VANCOUVER, BC – BioteQ Environmental Technologies, Inc. (TSX : BQE), a leader in the treatment of industrial water and process solutions, has completed commissioning of a mobile water treatment plant that applies the company’s Sulf-IX™ process for sulphate removal. The plant is jointly owned by BioteQ and strategic alliance partner Newalta (TSX : NAL). The plant is presently deployed at a Newalta site and will be undergoing further process optimization during the remainder of the month of January.
Jonathan Wilkinson, BioteQ’s CEO stated, “Commissioning of the mobile Sulf-IX™ system is an important milestone in the commercialization of this innovative technology, and in our partnership with Newalta. BioteQ and Newalta are working together to identify potential opportunities to demonstrate the Sulf-IX™ technology at customer sites. We anticipate that pilot demonstrations will lead to commercial opportunities for full-scale Sulf-IX™ systems.”
Sulf-IX™ is an ion exchange technology developed by BioteQ to remove calcium and magnesium sulphates from water. The process produces clean water with low residual sulphate concentrations, and a solid gypsum product which can be used as a soil amendment or as an input for fertilizers and building products. Sulf-IX™ recovers up to 99 percent of the feed water for re-use, and delivers low life cycle costs for water treatment through lower capital and operating costs, lower energy consumption, and reduced carbon footprint when compared to alternative processes for sulphate treatment.
Sulphates are a form of salt that can form in a wide range of industrial activities, including lime plant effluent, metallurgical process streams, refinery wastewaters, shale gas frac water, cooling tower blow-down and make-up water, flue gas desulphurization blow-down, ash pond water, steel manufacturing wastewater, and landfill leachates.
Although not toxic to humans except in very high concentrations, sulphates can impart taste and odour at lower concentrations and can cause digestive disorders. In agricultural areas, sulphates are believed to negatively impact crop yields and domesticated mammal reproduction. Within industrial operations, sulphates cause scaling of equipment which can lead to premature equipment failure and higher maintenance costs. In response to these concerns, regulations governing sulphate concentrations in water are tightening in many jurisdictions around the world.
BioteQ Corporate Profile
BioteQ is an innovative clean technology leader in global industrial water treatment, serving the mining and energy markets. The company’s proven technologies have been applied at sites around the world to recover dissolved metals and remove sulphate, producing clean water and eliminating residual waste. BioteQ is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada and trades on the TSX under the symbol BQE. Please visit our website at www.bqewater.com for additional information.