Environmental technology company Abengoa and utility American Water have signed a worldwide licensing agreement for American Water’s patented NPXpress technology. The organizations say the agreement will enable Abengoa to use NPXpress to sustainably treat sewage, eliminating the need for methanol, a chemical addition, by up to 80 to 100 percent.
The technology helps wastewater utilities reduce costs while improving the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, American Water says. Because the wastewater treatment technology operates at lower oxygen levels, electricity consumption for aeration can be reduced by up to 50 percent.
NPXpress is patent-protected in 15 countries and the EU.
Earlier this year Voin, a global food company based in the Netherlands, selected Colsen to build a wastewater treatment plant at the food company’s Boxtel location. The technology can halve energy costs compared to conventional activated sludge technology and will allow Voin to reuse 25 percent of its wastewater, DutchWaterSector.com reports.