Dow, De Lage Landen Offer RO Element Leasing

Dow Water Process and Solutions and De Lage Landen Financial Services, a global provider of asset-based financing for manufacturers and distributors, have announced what they say is the industry’s first reverse osmosis (RO) element leasing program for Dow’s Filmtec RO membranes.

The leasing program will make Dow Filmtec RO elements more available to businesses and municipalities in North America by giving them better access to financing, the partners say.

Filmtec RO elements are used for demineralizing brackish water or desalinating seawater for a variety of industries and applications including industrial water treatment, power generation, food and beverage processing, municipal desalination and water reuse, and home drinking water devices.

The program, which is also available for purchases made via Dow channel partner OEMs, is designed to give end-users flexibility whether their acquisition is planned or not. Additionally the leasing program will allow end-users to use the latest Dow RO water treatment technology while staying within warranty term coverage, the companies say.

Last week, Desalitech announced that Environmental Protection Technologies (EPT) of Israel will increase the production rate of its RO water treatment system by 50 percent.

The Desalitech-designed closed circuit desalination (CCD) RO plant, located at the Dead Sea Works chemical plant in Israel, is owned and operated by EPT and currently produces 100 gallons of purified water per minute to supply drinking water for an industrial compound and process water for pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Also this month Cox Enterprises and its Manheim auction operation in Georgia said they have saved 2 million gallons of water annually and reduced daily water demand by 60 percent since opening the Water Conservation Center in 2008.

The Water Conservation Center uses a four-step process:

1. Run-off water from vehicle washing flows into floor drains leading to a series of underground tanks where water is collected and equalized.
2. Water proceeds to the bioreactor tank where substances are separated and broken down to prepare for treatment.
3. Ultra-filtration separates the remaining solids not fully broken down.
4. RO membranes remove dissolved solids that remain, improving water quality to better than its original state.