ROTEC Licenses University of Colorado Water Desalination Technology

Pilot demonstration underway in Israel; NATO and other international funding received to support more work.

Boulder (March 4, 2010) – The University of Colorado recently completed a license agreement with Reverse Osmosis Technologies (ROTEC) for CU technology enabling more efficient treatment of groundwater to make it suitable for drinking. ROTEC, an Israel-based water treatment technology company, will use the licensed technology to improve the performance of its water desalination process.

The efficient recovery of fresh water from ocean water or waste-water is of paramount importance in arid regions, in highly industrialized regions, and in locations close to ocean water but remote from fresh water sources. ROTEC is developing an innovative technology for increasing the amount of  brackish (partially saline) groundwater that can be reclaimed by reverse osmosis, using a Reverse Flow methodology developed by scientists J. Gilron and E. Korin of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

In reverse osmosis systems, precipitation of salts found in saline and hard water causes scaling; this is one of the main factors limiting the recovery of potable water. The licensed technology, developed by Alan Greenberg of the CU department of mechanical engineering, is a patented ultrasonic sensor that can detect when scaling begins. The sensor triggers a change in the system flow patterns so that scaling is prevented. “We are glad to see this technology applied to one of the world’s most important problems,” said Kate Tallman, Director of Technology Transfer for CU-Boulder.

Ben-Gurion University and ROTEC have begun operations at a pilot facility on the Sde Boker campus of BGU, and plan to operate the pilot at a Mekorot desalination plant in Eilat and at an additional test site in Jordan in 2010 or 2011. "This is a great opportunity for ROTEC to incorporate and test its high recovery desalination technology in industrial scale RO systems", said Noam Perlmuter, Chief Executive Officer of ROTEC. BGU and CU-Boulder were recently awarded grants from the NATO Science for Peace program and the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) to facilitate development of these projects. 

About ROTEC:
ROTEC (Reverse Osmosis Technologies) is a water treatment company developing novel technologies for the improved desalination of brackish groundwater, thus increasing the recovery rate, reducing dramatically brine volumes for disposal and minimizing anti-scalants consumption. The company was founded in 2009 to commercialize research from Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; the company is collaborating with researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder. For more information about ROTEC please visit: www.rotec-water.com.

Photo: ROTEC water desalination unit, © 2010, ROTEC