Swirltex puts a spin on innovation

Sometimes innovation can happen in unlikely places. For Peter Christou, president and founder of Swirltex Inc., that place was in his garage in Edmonton. It was there that Christou derived a new and effective way to filter wastewater that produces cleaner water and requires significantly less energy than conventional treatments.

The team setting up the pump so it can begin suctioning water to feed the Swirltex unit.

Initially, Christou was exploring ways to treat the wastewater created by Alberta’s oil and gas industry. He was experimenting with membranes to more efficiently separate oil from water and during the process, he discovered a novel way to efficiently filter out oil and other contaminants, benefitting a much broader scope of industries and sectors.

Membrane filtration is a technique used to remove unwanted particles from water. It’s an effective way to treat wastewater by filtering out potentially dangerous agents like bacteria or biological contaminants. The clean, usable water is forced through the membrane and the unwanted materials flow through the centre inside. Unfortunately, the buildup of contaminants on the inside of a traditional membrane requires frequent cleaning or membrane replacements. The Swirltex technology developed by Christou keeps filtration membranes free of debris, requiring significantly less energy than conventional treatments.

Christou’s solution was twofold. First, he infused the liquids entering the tubular membranes with gas microbubbles. The bubbles bind to contaminants like a life jacket, making them float. Second, he applied a vortex to the liquid stream as it flowed through the tube. He found the swirling water forced the floating contaminants to the centre of the tube, while the cleaner water was pushed towards the membrane wall. The result was ultra- filtered water.

The potential for Christou’s discovery to advance wastewater treatment processes is significant. However, moving a new technology to an operational product doesn’t happen overnight. It requires testing, refinement and validation to prove its value and effectiveness before it can be fully implemented. The process also requires money.

In 2017, Alberta Innovates’ Water Innovation program contributed nearly half a million dollars to Swirltex. The funds supported the design, pilot and demonstration of the Swirltex Lagoon Unit, a portable wastewater treatment system that evolved from Christou’s innovative membrane technology.

Initially, the unit was used to treat municipal wastewater lagoons in the Towns of Ponoka and Crossfield. Like many rural communities in Alberta, these towns struggle to maintain their wastewater treatment systems. Aging infrastructure, growing populations and increased industrial activity make it difficult and expensive to get wastewater to regulatory standards. The Swirltex Lagoon Unit offered a solution by enhancing existing treatment systems rather than replacing them.

Today, Swirltex’s proprietary technology is being used to meet a diverse range of client needs. Industries like Alberta’s oil and gas sector can use the Swirltex system to efficiently produce higher volumes of clean water than conventional treatment systems. The food industry—including dairies, breweries and food processors—also has the potential to benefit from Swirltex through reduced biological contaminants and wastewater surcharges. The Swirltex story demonstrates how targeted investments help ideas grow into real, on-theground solutions, and how innovative technologies contribute to sustainability across Alberta.

Learn more about opportunities for funding through our Water Innovation Program.

This article is part of Making Waves, an annual Alberta Innovates publication highlighting water solutions we support. You can read more stories from this issue below.