Osmoflo

OSMOFLO

BESPOKE WATER SOLUTIONS A world-class water solutions provider of global proportions, Chief Operating Officer of Osmoflo, Carmine Ciccocioppo, examines innovation and supporting Australia’s hydrogen sector Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Nicholas Kernan

T

he elixir of life, water is the foundation to our existence. Yet, access to this precious resource is not always guaranteed, nor safe.

Enter Osmoflo.

A vast enterprise with a global footprint, wherever there is a need for drinking, process, high purity or recycled water, Osmoflo can provide the solution.

Headquartered in Australia, with operations located across the Middle East, India, and Asia, the company provides world class capabilities in the delivery of water treatment solutions as a designer and builder of desalination projects.

Bolstered by extensive industry experience and strict adherence to the highest standards, the company cater to a diverse range of markets, including oil and gas, mining, power, food and beverage, municipal, coal seam gas, defence and other industries.

“For its size, with around 200 employees globally, our business is surprisingly diverse,” comments Carmine Ciccocioppo, Chief Operating Officer at Osmoflo.

Our discussion with Ciccocioppo coincides with a landmark year, as 2 | APAC Outlook issue 51

the company celebrates 30 years of operation. During three decades of business, Ciccocioppo recalls how although the company’s focus and priorities may have continually shifted, in line with an ever-changing industry, Osmoflo have remained steadfast in their outlook.

“The industry has changed radically during my time at the company, with the total global installed reverse osmosis (RO) capacity growing enormously, driven by factors such as the ever-improving energy efficiency and cost effectiveness of the technology, as well as the effects of global climate change which has driven a growing demand for reliable, climate-independent sources of water.

“But one constant throughout that time has been our core values which are flexibility, innovation, teamwork, commitment and high quality,” he states.

For Ciccocioppo himself, the Osmoflo journey commenced 11 years ago, having originally joined the company as General Manager of Operations following his tenure at Adelaide-based private water company, Untied Utilities Australia.

ENERGY & UTILITIES

Indeed, it was Osmoflo’s global prowess and versatility that first attracted him to the business.

“Whilst Osmoflo at that time had a relatively tight focus in terms of membrane processes and technologies, it was the extent of its global geographic footprint, the very wide range of markets and industry sectors it serviced, and the enormous flexibility and adaptability of RO treatment solutions that really impressed me,” he comments.

WORLD-CLASS WATER TREATMENT

Reverse Osmosis Package

Expanding on a key tenet of the company’s core values - innovation Ciccocioppo outlines how Osmoflo achieves this through two primary methods.

“Firstly, it occurs through our own R&D by creating our own unique patented solutions such as the Osmoflo Brine Squeezer (OBS) which is used for high-recovery applications.

“Secondly, Osmoflo innovates by reviewing the best possible APAC Outlook issue 51 | 3

OSMOFLO technology and process equipment from our key industry partners and suppliers and creating high quality, bespoke solutions for every client. Ultimately, every customer’s requirements are uniquely different whether that be feedwater quality, product water specification, plant recovery, plant availability, serviceable plant design life, levels of plant automation or any combination of those factors,” he tells us.

Osmoflo acknowledge that with each client’s requirements as unique and specific as the next, the optimal solution is rarely to be found by applying an existing standard piece of equipment of product to the necessary application. Therefore, for a truly optimised solution, innovation is paramount.

Therein, lies the Osmoflo difference, with the company’s investments standing as testament to this commitment.

OSMOFLO: AT A GLANCE Four product and service lines: • Customised Equipment Fabrication and Capital Project Delivery (as both EP or EPC contract forms) • Operations and Maintenance Services (including consumables and standard products) • Rental solutions (for short-term or emergency water applications ranging in size from 50 Kilolitres per day (kLD) up to 21 MLD) • Build-Own-Operate Solutions (whereby Osmoflo finances, delivers, owns and operates a customised water treatment facility and the client enters into a ‘water offtake agreement’ for a certain quantity and quality of water over a specified term -usually between five and 20 years) Three broad geographic regions: • Australia Pacific Region (headquartered in Adelaide and with offices throughout Australia) • Middle East and Africa Region (headquartered in Dubai, UAE) • India and SE Asia Region (headquartered in Pune in India, and Singapore). The latter two regions are also heavily supported by Osmoflo’s parent company, Hitachi Zosen, who have offices throughout the MENA and Asia Region Six primary market sectors:

FEDCO The nature of desalination is changing – end users and engineers are seeking to optimise their plant designs to find the lowest total cost of water, which means balancing capital costs, energy consumption and system recovery, while minimising downtime.

