's, it's, it's always soimportant to have that
regulatory market push as withso many things in the water
industry.
And, uh, you know, it, it willcome and even without it, we're
already seeing a lot ofextremely interesting
formulations come onto themarket.
So this is a look over thehorizon that what's coming down
the tracks in terms ofinnovations.
Divya (04:47):
Yeah.
And if you're, if, if you're achemistry nerd, I would
recommend you to read thereport.
We go into quite a bit of detailaround opportunities for green
chemistry across a wide area ofchemicals, coagulants,
flocculants, oxidants, pHmodifiers, anti corrosion
agents.
anti foaming agents, antiscalants, reducing agents.
(05:07):
So yeah, real chemistry geekout, I guess, um,
Rhys (05:13):
Exactly.
Divya (05:14):
for those who want to get into the detail.
So that report is, will beavailable on the platform
shortly and is actually thetopic for our next web briefing.
The invites will go out soon.
Rhys (05:26):
That's right.
That's right.
Divya (05:28):
So let's turn our attention to another.
area that we've coveredrecently, which is
ultrafiltration UF membranes andtalk about areas for potential
breakthrough.
For the audience of thispodcast, everyone knows UF is a
well established, wellunderstood, well known
technology, but you know, aswith any technology, it has its
pain points.
I won't go into too much detail,but fouling, membrane
(05:49):
permeability, energy efficiency,these are all outlined in the
report, but what is exciting Arethe areas of innovation and
breakthrough that target thesepain points and the report
examines that in detail and alsocomments around the timeline for
market impact.
So Reese, I don't know if youwant to share some highlights of
that report.
Rhys (06:09):
Yeah, absolutely.
So, you know, as you say, it's,it's a, it's a well established
market.
It's already valued at somethinglike a billion dollars per year.
Globally, we estimate the isaround 8%.
So it's a big established marketthat's growing quite well.
And some of the, you know, Youknow, innovations coming through
are interesting though.
I suppose the, the main biggestone would be ceramic membranes.
(06:32):
We looked at that in 2022 andfound it accounted for 7 percent
of the total ultra filtrationmarket ceramic membranes.
Now that's going to 10%.
So you can see that level ofgrowth there.
And that's due, we estimate thatit will grow even faster in
future.
And that, you know, ceramicmembranes are.
more expensive, but they dooffer higher resistance to
chemical, thermal, andmechanical stress.
(06:53):
So that's what's driving theirgrowing market share there.
And you've also got some quiteinteresting other developments,
such as additive manufacturing3D printing of membranes, which
allows for much more intricatecontrol over pore size, for
example, and highly customizedmembrane structures.
And there are several companiesin breaking this area at the
(07:13):
moment such as Evove forexample, in the UK.
And you've also gotbreakthroughs in graphene oxide
membranes.
Now that's, it's a reallyinteresting area that's
transitioned after years ofacademic research now coming
into commercial use with again,several emerging companies on
the market with solutions there.
And like ceramic membranes, theyhave.
(07:34):
That's robustness that makesthem, you know, really
attractive for water treatmentand membrane modification.
Divya (07:40):
Absolutely.
And, you know, we'll continue totrack all of those areas, but in
terms of what could disrupt thismarket, this, this UF market is
the EU.
In fact, it's the Europeanchemical agency or ECHA have
proposed new restrictions on theuse of perfluorinated alkyl
substances, PFAS, includingpolyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF.
(08:01):
Now we don't expect this to takeeffect for at least another,
Five, maybe 10 years, if notmore, but the inclusion of PVDF
in these restrictions could havea significant repercussion for
the membrane industry ingeneral.
So if I were a membranesupplier, I would start focusing
developments and expanding myPES product lines, or even
consider ceramic membranes as astrategic alternative.
Rhys (08:25):
Yeah, exactly.
That, you know, PFAS is going tobecome more and more difficult
to use in all sorts of productsand membranes are going to be no
exception to that.
Uh, and you know, PFAS is, itcontinues to be such a huge
issue for the water industry.
Divya (08:38):
Yeah, and speaking of PFAS, there's actually quite a
lot that we're talking about itat WEFTEC, which is coming up in
the couple in, in, well, nextweek, in a couple of days in New
Orleans.
