Nijhuis Saur wins Global Water Award 2021 for L’Oréal water reuse plant
Nijhuis Saur Industries has been awarded the Industrial Project of the Year as one of the categories of the Global Water Awards 2021.
NX Filtration made it to runner up in the category Breakthrough Technology Company.
Moving forward
Annually organised by Global Water Intelligence (GWI), the awards are presented in several categories to recognise and reward initiatives in the water, wastewater and desalination sectors that are moving the international water industry forward.
Usually the award ceremony is part of the Global Water Summit, however, as last year, the winners were announced virtually by GWI-publisher Christopher Gasson on 2 June.
Beautiful planet and consumers
Congratulating Nijhuis Saur on the achievement, Gasson referred to the equal commitment by the cosmetic manufacturer and by the water technology supplier. ‘The water reuse project shows that both have a commitment to the environment as well as giving a great return to the shareholders. I would say that it thinks as much as keeping the planet beautiful, as it is about keeping the consumers beautiful’, Gasson remarked.
Nijhuis Saur built a water treatment plant that allows the reuse of 75,000m3 of water annually. An array of processes are employed, including flocculation & flotation, a membrane bioreactor, sludge treatment, and a reverse osmosis system. The process is fully automated and Nijhuis Saur used 3D technology for project execution improvements without stops in production.
Taking the lead in water reuse
CEO Menno Holterman at Nijhuis Saur expressed his gratitude on winning the award. He emphasized its importance as water reuse is not yet a general accepted solution in the industry. ‘Fortunately, a number of multinationals are now taking the lead seriously, in many places also forced by water scarcity and climate change, but in practice we see that the situation often has to get out of hand before actually investing. L'Oréal is a positive exception’, Holterman said.
He thanked L’Oréal for being a launching customer as success is not guaranteed when implementing innovative technologies. ‘We managed to make a well-functioning reference. But our customer also deserves a big compliment. Just as our team! It gives a wonderful boost to our passion not only to successfully roll out innovation worldwide, but at the same time to make a solid contribution to the circular economy', Holterman said.
Nijhuis Saur Industries won in the category Industry, but it also shares in the Desalination Project of the Year Award together with Keppel, supplying the first ever hybrid Dissolved Air Flotation system in the world at the Marina East in Singapore.
Besides these two awards Stereau, Saur’s municipal EPC contractor won the award for their role in the Drinking Water Project of the year in France.
Breakthrough in nanofiltration
NX Filtration has been awarded runner up and recipient of the Distinction for Breakthrough Technology Company of the Year.
Following major project wins in Indonesia and Sweden, NX Filtration saw a rapid global expansion of pilot trials, a huge ramp up in production capacity and the expansion of the sales force to bring a game-changing technology to the world. Especially for the removal of micro-pollutants the nanofiltration technology show remarkable results.
As remarkable achievement in a year with many Covid-restrictions, Gasson remarked when congratulating the Dutch membrane producer. ‘Regulators around the world are looking for thighter control of micropollutants. At the moment, we can remove them only with a combined pre-treatment and reverse osmosis. Nano filtration removes them in one step with less energy consumption, less capital costs. No more fiddling with reverse osmosis’, Gasson added.
He encouraged water utilities and industrial water users with strict water quality standards, to see NX Filtration as a technology to consider.
Market traction
CTO Erik Roesink of NX Filtration confirms the many completed new projects for municipal drinking and wastewater and industrial applications. 'Our hollow fiber nanofiltration technology enables our customers to remove micropollutants from water, including pharmaceutical waste and nanoplastics, in one step', he added.
Roesink highlights the additional benefits in the field of sustainability, such as a strong reduction in energy and chemical use, 'We are experiencing market traction', he notices.
More information: Global Water Awards 2021, Nijhuis Saur Industries and NX Filtration