Digital technologies such as those pioneered by Osmoflo are key to optimising plant operations. Datadriven operation means that a plant can find its best duty point, and then adapt as feedwater conditions fluctuate. A key obstacle to this is the lack of operational flexibility in many older plants. To make the most of data availability, each part of a desalination system must be designed for flexible operations.

Of course, even the best designed system is only as good as its availability. For many end users, especially in industrial applications, the smallest unexpected downtime can wipe out hard-won and expensive efficiency savings. In the field, the most efficient desalination system is also the most reliable one.

Higher recovery is becoming a key focus for the industry, especially where water scarcity and regulation put pressure on groundwater or beach well withdrawals. By reducing the size requirements for pretreatment, and for intake and outfall infrastructure, boosting recovery unlocks vast capital savings and huge retrofit opportunities.

FEDCO is proud to partner with Osmoflo in delivering simple and effective desalination solutions, where resilience is built-in from the very start.

• Mining and Resources (including Mine Closure Services) • Oil and Gas (both onshore and offshore) • Municipal (for both regional/remote as well as metropolitan utilities) • Power and Energy (including the Green Hydrogen sector) • Food, Beverage and Agribusiness • General Industrial (e.g. steel making, chemical processing) www.fedco-usa.com

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SWRO: 60% Recovery ZLD

UHP RO

SWRO

Brine Concentration: 120,000 mg/L Higher Recovery Better Performance

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www.fedco-usa.com

OSMOFLO

STENNER PUMPS Since 1957, Stenner Pump Company has been committed to manufacturing reliable peristaltic metering pumps for dependable performance. Stenner manufactures from raw goods to final assembly, always keeping our founder’s principles of meticulous fit, form and function as our priority.

“AT OUR CORE WE ARE A PROCESS TECHNOLOGY COMPANY THAT HAS DEVELOPED A STRONG REPUTATION OVER DECADES FOR HIGH QUALITY AND HIGHLY INNOVATIVE MEMBRANE TREATMENT SOLUTIONS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY CUSTOMISED TO MEET OUR CLIENTS’ INDIVIDUAL NEEDS” CARMINE CICCOCIOPPO, COO, OSMOFLO “We have recently undertaken a significant investment to improve and upgrade our R&D centre -called The Edge – at our global headquarters in Adelaide.

“This new facility will greatly enhance our R&D capability including our capacity to undertake multiple pilot and bench scale trials for different customers whilst simultaneously progressing our own R&D trials,” Ciccocioppo explains.

Critically, Osmoflo recently attained certification to the international management standard ISO55001:2014, thereby testifying to the “strength and maturity” of its asset management systems.

“This makes us one of only very few private water companies globally to have achieved company-wide certification to this standard and provides Osmoflo with the rare ability to offer a certified asset management framework to our clients.”

PRIORITISING PARTNERSHIPS Osmoflo’s defining approach to 6 | APAC Outlook issue 51

innovation would not be possible without a robust supply chain.

“This enables us to act as an expert integrator of the best possible technology and thereby deliver customised, world-class solutions for our clients,” he comments.

Indeed, the industry is on the cusp of an exciting time for technological developments within water solutions, and it is only through strategic partnerships that these benefits may be fully exploited.

“We are only just starting to understand and harness the potential of machine learning and AI in optimising energy efficiency and chemical consumption costs associated with desalination.

“In working with our industry partner in artificial intelligence, Synauta, we’ve managed to achieve, on average, a 10 percent reduction in energy intensity in a seawater desalination trial and a five percent reduction in cleaning chemicals in a plant treating a difficult brewery wastewater,” he informs us.

Our headquarters are located in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, where our pumps are designed and manufactured. Precise engineering and a watchful eye on the manufacturing processes allow us to maintain quality and humbly state a return rate of less than 1%.

Our practical design allows for less down time and simple installation and maintenance, with a patented toolless tube replacement. Other Stenner advantages include no loss of prime from off-gassing solutions, no contact of solution with moving parts, single piece tube construction, and no need for degassing valve or foot valve.

Inspired by our customers for over 60 years, we offer intelligent and advanced solutions, with pumps built to NEMA 4X for demanding applications. Select from multiple operating modes and performance indicators that can interface with process control systems. Features offered include leak detect, tube life timer, standby, output relays, back-up pump capability, and password protection. Stenner pumps are used in several markets including water & waste water, municipal, industrial, food and beverage, irrigation and more.

We strive to provide top quality products and services and are ready to assist you by web, phone, virtual and in-person training.

