NEWRI worked with WEIDA on a membrane bioreactor (MBR) wastewater
treatment plant at Sarawak’s Pasir Puteh livestock farming area. The plant treats
wastewater from a 250,000 SPP pig farm and abattoir.
01
Unleash The
Power Of Water
With NEWRI
Unleash The Power Of Water With NEWRI | 02
01
Unleash The
Power Of Water
With NEWRI
03
The NEWRI
Community
05
Solutions For
Sustainability
Singapore is known globally for its use of technology to
create a sustainable model for water management and
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has been at
the forefront of Singapore’s R&D effort in environmental
and clean water technologies. Ranked as among the
world’s top 9 notable water research organisations,
NTU’s Nanyang Environment and Water Research
Institute (NEWRI) has performed research and
translated its interdisciplinary research outcomes into
industry and community development relevance since
its inception in 2008.
13
Your Global Research & Technology Partner
NEWRI Across
The World
15
TransDisciplinary
Strengths
Printed on FSC certified Enviro Wove paper using soy-based ink.
Enviro Wove, a 100% recycled quality, is produced entirely from selected
pre & post-consumer waste - equivalent to paper made with virgin fibres.
03
The NEWRI
Community
The NEWRI Community | 04
Centres of Excellence
DHI-NTU
SMTC
DHI-NTU Centre (DHI-NTU), a
collaborative set-up with DHI of Denmark
in October 2007, focuses on urban
water quantity and quality modelling and
management, environmental impact
assessment, and process modelling
and control.
Value-Add
Singapore Membrane Technology Centre
(SMTC), established in January 2008,
spearheads R&D efforts in fundamental
membrane science and development of
membrane technologies.
R3C
AEBC
Residues & Resource Reclamation
Centre (R3C), launched on 5 Oct
2009, provides R&D platform
for urban and industrial wastes,
residues management and resource
reclamation, and wastes to energy.
Advanced Environmental Biotechnology
Centre (AEBC) was launched on 10 May
2010 to focus on applied environmental
microbiology
and
bioprocesses
development.
Supporting Members
ECMG
NEWRIComm
Environmental Chemistry & Materials
Group (ECMG) supports the NEWRI
ecosystem with its research capabilities
in environmental chemistry and
development of materials for treatment
processes and sensors.
NEWRI officially launched by then
Minister MEWR, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim
NEWRITech
NEWRI Postgraduate Education Unit
(N.PhD) generates manpower for the
industry, by preparing students to be at
the forefront of environmental science
and engineering.
NEWRI Technology Development
(NEWRITech) leads the business of
research for the water and environment
domains. As NEWRI’s “connector” to
industry, it generates industry relevance,
leveraging on innovations developed by
NEWRI’s research teams.
2013
N.PhD
2010
2009
2008
The NEWRI ecosystem provides a multi- and trans-disciplinary platform for some 400 researchers
to perform RTDA (Research, Translation, Development and Applications) in the domains of Water,
Wastewater, Waste, and the Energy-Water nexus. NEWRI has strong capabilities and capacities to
develop novel technology solutions relevant to community and industry.
Official launch of DHI-NTU, SMTC and new
centre R3C by then PS Tan Yong Soon, MEWR
NEWRI Community Development
(NEWRIComm) partners benefactors
for social investments for a better shared
future in Asia through innovations and
holistic solutions in water technologies.
It acts as NEWRI’s “connector” to
communities.
AEBC officially launched by then Senior
Parliamentary Secretary, MEWR, Dr Amy Khor
NEWRI officially launched at CleanTech One
by Minister MEWR, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan
05
Solutions For
Sustainability
Solutions For Sustainability | 06
Beyond Science – IPs & Applications
Solutions for mitigating
membrane fouling and toxic
compounds, in submerged
anaerobic membrane
bioreactors (SAMBR)
NEWRI’s research, translation, development and applications (RTDA) goes beyond
science and research to generate IPs and practical applications for sustainability. In
2013, NEWRI’s technology releases include new forward-osmosis membranes for water
treatment and purification, energy recovery with biosorption and anaerobic processes, as
well as environmental restoration and resource reclamation techniques. NEWRI continues
with new research projects in industrial wastewater management and on the energy-wastewater nexus to support key growth areas in Singapore’s water industry.