We're very excited to be there.
Um, I'll just take you throughvery quickly some of the events
that you'd like to, maybe ouraudience would like to earmark
to join us.
The Saturday, 5th of October inthe evening, we're running
(09:01):
Jamming for Water.
Bluetech Research are proudsponsors of this event as are
others.
So we'd love to have you andhost you there.
The Monday morning at 10 AM,we'll run a tour of the
innovation pavilion.
So you'll get to meet all of theshowcase companies that are
joining us this year.
Tuesday morning is our client,Bluetech Client Breakfast
Briefing starting at 7.
30 and that's where we'll betalking about PFAS and we'll be
(09:24):
touching upon other fast movingareas in water, artificial,
artificial intelligence, lithiumand general broader trends that
we're witnessing in the waterindustry.
So do join us for that one.
Um, right after the breakfastbriefing, starting at 9.
00 AM, we're running what wecall the Innovators Forum.
Again, a different type ofevent.
Um, Not a presentation led byBluetech, but actually more
(09:46):
interactive with round tables onvarious topics.
Um, so yeah, exciting, excitingand looking forward to hosting
our clients for that event also.
And then Tuesday evening, we'llfinish with the Bluetech pitches
for our companies, it's what wecall the Crock Tank session.
So you'll get to hear thecompany's pitch to a panel of
judges and the judges will grillthem and ask them questions.
(10:08):
A bit like the Shark Tankapproach that people might be
familiar with.
So.
Very exciting lineup of eventsat WEFTEC and, you know, WEFTEC
in itself is such a greatopportunity to convene with
thought leaders in the industry.
And, um, it's always a reallygood opportunity to reconnect
with old friends as well.
So looking forward to meetingyou all there and yeah.
(10:28):
And reporting back from NewOrleans the week after.
Rhys (10:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
Uh, it's going to be a packed,interesting show.
Hope everyone enjoys it andlet's reconvene after the show
Divya (10:40):
Will do.
Thanks Ruiz.
Have a good one.
Rhys (10:42):
bye bye.
Divya (10:43):
Take care.
Bye.
Good morning, Rhys, and welcome everyone to another
episode of Blue Notes.
Rhys (00:10):
Hi Divya, good to be here again.
How are you doing?
Divya (00:13):
Good, good, doing well.
Caught up in the October flurry,I think.
Um, as it always is, the last,last few months of the year.
Um, on various projects,actually busy completing a lot
of projects, starting a lot ofprojects with the aim to
complete it by the end of theyear.
So yeah, very, very busy, butit's good to be busy.
Rhys (00:35):
Yeah, it's fall.
Autumn's always a busy time forus, especially with WEFTA coming
up.
And yeah, we can chat a littlebit more about that later.
It's been quite a dramatic weekon the weather front as well
with Storm Helene in the States.
Divya (00:48):
Yeah
Rhys (00:49):
very damaging hurricane and less damaging of course, but
we had the heaviest rainfall ina single day here 56 years.
Uh last week.
Yeah, that was so that caused abit of flooding and disruption
It was very localized.
So the rivers didn't rise toomuch, but there was there was
disruption.
So yeah, it's it's it's avolatile climate.
(01:12):
All right.
Just another sign of that Isuppose
Divya (01:15):
Exactly.
Another, another evidence thatclimate change is you know,
we're, we, we are witnessingthat and, um, speaking of
climate change and everythingall to do with sustainability,
let's maybe jump into what'sbeen keeping us busy lately.
To start with, we're just aboutto wrap our wrap up our research
on green chemistry.
So let's define what we mean bygreen chemistry.
(01:38):
In the report, we say greenchemistry is a sustainable
approach to chemicalmanufacturing.
It starts with designingproducts or processes that
minimize or eliminate the use orthe creation of hazardous
materials.
What I found really interestingwas the fact that the US EPA has
a specific criteria.
They call it the 12 principlesof green chemistry.
(01:58):
And you can look this up in thereport or visit the US EPA's
website.
And you know, the 12 principlesall seem like the right
direction, all seem to head inthe direction of achieving net
zero and sustainability goals.
But interestingly, there's acatch.
