Aquaporin Achieves up to 20% Energy Savings in Singapore

Aquaporin has successfully completed the Living Lab Project to develop the world’s first biomimetic low-energy Aquaporin Inside ® CLEAR membrane at demonstration scale. The membranes were installed at the Kranji NEWater Factory (KNF), operated by PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency. After 12 months of continuous operation benchmarked against parallel concurrently operated trains with other commercial membranes, the Aquaporin Inside ® CLEAR membranes have achieved up to 20% energy savings for the energy-intensive reverse osmosis treatment stage, while consistently meeting the stringent water quality standards of NEWater. Essentially, aquaporin proteins are specialist water channels, existing in the membrane of all living cells and found in every living organism. Placed within the cell membrane, aquaporin proteins transport water – and only water – in and out of the cell. These proteins are far better than any manmade water filter. One square meter of synthetic manmade membrane can filter around 50 liters of water per hour. One gram of aquaporins can filter 700 liters per second. The project marks a major step forward in the potential use of this membrane technology.

Dr. Gurdev Singh, PUB’s Chief Engineering & Technology Officer, said, “At PUB, we recognize that the future of water management lies in meaningful collaborations. We actively seek to partner with industry players who share our vision of innovation and sustainability. By working hand-in-hand from the early stages of planning and conceptualization, to the deployment of innovative technologies, we can transform promising ideas into robust solutions that serve Singapore’s water needs whilst creating opportunities for growth in the water sector.” www.aquaporin.com