Pre-concentration of carbon and energy
recovery via anaerobic digestion in
a reconfigured wastewater treatment
plant, with Suez Environnement and
DHI to achieve energy neutral/positive
wastewater treatment.
Developing a robust ceramic
membrane bioreactor (MBR)
with Meiden
Membrane Modules
Enhanced energy recovery
through bioconversion of
CO2 to CH4 with Chemilink
07
Solutions For
Sustainability
Solutions For Sustainability | 08
Toray Singapore Water
Research Centre (TSWRC)
in partnership with SMTC
Pretreatment technology for
enhancing anaerobic sludge
digestibility and biogas
production with PUB
Development of low pressure hollow
fibre nanofiltration (NF) membranes with
Siemens Water Technologies
N-TiO2/AC Composites
Solar-driven pollutant removal with hybrid
adsorption-photocatalysis process
hv > Eg
N-TiO2
Samples with
various % of AC
OH
OH
OH
Target
Contaminant
OH
OH
Activated
carbon
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
100%
OH
OH
OH
Clean technology for water/air treatment
Minimal chemical consumption
Lower carbon footprint
AC regeneration on-site / in-line
Zero waste stream
In collaboration with
Siemens
(EWI 0901-IRIS-20)
Rejection( Mg2+ )
OH
Solar regeneration of spent AC
Solar-irradiated membrane photoreactor
Tapping indoor lights for photocatalytic pollutant removal
OH
OH
OH
ECMG developed nitrogen-doped titania
supported on activated carbon (N-TiO2/AC),
is a dual-function adsorptive photocatalyst
for synergistic degradation of pollutants. Its
potential applications include:
OH
OH
Dual layer PAI/PES
Interfacial polymerization
Layer-by-layer
polyelectrolyte deposition
98%
96%
Dual layer
IP (inside to out)
L-B-L(inside to out)
94%
92%
90%
0
5
10 15 20
Water flux (LMH)
Feed: 3000 ppm TDS ( MgCI2 500 ppm, CaCI2 900 ppm, NaCI 1600 ppm )
Pressure: 2 bar
Solutions For
Sustainability
Solutions For Sustainability | 10
Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO)
membranes with high power density for
osmotic power harvesting
SMTC newly developed
PRO hollow fiber membrane
withstands 15 bar pressure
to achieve a power density of
20W/m2
Prevention of tree failure
by studying rainfall pattern
effects on soil and hydrological
conditions with NParks
Test condition: using synthetic river water (1 mM NaCI)
and seawater brine (1 M NaCI) as the feed water and
draw solution, respectively.
Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is an emerging membrane technique that can utilize seawater
to recover osmotic power from salinity gradients. SMTC’s newly developed PRO hollow fiber
membrane withstands 15 bar pressure to achieve a power density of 20 W/m2.
Arsenic removal from drinking water
using nanostructured adsorbents and
modified natural materials
Water
molecule
Salt ion
Sorption (%)
09
Nano-LDH (fast coprecipitation & hydrothermal)
Com-LDH (ion exchange)
100
Forward osmosis technology
ready for commercialisation
Salt Water
75
Membrane
50
25
0
A
te
na
e
rs
te
ra
Bo
C
e
at
m
o
hr
te
da
M
b
oly
te
ra
lo
ch
r
Pe
te
na
le
Se
te
Draw
solution
da
na
Va
Fresh Water
SMTC FO membranes
LDH
microspheres
Forward osmosis (FO) membrane technology has potential to reduce energy consumption for wastewater
treatment, water purification, seawater desalination, or produce energy from salinity gradient sources. The
successful fabrication of thin-film composite FO hollow fibre membranes with superior performance by
SMTC has received international attention from the membrane community and water industry. Licensing
for SMTC’s FO membrane technology is in discussion.
11
Solutions For
Sustainability
SWRO plant
with swirl valve
brine plume
Solutions For Sustainability | 12
Enhanced sludge digestion
system with 70% volatile solids
reduction using wastewater
treatment plant as an urban eco
power station with Keppel
Existing
Brine outfall pipe
shortening of the
outfall pipe length
Swirl valve induces the rapid mixing
of brine discharges from desalination
plants in coastal waters.