At least I found that aspect ofit very interesting in the
report.
Our, our report, Reece, do youwant to maybe elaborate on that?
(02:19):
Mm.
Rhys (02:19):
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So that's, that's right.
That 12 point list is quiteuseful.
It's, it's all about increasingenergy efficiency, preventing
waste using renewable feedstocksand so on.
And there are a lot of productsout there already on the market
that fit into that greenchemistry ambition, but there
are issues the, the, the, withany resource recovery or green
(02:44):
greener alternative, the marketneeds to be there as well.
And that's, slow to develop atthe moment.
It's, I think it's fair to saythat greener chemical
formulations are a bit laggingbehind the standard ones in
terms of performance and cost atthe moment.
But you know, they have a lot ofpotential and there's, there's a
lot of products out therealready on the market being used
(03:08):
at the moment.
So, you know, we've got, uh,examples like coagulants,
flocculants.
There's one that product fromthe earlier called Hydrex which
is extracted from black acaciatree bark, and that's a green
alternative to traditionalcoagulants.
Similarly Chimera, SNF, theyoffer bio based polyacrylamide
flocculants Solvay, Solvay is,is, is, is developing a oxidant
(03:33):
made from hydrogen peroxide.
Moving towards renewablefeedstocks like green hydrogen.
So there's, there's a lot ofactivity and some of it is still
in the R& D stage and some of itis beginning to get into the
market now, but it's, it'smaking a relatively small market
impact at the moment.
Divya (03:51):
And you know what, what, what was interesting for me as
well when I read the report waswe interviewed quite a few
people, right?
We spoke with suppliers, wespoke with end users,
particularly utilities.
And overall, as you say, thereis interest in such, such
chemicals, um, and you know,there's an interest in
sustainable practices.
But then you have to considerthere's cost considerations,
(04:12):
there's supply chaincomplexities and performance
concerns.
They're all hurdles towidespread adoption of green,
green chemistry.
And you also need the regulatoryincentives to advance these.
These, these chemicals.
Rhys (04:27):
Exactly.
That's, it's, it's always soimportant to have that
regulatory market push as withso many things in the water
industry.
And, uh, you know, it, it willcome and even without it, we're
already seeing a lot ofextremely interesting
formulations come onto themarket.
So this is a look over thehorizon that what's coming down
the tracks in terms ofinnovations.
Divya (04:47):
Yeah.
And if you're, if, if you're achemistry nerd, I would
recommend you to read thereport.
We go into quite a bit of detailaround opportunities for green
chemistry across a wide area ofchemicals, coagulants,
flocculants, oxidants, pHmodifiers, anti corrosion
agents.
anti foaming agents, antiscalants, reducing agents.
(05:07):
So yeah, real chemistry geekout, I guess, um,
Rhys (05:13):
Exactly.
Divya (05:14):
for those who want to get into the detail.
So that report is, will beavailable on the platform
shortly and is actually thetopic for our next web briefing.
The invites will go out soon.
Rhys (05:26):
That's right.
That's right.
Divya (05:28):
So let's turn our attention to another.
area that we've coveredrecently, which is
ultrafiltration UF membranes andtalk about areas for potential
breakthrough.
For the audience of thispodcast, everyone knows UF is a
well established, wellunderstood, well known
technology, but you know, aswith any technology, it has its
pain points.
I won't go into too much detail,but fouling, membrane
(05:49):
permeability, energy efficiency,these are all outlined in the
report, but what is exciting Arethe areas of innovation and
breakthrough that target thesepain points and the report
examines that in detail and alsocomments around the timeline for
market impact.
So Reese, I don't know if youwant to share some highlights of
that report.
Rhys (06:09):
Yeah, absolutely.
So, you know, as you say, it's,it's a, it's a well established
market.
It's already valued at somethinglike a billion dollars per year.
Globally, we estimate the isaround 8%.
So it's a big established marketthat's growing quite well.
And some of the, you know, Youknow, innovations coming through
are interesting though.
I suppose the, the main biggestone would be ceramic membranes.
(06:32):
We looked at that in 2022 andfound it accounted for 7 percent
of the total ultra filtrationmarket ceramic membranes.
