Water Planet has recently launched its new membrane filtration product, PolyCera, which it claims outpaces the current range of polymeric membranes, and costs less. A six-week pilot to test the PolyCera BE-110-XB ultrafiltration modules in reclaiming domestic wastewater for non-potable reuse, which took place at a remote work camp in south Texas, US, in 2016, demonstrated consistent polishing of wastewater to the relevant standards. The water produced was always less than one milligram total suspended solids per litre (mg/L TSS), two colony-forming units per 100 millilitres (CFUs/100mL), and 0.1 nephelometric turbidity units (NTUs). PolyCera maintained a much higher sustainable flux, and permeability after fouling was recovered through half the amount of backwashing and cleaning, compared to polyvinylidine fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membranes.
In PolyCera, Water Planet claims to have created a unique ceramic-like combination of high hydrophilicity, permeability, and robustness, at a price that is 10 to 20 times lower than ceramic solutions. It is available as flat sheets, or in Water Planet’s proprietary spiral monolith elements.