Last week in San Francisco, Dow Water & Process Technologies was presented with the Bronze Edison Award for Filmtec ECO Elements in the Energy/Sustainability and Commercial Resource Management category.
The judging committee recognised Filmtec ECO Technology for its ability to significantly reduce the energy required to remove impurities from water.
The programme within the Edison Universe organisation, the Edison Awards have recognised and honoured some of the most innovative products and business leaders in the world such as Nielsen, Keurig Incorporated, Henkel, and Black and Decker, and are among the most prestigious accolades honoring excellence in new product and service development, marketing, design and innovation.
In view of the 'perilous state of water demand', Dow Water & Process Solutions scientists developed Filmtec ECO RO Elements, which includes one of the most advanced water purification polymer chemistries available. Filmtec ECO Elements can help deliver up to 40% better water purification, while using up to 30% less energy, resulting in up to 19% less operating costs, the company claims.
These benefits provide manufacturers, who need water as a critical utility or as a process ingredient, with an ecologic and economic advantage when making the products such as electronics, clothing, food and beverages. It also helps power utility providers reduce the need for chemicals used to clean the membranes helping to improve their power production time management.
“Energy consumption is the number one controllable resource in the water-energy nexus,” said Snehal Desai, global business director for Dow Water & Process Solutions.
“The Edison Award recognition is very important to us, as it shows our technologies and innovations, like Filmtec ECO Reverse Osmosis Elements, are making impacts on real-world issues like water and energy scarcity.”
Dow states that in the first ten years of use, Filmtec ECO Elements will help produce 15 trillion m3 of clean water (more than six million Olympic-sized swimming pools), while providing more than 2 billion kWh (Kilowatt hours) of energy savings and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions by 1.5 million metric tons.
“Increasingly, breakthrough innovations require multi-disciplinary expertise,” said A N Sreeram, corporate vice president of research & development at Dow. “Filmtec ECO Technology is the result of collaboration across chemistry, engineering, material science and marketing. It’s a tangible demonstration of how we’re bringing innovations to the market with deep technical expertise, customer intimacy, global reach and a diverse product portfolio.”
Filmtec ECO Technology was recently recognised by Dow as an innovation that will help improve the world’s ability to solve sustainable water supply challenges, as it was named Dow’s second-ever 'Breakthrough to a World Challenge' as part of the company’s 2015 'Sustainability Goals'.