Bluewater Bio International, the provider of HYBACS, a high-performance and highly cost-effective wastewater treatment process, recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Infilco Degremont, Inc. (SUEZ Environnement) to market technology for energy-efficient nutrient removal across North America.
Under the agreement, which the companies executed several months ago, Infilco Degremont (IDI) will provide HYBACS to municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants across the continent.
Following nearly two years of increasingly close collaboration, the two companies are working towards the deployment of a full-scale HYBACS demonstration plant in the northeast region of the U.S., where reliable nutrient removal technologies are in particularly high demand driven by stringent regulations.
Bluewater Bio has supplied one of its SMARTTM Units, which drives the HYBACS process, and IDI has supplied the plant, including aeration tanks and clarifiers, into which the SMART UnitTM is being installed.
The plant as a whole has been designed by IDI to be mobile, despite its large size, and the customized SMART UnitTM allows for the flexibility to operate on different flows and loads at other sites in the future. The demo plant is expected to be installed at site by the end of November 2011, and will be one of IDI's largest.
Making their first public appearance together, Bluewater Bio recently joined IDI on its stand at the Water Environment Federation Technical Conference (WEFTEC) in Los Angeles, where the technology drew a very high level of interest.
Infilco Degremont believes there is an excellent market for HYBACS to deliver a cost-effective solution for the nutrient removal market and highlight the low energy consumption and ease of upgrade as key advantages in the U.S. market.
"IDI has been working very closely with Bluewater Bio for quite some time to bring this project to fruition as we now prepare to launch this technology in the U.S., as part of IDI's portfolio of wastewater technologies," says Tony Hargrave, CEO of Infilco Degremont. "We see great potential and many opportunities for HYBACS in North America."
"This marks an exciting development in the history of Bluewater Bio and we have worked closely with IDI in the USA," says Daniel Ishag, CEO of Bluewater Bio. "The U.S. is an enormous prospective market for HYBACS, particularly as a significant proportion of wastewater assets were installed in the 1950's and 60's, and HYBACS is perfectly suited to the upgrading of such plants which is frequently required. Bluewater Bio has worked hard to establish itself in international markets such as Europe, Africa, Middle East and China and we could not wish for a better partner to now go forward with into North America over the coming years."