About Agua Dulce

ABOUT AGUA 

Agua Dulce Technologies, LLC, is a privately funded and owned corporation based in Littleton, Colorado. The wastewater purification plant in Colorado demonstrates the Membrane Pervaporation Technology at a scale of 1,000 barrels per week of feedstock from the Oil and Gas Fields in the United States. The technology was developed by US Metals Refining Group (USMRG), Inc. 

THE TECHNOLOGY 

The technology uses innovative membrane tubes patented by Pervatech Corporation in the Netherlands. The tubes were originally designed to separate heavy oils, paraffins, and alcohols in Europe. Our company acquired these tubes and repurposed them in the US by redesigning a pilot plant with completely different configuration from the traditional units. The goal was to process underground brine water, industrial effluents, dilute leach solutions and separate mineral salts from freshwater. We own the utility patents for the process itself, module assembly and demo plant design.

THE MEMBRANE TUBES

The narrow tubes are made from robust and sturdy silicate material ranging in diameters between 10-15 mm (about 0.59 in), and length of up to 1.2 m. The selective properties of the membrane tubes are imparted by a thin coating of porous polymer-silicates on the exterior diameter. Given their fragility (they can break on strong mechanical impact), they are housed in cylindrical metal casing called modules. In each module, there could be as many as 148 tubes tightly secured. The module itself, which houses membrane tubes, is made from stainless steel 304 or SS316. The material can handle wastewater at pH 0.2 or higher with dissolved silica up to 2500 ppm. The cylindrical housing can operate under different pressure conditions.