Existing
with swirl valve, type 1
with swirl valve, type 2
c/c0
0.9
0.6
0.3
0
Developing environmental
standards for the use of
treated MSW IBA with NEA
No-Mix Vacuum Toilet turns
human waste into electricity
and fertilisers and reduces the
amount of water needed for
flushing by up to 90 per cent
13
NEWRI
Across The World
AECOM ALPHA BIOFUELS
UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD
NEWRI Across The World | 14
AQUAPORIN ASSURE CONTROLS
BASF BIOTECH BOSCH
CENTRE FOR MEMBRANE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
CH2MHILL CHANGSHA UNIVERSITY CMB CHEMLINK CODEXIS CPG DHI EBCRC ECOWISE
EDB ENERGY MARKET AUTHORITY GUCAS THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM
HITACHI HDB HYFLUX IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON
KEPPEL KONZEN
LIPI
LIEN FOUNDATION
LELAND STANDFORD UNIVERSITY
ITRI JTC JSL KEMIRA KURARAY
LIONAPEX
ENGINEERING
MEMSYS MICHIGAN STATE
PTE
UNIVERSITY
LTD
MND
MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES
MPASINGAPORE NATIONAL
RESEARCH
NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC
NEERI
FOUNDATION
NATIONAL PARKS
CHENG GONG UNIVERSITY
NPARKS
CUGE
OCEAN UNIVERSITY OF CHINA PUB
SEMBCORP SENTOSA SHANAYA SHANGHAI JIAO TONG UNIVERSITY
SHANGHAI UNIVERSITY THE WATER INITIATIVE
SIEMENS SURBANA
TEUHUB SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC
TORAY TROJAN UNEP UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN UNIVERSITY OF PERADENIYA
VEOLIA
VSIP
V T T W R I N R I G O ( S) P T E LT D
WEIDA
WRU
WMRAS
15
Trans-Disciplinary
Strengths
Trans-Disciplinary Strengths | 16
SMTC
DHI-NTU
Singapore Membrane
Technology Centre
DHI-NTU Centre
A NEWRI Centre of Excellence
A NEWRI Centre of Excellence
Director
Assoc Professor
Adrian Law Wing-Keung
Director
Assoc Professor
Wang Rong
DHI-NTU Centre is an inter-disciplinary research and training centre that addresses
environmental issues through a planning and management approach with a special
emphasis on the urban environment. It focuses on the development of environment
friendly solutions, tools and technologies, including state-of-the-art hydrodynamic and
water quality numerical models and real-time field monitoring systems, to improve
planning and management of water resources (both quantity and quality). Feedback
from environmental impact assessment also motivates use-inspired research.
SMTC was set up in 2008 with support from the Environment & Water Industry Development
Council (EWI) and EDB to spearhead Singapore’s R&D efforts in fundamental and applied
research in membrane science and technology.
Supported by the Environment & Water Industry Development Council (EWI) and
EDB, it was established in 2007 as a collaboration between NTU and DHI.
SMTC’s progressed its RTDA activities and specialisation through these 7 core areas:
DHI-NTU’s RTDA specialisation includes computational
hydraulics, surface and coastal water management,
industrial water management, process modelling,
environmental impact assessment, and
development of decision support system
tools and technologies.
Environmental
Modelling
“Effective management of
information and infrastructure...
a must for a secure and liveable
urban environment.”
Decision
Support
System Tools &
Technologies
Urban Water
Management
DHI-NTU
Industrial
Water
Management
Environmental
Impact Assessment
The 5 core areas of interest of the centre
Collaborating with multidisciplinary talents across NTU, with other universities and industry
partners, including global companies such as Siemens, Kemira, and Toray, to develop new,
low-cost, and improved membranes and membrane-based systems. Novel IPs have been
generated, and exciting licensing and commercialisation potentials are in the pipeline.
1. Water Production – Water treatment, desalination
2. Water Reclamation – Pre-treatment and reversed reverse
osmosis
3. Membrane Bioreactors – Conventional and novel
4. Energy Issues – Improving energy efficiency
and energy production from chemical potential
Water
Water
gradients
Production
Reclamation
5. Special Needs – Chronic and acute,
decentralised
6. Sensors and Process Control –
Membrane monitoring and performance
Cleaner
Membrane
enhancement
Production
Bioreactors
7. Cleaner Production and Environment –
SMTC
Modification of production process to reduce
its environmental impact and improve its
DHI-NTU
profitability
Membrane
Monitoring
Energy
Efficiency
Special Needs
The 7 core areas of interest of the centre
“The challenge…
benchmarking against one of
the best – the kidney.”
