Food sector’s water-purification technology trial

The food sector’s trial of batch-reverse osmosis technology has commenced at vertical farm GrowUp Farms in Kent.

Designed to reduce the environmental footprint of water treatment, Salinity Solutions’ batch reverse osmosis technology – reportedly the first to be manufactured commercially – could have a major impact on reducing wastewater around the world in a variety of sectors. It is hoped to help solve the emerging global water crisis. 

Conventional reverse osmosis systems are traditionally energy intensive.  Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a process where water is purified by pumping it through a semi-permeable membrane. Conventional RO uses a lot of energy as the pumping energy is lost when the water passes through the membrane. 

Salinity Solutions’ technology reportedly uses half the energy of existing systems while recovering up to 98% of clean water, while it is also compact and easily transportable. 

It has developed from theory to reality with 10 years of research at the Universities of Birmingham and Aston.

The trial will last for 10 days and aims to demonstrate how efficiently wastewater can be captured, purified to the highest food standards and reused at the farm in Kent. 

GrowUp Farms, Kent-based farm is a highly controlled indoor environment, which provides the growing conditions to grow food that is better for the environment.

Leafy greens are grown using renewable energy and less water and the salad also reportedly stay fresher for longer, resulting in less waste.  

Funding for the trial at GrowUp Farms’ site in Kent (one of the driest UK counties) has been secured through a £29,000 sustainability grant from Growing Kent and Medway’s ‘Business Sustainability Challenge’ grant.

GrowUp Farms was one of 13 beneficiaries of a grant pot worth more than £1.6mln to fund projects in the region that will transform the horticultural and plant-based food and drink supply chain. 

GrowUp Farms Impact Director Gillon Dobie says, ‘Producing more food with less resources is central to our philosophy, no more so than when it comes to our water use. We’re already making great strides to conserve this precious resource at our vertical farm in Kent and we’re striving to get even better. We’re delighted to be working with Salinity Solutions on this trial, which we hope will make a big difference to improving our positive impact.’