EconoPure Water Systems

P.O. Box 4090 , Tustin, California, United States | Minerals Recycling

EconoPure Water Systems was formed in 2007 to develop water treatment products based on the inventions of Diem X. Vuong. Mr. Vuong has over 40 years in municipal water and wastewater treatment and knows the practical considerations associated with treatment systems.

While he was the Assistant General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department in Southern California, Mr. Vuong invented a dual pass nanofiltration system that was successfully tested by a consortium of Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, Long Beach Water Department and the US Bureau of Reclamation. Through that experience, Mr. Vuong gained world class experience with nanofiltration membranes. The NF membrane is the cornerstone of the Company’s initial product offering, the LFNano

EconoPure™ Water Systems was formed in 2007 by Michael S. Motherway and Diem X. Vuong as an R&D company (DXV Water Technologies) to commercialize the water treatment inventions of Mr. Vuong, a 40-year water treatment industry veteran and world-renowned membrane expert. The first product introduced by EconoPure™ was DEMWAX™ (depth-exposed membrane for water extraction), an ultra-low energy, natural pressure seawater desalination system.

The engineers at EconoPure™ then employed the experience of the DEMWAX™ membrane system to develop the “Low-Fouling Nanofiltration System” or LFNano™, a scalable treatment solution for industrial and municipal wastewater.

In 2011 the company successfully tested the first LFNano™ and has since established itself as a global leader in nanofiltration technology. Subsequent technological advances have made the LFNano™ the professionals’ choice for enhanced performance and decrease cost – both capital and operating.

In 2014, EconoPure™ was granted a US patent for the LFNano™ and introduced a revolutionary patent-pending point-of-use (POU)
system as well as the Revolver™ – the next generation LFNano™.

Also in 2014, EconoPure™ redesigned and filed a new patent for its disruptive desalination technology; DEMWAX II™.

In 2015, EconoPure™ applied for a patent for EconoVap™ – a brine evaporating system designed to work with LFNano™ to economically achieve true zero liquid discharge (ZLD).

Technology.

The LFNano™ membrane system is a nanofiltration system providing osmotic water quality with a simple, unique system to mitigate the effects of membrane fouling.  The system combines three features:

1)      Proprietary open architecture NF membrane element

2)      Anti-fouling particulate coating/injection

3)      Feedwater circulation

This system drastically reduces the impacts of membrane fouling.  Fouling is where the contaminants in the water plug up the ‘pores’ in the membrane.  Fouling is the limiting factor to the adoption of membranes today as most methods of dealing with it are mechanically complex and expensive.  The membrane cartridge uses thin film composite (TFC) nanofiltration membrane in an open configuration, eliminating the dead spots common to standard elements today.  The system is designed to circulate the feedwater continuously in order to eliminate the velocity/recovery relationship (limitation) while maintaining a high velocity.  This maintains a consistent feed concentration which gives consistent performance or removal (avoids concentration polarization) and limits the buildup of foulants on the membrane surface.

The LFNano™ membrane element has an open configuration that imparts an extremely low headloss allowing a low energy circulation of the feed water.  The photos below show a close up of a cross section of the LFNano™ membrane element with the unique feed spacer along with a photo of the element that looks almost identical to traditional spiral elements today.

LFNano™ Spiral Element (cross section close-up and element)

The system also uses anti-fouling particles that protect the membrane from organic fouling and inorganic scaling.  These anti-fouling particles can be based on standard high surface area particles like diatomaceous earth or activated carbon.  The particulate feed stock is modified for use in the LFNano™ and is injected into the feed stream to bind up the very fine particles that would otherwise imbed into the membrane.  These injected particles can be easily removed when they accumulate in the vessel or on the membrane surface.  Below are microscopic views of some possible particulate stocks that can be used in the LFNano™ (diatomaceous earth, granular activated carbon and bentonite).

Company Details
Company NameEconoPure Water Systems
Business CategoryMinerals Recycling
AddressP.O. Box 4090
Tustin
California
United States
ZIP: CA 92781
PresidentDaniel Bertram
Year Established2007
Employees50
MembershipsNA
Hours of OperationNA

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