Now that's going to 10%.
So you can see that level ofgrowth there.
And that's due, we estimate thatit will grow even faster in
future.
And that, you know, ceramicmembranes are.
more expensive, but they dooffer higher resistance to
chemical, thermal, andmechanical stress.
(06:53):
So that's what's driving theirgrowing market share there.
And you've also got some quiteinteresting other developments,
such as additive manufacturing3D printing of membranes, which
allows for much more intricatecontrol over pore size, for
example, and highly customizedmembrane structures.
And there are several companiesin breaking this area at the
(07:13):
moment such as Evove forexample, in the UK.
And you've also gotbreakthroughs in graphene oxide
membranes.
Now that's, it's a reallyinteresting area that's
transitioned after years ofacademic research now coming
into commercial use with again,several emerging companies on
the market with solutions there.
And like ceramic membranes, theyhave.
(07:34):
That's robustness that makesthem, you know, really
attractive for water treatmentand membrane modification.
Divya (07:40):
Absolutely.
And, you know, we'll continue totrack all of those areas, but in
terms of what could disrupt thismarket, this, this UF market is
the EU.
In fact, it's the Europeanchemical agency or ECHA have
proposed new restrictions on theuse of perfluorinated alkyl
substances, PFAS, includingpolyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF.
(08:01):
Now we don't expect this to takeeffect for at least another,
Five, maybe 10 years, if notmore, but the inclusion of PVDF
in these restrictions could havea significant repercussion for
the membrane industry ingeneral.
So if I were a membranesupplier, I would start focusing
developments and expanding myPES product lines, or even
consider ceramic membranes as astrategic alternative.
Rhys (08:25):
Yeah, exactly.
That, you know, PFAS is going tobecome more and more difficult
to use in all sorts of productsand membranes are going to be no
exception to that.
Uh, and you know, PFAS is, itcontinues to be such a huge
issue for the water industry.
Divya (08:38):
Yeah, and speaking of PFAS, there's actually quite a
lot that we're talking about itat WEFTEC, which is coming up in
the couple in, in, well, nextweek, in a couple of days in New
Orleans.
We're very excited to be there.
Um, I'll just take you throughvery quickly some of the events
that you'd like to, maybe ouraudience would like to earmark
to join us.
The Saturday, 5th of October inthe evening, we're running
(09:01):
Jamming for Water.
Bluetech Research are proudsponsors of this event as are
others.
So we'd love to have you andhost you there.
The Monday morning at 10 AM,we'll run a tour of the
innovation pavilion.
So you'll get to meet all of theshowcase companies that are
joining us this year.
Tuesday morning is our client,Bluetech Client Breakfast
Briefing starting at 7.
30 and that's where we'll betalking about PFAS and we'll be
(09:24):
touching upon other fast movingareas in water, artificial,
artificial intelligence, lithiumand general broader trends that
we're witnessing in the waterindustry.
So do join us for that one.
Um, right after the breakfastbriefing, starting at 9.
00 AM, we're running what wecall the Innovators Forum.
Again, a different type ofevent.
Um, Not a presentation led byBluetech, but actually more
(09:46):
interactive with round tables onvarious topics.
Um, so yeah, exciting, excitingand looking forward to hosting
our clients for that event also.
And then Tuesday evening, we'llfinish with the Bluetech pitches
for our companies, it's what wecall the Crock Tank session.
So you'll get to hear thecompany's pitch to a panel of
judges and the judges will grillthem and ask them questions.
(10:08):
A bit like the Shark Tankapproach that people might be
familiar with.
So.
Very exciting lineup of eventsat WEFTEC and, you know, WEFTEC
in itself is such a greatopportunity to convene with
thought leaders in the industry.
And, um, it's always a reallygood opportunity to reconnect
with old friends as well.
So looking forward to meetingyou all there and yeah.
(10:28):
And reporting back from NewOrleans the week after.
Rhys (10:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
Uh, it's going to be a packed,interesting show.
Hope everyone enjoys it andlet's reconvene after the show
Divya (10:40):
Will do.
Thanks Ruiz.
Have a good one.
Rhys (10:42):
bye bye.
Divya (10:43):
Take care.
Bye.
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