We are working actively on proofs of concept involving the various possibilities of AQUALYS, the promising new sensor from SPECTRALYS which is unique on the market.
Water is an omnipresent issue for industrial companies and public authorities, as the impact of climate change is increasingly affecting this crucial resource. Government restrictions imposing reductions in water consumption (such as the unprecedented 30% cut in water consumption imposed last summer in Brittany!) may lead to short-term production shutdowns and cause raw materials to be lost. The only solution is to achieve savings – of water, obviously, but also of materials and energy to maintain production profitability. Such gains are now possible with AQUALYS and our customers are particularly interested.
In this context, we have identified, tested and validated 4 major applications:
- Savings on rinsing water in production workshops through accurate measurement:
A partnership between Spectralys, SPX and Lactalis has enabled us to demonstrate water savings of around 50% compared with measurement by pH-metry.
- Control of water recycling and fouling of treatment membranes:
Our teams have identified significant variability in the fluorescence and TOC (calibration on AQUALYS) of the process water sent for recycling. Such monitoring is important in itself, but we will also be working from September 2023 with SPX (dairy industry) and AgroParisTech (vegetable transformation industry) to identify fluorescent markers of membrane fouling. If necessary, alerts will make it possible to redirect effluent to the treatment plant or to other less demanding uses. Another issue involves monitoring potentially harmful molecules which are not captured by the membrane and which accumulate with successive recycling operations. In the latter case, an alert will indicate the need to add clean water to the system.
- Alerts concerning material losses:
At Galbani, we have just finished implementing alerts targeting Material Losses by continuous COD measurement. This will be followed by detection of the products causing these losses so that the problem can be rectified more effectively. Industrial companies may indeed incur heavy penalties if their effluent exceeds a specific COD value, in addition to the direct consequences of the loss of raw materials.
- River pollution alerts:
Our teams have installed AQUALYS at a strategic point on a small river in France’s Basque Country which has been identified as the main source of pollution on the beach downstream. Continuous pollution measurement will make it possible to detect, anticipate and alert in the event of a peak in pollution. The current solution simply involves stopping the river’s outflow into the sea, but the earlier any action is taken, the better the protection of seawater quality.