Epuramat: Interview with the CTO

Achim, how did you get the idea of developing an innovative mechanized primary treatment system ?

Right from when I started my engineering studies, I became aware of a major contradiction associated with wastewater technology. Whilst more and more innovative membrane filtration technologies and biological treatments were being developed, there was no notable progress in terms of primary treatment processes.
The solutions on the market were all outmoded, and some of them came with serious disadvantages. The efficiency of sedimentation tanks is rather limited, and at the same time associated with huge requirements in terms of space, construction and expenditure. Alternatives such as the hydrocyclone do deliver higher solid separation results, but they also consume enormous amounts of energy. In addition, the areas of application for the hydrocyclone are limited to a certain range of exclusively inorganic particle sizes. Baffle plate thickeners for the primary treatment of wastewater are also widely in use. This technology is no longer patent-protected, as it was developed around a century ago. This means that they are produced by countless numbers of suppliers in a highly fragmented wastewater market. The main disadvantages of the baffle plate thickener are its requirement for space, cleaning costs and the limited levels of efficiency that can be achieved.

Yet it is precisely the primary treatment process that we need to focus on, I thought. The breakthrough developments in membrane and bio filtration could be made much simpler by an improved mechanical primary treatment process. This is what gave me the idea of looking into the problem in more depth. After developing the ExSep technology, I decided to devise a business model for marketing the Extrem Separator. Winning first prize for my business plan in the Luxembourg start-up competition “1, 2, 3, Go!” in 2005 was the kick-off for Epuramat. In fact, today’s CEO at Epuramat, David Din, was my coach for that competition. It was at that point that we decided to start the company up together.

What makes the ExSep unique?

The ExSep achieves extremely high solid/liquid separation efficiency levels of up to 99% in only one processing stage. This makes the ExSep unique for a range of applications in terms of its performance.
The ExSep always wins in terms of the huge amount of space saved compared with traditional mechanical primary treatment applications, such as the usual sedimentation tanks, for example. An Epuramat treatment plant can save up to 90% of the space required compared to traditional primary treatment systems.
The ExSep is totally based on the principal of gravity. This means that it doesn’t require any energy to operate. It can separate both organic and inorganic solid material from wastewater, which makes it very different from the hydrocyclone, which can only separate inorganic solid matter, also consuming an enormous amount of energy.
Another unique feature of the ExSep is that, for many applications, it doesn’t even require the addition of chemical flocculation agents. This is highly important for a number of different industries, where the purified water needs to be recycled back into the production cycle, making the use of chemicals undesirable. A good example of this is the recycling of processing water in porcelain manufacture. The water required by the glazing process can be purified and channeled back into the production cycle. Any contamination by chemicals would make the water unusable in this regard.

How is the ExSep integrated with the Box4Water?

The ExSep is the core component of every Epuramat plant, the same therefore applying to the Box4Water. The extremely high efficiency of the primary treatment delivered by the ExSep alone makes it possible to build a complete treatment plant on a compact scale in just a single container. The improved primary treatment achieved by the ExSep simplifies subsequent stages of purification, which is then carried out in simpler, smaller all-in-one systems. The Box4Water is the result of ExSep technology (patent pending) and the latest membrane and bio filtration technologies, all brought together by the expertise of our experienced team of specialists.

Why was the Box4Water developed?

We had already been playing around with the idea of developing a mobile treatment system for some time. The main benefits of the ExSep technology are very high efficiency levels, combined with saving an enormous amount of space. The Box4Water takes both of these benefits and combines them into an unbeatable total solution. Fresh water comes out of the container via the plug and play principle: – set up, connect and use.
Our aim was to develop a user-friendly product for the treatment of a wide range of wastewater qualities. The Box4Water consists of a basic version for primary treatment, plus several modules that can be built onto the container as required. Basically, however, the Box4Water itself always remains the same. This means that the Box4Water can be delivered and made up and running at an interim location at short notice. There is no need for the long-winded planning and construction work associated often associated with conventional treatment plants. “With the Box4Water, you don’t have to keep on reinventing the wheel every time” says it nicely, I think.

What are your future plans for the Box4Water?

My dream is to make the ExSep and the Box4Water a “de facto standard”. Put simply, this means that our technology would be officially recognized as an industry standard. We will achieve this by distributing our plants far and wide. Since going public with the Box4Water for the first time in January 2009, we have received a large number of enquiries. The first Box4Water contracts with both the industrial and the local community sectors have already been signed. Our team takes this as an extremely positive sign that we are all working on the right path towards turning our dream into reality in the shortest possible time.