The international desalination industry is being urged to address its growing reverse osmosis membrane waste problem and turn it into recycling and reuse opportunities.
NCEDA researcher Associate Professor Greg Leslie from UNSW told delegates at the IDA World Congress ‘Action for Good’ session on Wednesday that currently 200 tonnes of used membranes were sent to landfill each year in Australia, and as the six major Australian desal plants rapidly increased capacity, this waste would reach 800 tonnes annually by 2015.
Membranes only have a lifespan of four to six years Associate Professor Leslie said, yet have the potential to be converted for lower grade use by charities for aid in developing nations, recycled as a carbon source in steelmaking, or combusted in waste treatment.
While his NCEDA researcher colleague Will Lawler concurrently presented a paper on the reuse and recycle of membranes using Dow materials A/Prof. Leslie urged the desal industry to develop good stewardship on reducing waste while simultaneously supporting humanitarian water aid programs.
Associate Professor Leslie said a sustainable lifecycle for membranes could be achieved and industry carbon emissions lowered with a scheme such as a MemRegen Greenmark, creation of an online membrane exchange bank, industry coordination and dialogue between governments, business and utilities.
A revenue stream could be created from such a scheme to finance humanitarian projects such as those currently undertaken by SkyJuice Foundation, chaired by Rhett Butler, and Rotary’s Disaster Aid Australia.
One such recycled product that Skyjuice had developed turned membrane casing into an Aquabuddy family potable water container for use in developing nations. An accreditation program for IDA ‘Action for Good’ projects could be established, he added.
