| Project Detail |
The number one cause influencing the lifetime of wastewater (WW) industry assets and hampering the pervasive implementation of a High Performing Asset Management (HPAM) strategy is the hydrogen sulphide (H2S) occurrence and the lack of tools to manage it.
The H2S prevalence is highly problematic, because it is highly toxic, entails odour nuisances and it leads to corrosion and collapse of sewer systems, pumps and other equipment. The annual worldwide cost of asset corrosion in WW industry exceed €1.4 trillion and billions are overspent to handle H2S consequences. This industry spends 88.4% of its budget in asset management.
Existing solutions measure H2S in the gas phase, however, these sensors underestimate the H2S levels leading to its inefficient management. The alternative is to add neutralization agents in excess, which entails an unsustainable economic burden and does not solve the problem regarding the lack of data to implement a HPAM strategy.
To target this market need, Unisense A/S developed and patented a disruptive, auto-calibrated industrial Micro Electrochemical Cell sensor (iMEC) for measuring dissolved H2S that can save up to €150,000 in chemical expenses per WW utility, while the savings resulting from enabling a HPAM strategy can lead to €0.5M – €1.3M savings in an average WW utility
In an initial phase, we expect that most of iMEC sold will be used as feedback for dosing pumps or as tool to diagnose H2S problems. As the market confidence increases, iMEC will be increasingly purchased to monitoring the overall state of the network enabling a HPAM approach.
Besides giving to Unisense a technological leap with the consequent competitive advantage and export potential, the iMEC project will assist Europe in achieving objectives for environmental and quality of life policy. Overall, this opens an important economic opportunity for Unisense (expecting €18M in cumulative profits, 5 years’ post-project) and leads to a more sustainable WW industry. |