Please contact us today by your preferred method:

international@stenner.com www.stenner.com +1.904.641.1666

MANUFACTURING TOP QUALITY PERISTALTIC METERING PUMPS SINCE 1957

www.stenner.com Stenner Pump Company 3174 DeSalvo Rd Jacksonville, Florida 32246, USA Phone: +1.904.641.1666 Email: international@stenner.com

OSMOFLO

APAC OUTLOOK: COULD YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT OSMOFLO’S RECENT PROJECT WITH GLOW ENERGY IN THAILAND? Carmine Ciccocioppo: “This was a real ‘watershed’ moment for Osmoflo.

It marked the first time that we had ever managed to supervise the installation and commissioning of a plant, completely remotely. This was due to the international border closures and the shut-down of international travel during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning we were unable to mobilise any of our own construction managers or commissioning engineers directly to the site.

“Glow Energy PCL is one of the largest private electricity generators in Thailand and delivers electricity, steam, and processed water to industrial customers. Glow contacted Osmoflo in early 2020 during a period of severe drought to determine whether we could assist with an emergency water supply solution with a capacity up to seven MLD. “Osmoflo responded rapidly to assess the client’s site conditions and constraints and developed a comprehensive technical proposal based on one of our SW7000 rental assets consisting of 12 x 40’ containers, one 20’ container, two 11kV electrical transformers, and one 11kV HP Pump skid (five tonnes in weight).

“We also managed the logistics for the 7MLD plant including cranage, road transport, shipping from our Dubai facility and delivery to the client’s site in Thailand.

“Working closely with our client, we achieved a 12-week delivery phase up to commercial operation. Over the six months of commercial operation the plant easily achieved the minimum daily production capacity of 6.3MLD and averaged in excess of 7.8MLD for the duration of the contract.”

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“These preliminary savings are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’.”

Secondly, yet of equal importance for Osmoflo, partnerships are instrumental in guaranteeing critical timeliness of delivery.

“It is only through developing strong, long-term working relationships with our suppliers and partners that we can work through any unexpected issues that may adversely impact delivery timeframes to implement appropriate solutions and corrective actions,” Ciccocioppo surmises.

KEY PROJECTS Turning to talk of key projects, Ciccocioppo highlights the Osmoflo Brine Squeezer (OBS) Plant, completed for the Energy Resources of Australia’s (ERA) Ranger Mine site, that completed its final 90-day performance trial earlier this year. The OBS plant will play an instrumental role as the Ranger Mine undergoes its closure and rehabilitation programme.

Osmoflo are also taking a proactive role in the development of Australia’s rapidly-growing hydrogen sector, as evidenced by its latest demineralised water treatment plant

ENERGY & UTILITIES LOOKING AHEAD For the year ahead, Osmoflo will continue their pace of geographical expansion, particularly across MENA and Southeast Asia. Ciccocioppo also hints at the US as a potential new market.

“We see enormous potential here - not only for our patented OBS technology but also for our proprietary Plant Connect remote monitoring and control capability which we see offering potentially significant benefit to the many smaller regional and remote plants that could benefit from our highly developed 24/7 process support services,” he explains.

“OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS AND SUPPLIERS, AND THE SECURITY OF OUR SUPPLY CHAINS ARE CRITICAL TO OUR SUCCESS” - CARMINE CICCOCIOPPO, COO, OSMOFLO which will provide ultra-pure water for the Australia Gas Infrastructure Group as part of the ‘Hydrogen Park’ development in the Tonsley Innovation District in Adelaide.

“The number of large green hydrogen projects proposed or under development across Australia is growing exponentially,” Ciccocioppo comments.

“Almost all of these projects utilise purified water as their primary source of hydrogen and there are several

where desalinated and de-ionized seawater will be the basic source of hydrogen primary water source. We see significant potential to support the growth in this industry in the decades ahead.”

Finally, as an apt demonstration of both the company’s ability and global reach, Osmofolo recently secured the main RO package and water treatment package for the new oil refinery for Basrah in Iraq, with the JGC Corporation of Japan.

Aside from this, the company will continue to lead with innovation at the fore, refining the reach of their brine squeezer technology and focusing on high recovery, minimal-liquiddischarge solutions.

With their bespoke, innovative solutions catering to a host of markets that will only continue to expand, Osmoflo are guaranteed a certain future.

Tel: +61 8 8282 9700 mail@osmoflo.com www.osmoflo.com

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OSMOFLO Adelaide (Head Quarters) 382 Diment Road, Burton, South Australia 5110 PH: 08 8282 9700 (In Australia), 1300 676 635 (Internationally) marketing@osmoflo.com www.osmoflo.com

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