New technology aims to help industry dramatically reduce the use of chemicals

Researchers at the University of Twente are developing a new generation of process technology that could significantly reduce the need for chemicals in industrial processes. Thanks to €4 million in funding from the Dutch TKI Industry & Energy programme, UT researcher Sissi de Beer is leading an international consortium that will spend the coming years developing more sustainable technologies for applications including industrial cleaning, desalination and the separation of raw materials.

In many industrial processes, chemicals are added to treat water, clean equipment or separate substances. Before the water can be reused or discharged, these additives must be removed again, requiring large amounts of energy, chemicals and money. The new ECO (Electrically-driven, Chemical-free Operations) project takes a different approach: preventing the need for these additives in the first place.

“We are building on technologies we have developed over the past few years, but we are now taking an important next step,” says De Beer. “Not only do we use electric fields, we also exploit the local pH changes that occur around the electrodes. This allows us to create exactly the right conditions where they are needed, without having to adjust the entire liquid. As a result, we can work much more efficiently and significantly reduce the use of chemicals.”

Sissi de Beer

Building on previous UT research

The new technology builds on earlier University of Twente projects, including ReCoVR and Electrified. In those projects, researchers developed electrically driven techniques to separate and dewater biomaterials more efficiently. Within ECO, that knowledge will now be extended to applications such as desalination, industrial cleaning and separation processes.

The researchers expect that the new insights will eventually have applications beyond industry. In households, for example, cleaning products, descaling agents and other chemicals are often used even more extensively than in industrial processes.

“We are focusing on industrial applications in this project,” says De Beer, “but we hope that the knowledge we gain will ultimately also lead to technologies that reduce the use of chemicals in our homes.”

Sissi de Beer holding a glass of clean water

Working together towards cleaner processes

Within the ECO project, researchers from the University of Twente are collaborating with Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research, the University of Groningen and the University of Copenhagen. The consortium also includes industrial partners such as Royal Avebe, FrieslandCampina, Nobian, Shell, ISPT, Ecolab and VNP.

Over the coming years, five PhD candidates will investigate how electrically driven process technologies can contribute to cleaner and more energy-efficient industrial processes.

“I hope that, ten years from now, we will be able to say that we laid the foundation for a new generation of industrial processes that use fewer chemicals and contribute to cleaner water,” says De Beer.