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Low energy production of fresh water from the sea by Forward Osmosis

Summary of the impact

University of Surrey has a strong legacy of research into membrane separation and osmosis, culminating the commercialisation of Surrey's spin-out company Modern Water plc. Modern Water plc. was floated on AIM (London Stock Exchange) in June 2007 raising £30m cash with a market value of £70m.

The research itself is having direct impact via the operating desalination plants in Gibraltar and Oman producing high quality drinking water typically using 30% less energy than conventional desalination plants. In Oman, because of the poor quality of the feed water the forward osmosis process uses 42% less energy per litre of water produced when compared to convential equipment. The two plants currently operating in Oman serve 600 people in Al-Khuluf and 800 people in Naghdah.

Submitting Institution

University of Surrey

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Materials Engineering

UOA15-08: Efficient, cost-effective membrane filtration

Summary of the impact

Research at the Department of Engineering Science has led to step changes in the way industrial membrane filtration plants are designed and operated . Based on some key research results that have successfully tackled membrane fouling problems, the work has triggered rapid uptake of membrane-based technologies that are more energy-efficient than traditional processes. Water companies are among those achieving both economic and the environmental benefits, and the research has played a key role in the membrane bioreactor (MBR) market, which is now growing at over 10% a year, and in the global desalination market which exceeds US$19 billion, according to GMR Data (2012) [13].

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Chemical Engineering

11. Organic Solvent Nanofiltration – A New Paradigm for Molecular Separations in Organic Liquids

Summary of the impact

Organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) is a membrane separation technology used for separating molecules present in organic solvents. Research in the Livingston group has resulted in the creation of membranes with exceptional stability in organic solvents, coupled to high flux and excellent rejection performance. These membranes have been developed through to commercial products, and are manufactured by Evonik MET Ltd in the UK in a purpose-built facility in West London.

For many separations OSN uses ten times less energy than thermal methods, and can process molecules at low temperature. Through Evonik MET, OSN membranes and test equipment derived from the Imperial research have been supplied to over 100 customers including many of the major global chemical and pharmaceutical companies. For his work on OSN, Andrew Livingston received the 2009 Silver Medal of the Royal Academy of Engineering awarded "...to recognize an outstanding and demonstrated personal contribution to British engineering, which has resulted in successful market exploitation..." [7]

Submitting Institution

Imperial College London

Unit of Assessment

Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Analytical Chemistry, Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry
Engineering: Chemical Engineering

Eco-Friendly Optimisation of Ceramic Membrane Reactor for Monetising Stranded Natural Gas

Summary of the impact

Fifteen years of ceramic membrane research at Robert Gordon University and the applied development programme by the RGU spinout Gas2 Ltd have culminated in the development of the Gas2 pMR™ CPOX process and its new GTL reactor. This technology has captured the attention of major global energy investment company Lime Rock Partners for possible onshore and offshore deployment addressing the monetisation of stranded gas and to avoid flaring and venting of unwanted associated gas. The economic impact is £17.2 million in equity investment during 2008- 2013 with concomitant impacts of new processes and employment opportunities at Gas2, with environmental impact for the oil & gas industry from eco-friendly handling of stranded natural gas.

Submitting Institution

Robert Gordon University

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Engineering: Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering

Hydrogen mapping and mitigation using modelling and experimental studies to inform safety case scenarios in nuclear decommissioning operations.

Summary of the impact

This Case Study illustrates how research has had a significant impact on the awareness and management of hydrogen hazards across the UK's pre-eminent nuclear decommissioning and reprocessing organisation, Sellafield Ltd (formerly BNFL). It has enabled Sellafield to:

  • Underpin safety cases for nuclear decommissioning operations where mitigation of hydrogen explosions is essential; this is estimated to have saved Sellafield over £550 million;
  • Provide 100,000 man-hours of training/CPD on hydrogen hazards to Sellafield staff;
  • Access the science relating to hydrogen-air ignition probabilities and options for mitigating potential explosions;
  • Expand and update the Hydrogen Technical Guide and associated road map on hydrogen safety with the latest research findings;
  • Obtain continued expert advice to the Sellafield Hydrogen Working Party.

In addition, LSBU has, since 2008, benefited from contract research from Sellafield valued at over £1 million.

Submitting Institution

London South Bank University

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Engineering: Interdisciplinary Engineering

Dissolved air flotation

Summary of the impact

By modelling the formation of micro-bubbles and the flows induced by them, researchers at the University of Cambridge Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics developed a new, low-cost nozzle design that could be retrofitted to existing Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) systems. This new design dramatically improved the performance of DAF systems, used by the water industry for the production of drinking water. Specifically, this research has enabled a substantial increase in throughput and effectiveness of the flotation process, whilst simultaneously providing a dramatic decrease in the energy requirement.

Submitting Institution

University of Cambridge

Unit of Assessment

Mathematical Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Engineering: Chemical Engineering, Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy

Optimisation of membrane systems and its benefit to water treatment, food processing and medicine - from characterisation and fabrication to control

Summary of the impact

Researchers at Swansea University were the first in the world to apply Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to membrane separation in the field of process engineering. Membrane optimisation processes have emerged as one of the most significant recent developments in chemical engineering, with a range of applications in, for example, the food industry and medicine/therapeutics. Research undertaken by the University has led to significant commercial and health benefits, including

  • improved food processing techniques, with induced investment of £11m and operational savings of over £2m.
  • novel antibacterial alginate therapeutics, now in clinical trials, that have been proven in the treatment of cystic fibrosis, inducing investment of £7m.
  • exploitation of proprietary membrane modification techniques, with $2m impact.
  • development of two novel membranes used worldwide in the process industries, generating sales of £500k for each..

Submitting Institution

Swansea University

Unit of Assessment

General Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Technological

Research Subject Area(s)

Chemical Sciences: Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)
Biological Sciences: Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Engineering: Chemical Engineering

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