Encouraging Signs that Engineers/Owners are Gradually Catching
On
Two recent RFPs for pilot studies for future large (30-50
MGD) MF/UF installations were encouraging in that they were open to piloting modules
from some of the relatively newer market entrants, but also highlighted that
there is still some work needed to educate many engineers and system owners on
how an Ultrafiltration system is built using these modules. It really isn’t that complicated if you are familiar
with the RO/NF market where the manufacturers of the membranes are suppliers to
the OEMs/System Integrators who build the functioning systems and who bid the projects.
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| Dow UF Modules on a System Built by Wigen Water Technologies |
One of these RFPs was for a large drinking water facility and
it was sent out to the likes of Dow and Toray asking for pilot plant
information and reference sites. Of course both of these companies then
contacted my company (and likely other OEMs who have used their membranes) to
see if they could use our pilot plant and provide reference information for the systems
we have built using their membrane modules. We are now working directly with the City to
conduct a pilot study with one of these modules.
The other RFQ is for a future large wastewater filtration
system and the City has obviously made an effort to invite all of
the MF/UF module suppliers to submit a proposal as well as the 'Big Three'
membrane system OEMs. This RFQ is still not due for a few weeks and we have already
been contacted by three of the module manufacturers asking if we will be submitting
a proposal and if so, can we use their module. Obviously this City also does not
understand that these module suppliers do not build systems and that they
should be targeting the integrators who use these modules. What is really amusing
about this RFQ is the scoring process that proposals will be evaluated by.
Seventy percent (70%) of the evaluation weighting is based on the financial
strength of the company and the strength of the reference list, with higher
scoring for larger systems operating for longer periods. Why then waste time and effort in asking for proposals from anyone other than Pall, Evoqua and
GE? Are these guys so ignorant that they don’t realize that systems using Dow
or Toray modules have only been operating in the US for 3-4 years and are all
less than 10 MGD and to my knowledge there are no significant sized systems
using Hydranautics or Econity UF modules in the US? They would have to look
to Asia or Europe to find any systems of significant size using these modules. I would want to get
some sort of indication that the City would be waiving the selection criteria
for one of the three pilots to consider something different before I waste any
time in submitting a proposal here… At least the City has acknowledged that there
are alternative MF/UF modules to those offered by the Big Three but if it is
serious about looking at one of the alternatives, the City needs to get better
educated on which OEMs/integrators have experience using these modules and
develop a more realistic selection criteria that will give these OEMs a chance
of being selected.
Despite the confusion over the membrane module marketplace,
I do see a silver lining with increasing interest and acceptance of the
non-proprietary membrane modules. It is still going to take a while for the
majority of engineers and owners to ‘get’ how this new market works and the module
manufacturers and integrators who use them need to work harder in
educating these designers and end users.
