Factors like growing population, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, stringent pollution control norms, etc driving the demand for wastewater treatment products in India. DuPont Water Solutions offers a portfolio of water-treatment and separation technologies for the production and purification of water around the globe. In this interaction, Tushar Masurkar, Senior Sales Manager, DuPont Water Solutions, shares his insight on technological advancement in wastewater treatment and growth plans for the company.

How is DuPont Water Solutions serving the wastewater treatment industry?
DuPont Water Solutions (DWS) has an expansive multi-tech product portfolio which is further broadened up with our recent acquisitions. At DuPont, we take an active interest to understand the key requirement of our customers and then customise a solution that satisfies their requirements keeping sustainability in mind.

Our product portfolio is mainly consisting of ultrafiltration (UF), Reverse osmosis (RO), membrane bioreactor (MBR), Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis (CCRO), membrane degasification and IER technologies. Almost every technology plays an important part in wastewater industry. We have developed many innovative products to effectively handle challenging wastewater, at the same time reduce overall operational cost, improve plant recovery and improve life of membranes, etc.

All the major OEMs, system integrators, EPC contractors are our key customers. More than 60% of our clientele is the top ten industrial houses of our country. Our end users are from diverse industry segments; they are mainly from oil & gas, power plants, textiles, automobile, F&B and steel industry segments.

What is driving the demand for wastewater treatment solutions?
There is an absolute necessity to understand the factors driving the demand for wastewater treatment plants currently in India. Few important factors are: a) Growing population, improved awareness of drinking water requirement, understanding the need to protect the water for our next generations, b) Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, c) Stringent statutory requirements enforced by Central Pollution Control Board (known as CPCB), d) Company policies towards sustainability, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, etc.

Stricter enforcement by CPCB is one of the key factors driving demand for wastewater treatment solutions. The board does not allow any industry coming under red category to set up a new plant without having the wastewater treatment plant.

How do you help companies who are facing the challenge of wastewater?
The key challenges that manufacturers face today in the handling of wastewater plants are mainly the high operational costs due to increased energy requirement, reduced plant recovery, lack of knowledge about innovations.

DuPont Water Solutions, being the global leaders in UF, RO and IER technologies, has an extensive portfolio that’s been developed to keep up with the times. With this innovative portfolio, we are well equipped to effectively address the energy as well as fouling issues faced by most of our customers. While we have the proven technology/products and global experience with us, most importantly we have an experienced technical team that works passionately and closely with our customers to provide them sustainable solutions.

Could you please highlight some of your innovations for wastewater treatment?
We have developed a Fortilife series of RO & NF products specially designed to handle challenging waste water. This innovative product has helped our customers address all their wastewater plant worries such as reduced energy & chemical cost, improved plant recovery, better membrane life, etc. While RO membranes reduced the overall operating cost with better performance, NF membranes helped recover the important ingredients in the waste streams.

We also have the MBR, The MemPulse. The MBR system delivers greater stability of the membrane environment, operational flexibility, and reduced maintenance requirements resulting in significant cost savings. It is adaptable and flexible and can fit into any tank geometry. This is a proven technology that has many global and local references.

Then there is the Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis (CCRO). It is reliable with inherent biofouling and scaling resilience that can cut maintenance in half and dramatically reduce system downtime. It is a very efficient system with typical recoveries of 90-98%, reducing feed water waste by 50-90%, and also reduces related energy consumption, operation and maintenance expenses. It is also quite easy to operate.

Any new products in the pipeline? If yes, please elaborate
Innovation and new product development have been a continuous process at DuPont. It is our constant hunger of driving Innovations that has helped us maintain our leadership position in membrane and ion exchange resin technologies. DWS strongly believes that the possibilities that flow with water are abundant.

Recently, we launched FilmTec Prime RO series. The new FilmTec Prime RO brackish water elements boost performance to a prime level while reaching an unparalleled sustainability impact. It is based on the historical FilmTec BW30 industry-standard RO membrane with decades of proven performance. The FilmTec Prime RO elements offer compatibility with existing systems. This next generation of brackish water RO element offers enhanced water quality and reduced energy consumption while maintaining the well-known and reliable long-term performance associated with the FilmTec brand.

Could you like to share with us some of the emerging trends in the wastewater treatment sector?
One of the emerging trends that we have observed is the shift from conventional systems to more advanced technologies such as MBR & CCRO. These new technologies not only meet their technical requirements convincingly but also contribute effectively to drive sustainability initiative.

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is an advanced wastewater treatment technology used to extract liquid from a suspended growth activated sludge system. The MemPulse MBR process replaces the secondary clarifiers typically used in conventional waste treatment methods for solid/liquid separation. MEMCOR MBR offers consistent performance with reduced energy cost and much compact footprint over competitor products.

DesaliTec, DuPont’s CRRO brand, has set a new standard for RO, opening opportunities for dramatic cost savings and operational benefits. DuPont has introduced DesaliTec CCRO system, formerly known as Desalitech CCRO, has disrupted the traditional reverse osmosis (RO) technology, sparking a technological revolution that delivers cost savings and operational benefits far beyond the capability of its predecessor.

What are your growth plans for the DuPont Water Solutions business in India?
DWS undoubtedly is poised for the growth. In FY 2020, we successfully completed four acquisitions of Desalitech, inge GmbH, Memcor, and OxyMem Limited, complementing our leading portfolio of water purification and separation technologies. We continue to invest in R&D, differentiated technology, and capacity expansion to sustain this growth momentum.

We have 11 manufacturing sites across the world, which help us to serve our customers better. We are aligned to SDGs and our focus to collaborate with our customers to help them achieve sustainability goal.

We will continue to strengthen our core capability coupled with our recent acquisitions. Our multi-technology offerings will be a key differentiator and we will leverage on that synergy to serve our customers better.