17
Trans-Disciplinary
Strengths
Trans-Disciplinary Strengths | 18
R3C
AEBC
Residues and Resource
Reclamation Centre
A NEWRI Centre of Excellence
Advanced Environmental
Biotechnology Centre
A NEWRI Centre of Excellence
Director
Assoc Professor
Wang Jing-Yuan
Deputy Director
Asst Professor
Victor Chang Wei-Chung
Director
Professor
Liu Yu
R3C strengthens Singapore environmental industry‘s capability in waste and
resource management with emphasis on use-inspired R3 (Residues, Resource and
Reclamation) research and translation for Singapore, Asia and Pacific region. It was
launched in 2009 with support from EWI/EDB
AEBC provides leadership in use-inspired R&D on environmental biotechnology and
sustainability with research platforms for applied environmental microbiology in such
capabilities as:
It acts as a focal point for synergistic research collaborations with government
agencies, industry partners, and educational and research institutions, both locally
and from around the world, such as MEWR, NEA, PUB, SembEnviro, and IWWG.
2. Bioprocess: Nutrients removal, inhibition & biokinetics, enzymes mediated treatment
and process design & operation.
R3C also provides technical advisory services to various agencies and corporations.
Its RTDA activities and specialisation are focused around these 3 key areas:
1. Microbiology: Biogranulation, bioaugmentation, cell-cell signalling
3. Energy and resource recovery
Launched in 2010, AEBC’s set up was supported by EDB/
EWI.
1. Waste to materials – converting waste into new, useful materials;
2. Waste to energy – harnessing energy from urban biomass, sewage sludge, agricultural residues, micro-algae;
3. Contaminated site remediation – developing solutions and technologies for remediating contaminated sites.
“Waste is not waste, but a
misplaced resource.”
Waste To
Materials
Waste To
Energy
R3C
Contaminated Site
Remediation
The 3 core areas of interest of the centre
RTDA activities in AEBC cover different stages
of the RTDA cycle ranging from lab research,
to translational work, pilot tests and full scale
applications.
Environmental
Bioprocesses &
Sustainability
Use-Inspired
R&D On
Bioprocesses
AEBC
Biotechnology
In EWT
The 3 core areas of interest of the centre
“The ubiquitous microbes...
a source of effective
environmental
solutions.”
DHI-NTU
19
Trans-Disciplinary
Strengths
Trans-Disciplinary Strengths | 20
ECMG
N.PhD
Environmental Chemistry
and Materials Group
NEWRI Postgraduate
Education Unit
A NEWRI Research Group
Co-ordinator
Assoc Professor
Lim Teik Thye
Co-ordinator
Assoc Professor
Richard Webster
NEWRI’s Research Manpower Arm
Co-ordinator
Professor
William Chen Wei Ning
ECMG coordinates the expertise of members from science and engineering, and
who have R&D backgrounds in the fields of environmental science, materials,
and chemistry aimed at addressing environmental and water problems with least
chemical usage, energy consumption and waste stream generation.
Their activities include investigations into such areas as:
• Development of novel, functional materials for environmental applications
• Development of sensitive analytical methods for the rapid detection and quantification of emerging contaminants in urban waters an reclaimed waters
• Integration of systems for water treatment and used-water reclamation
•
Recommendation of effective measures for sustainable water resource management and protection of
Systems
environment and public health
Integration
For Water
Treatment
“A catalyst in the development
of green chemistry.”
Environmental
Applications
Materials
N.PhD is a source of manpower for the industry, and shapes future leaders for
Singapore, the region and beyond – leaders who are sensitive to environmental
needs and sustainability. To this end NEWRI endeavours to prepare students
in the fundamentals and for professional careers, and who are imbued with passion
for sustainability.
As the education arm of NEWRI, N.PhD collaborates closely with the various colleges
and schools, especially with the Interdisciplinary Graduate School (IGS) for recruitment
of NEWRI students. While the candidates are enrolled with the respective schools, their
research work is supported by NEWRI’s research centres in well-equipped laboratories
with capacities and capabilities related to their particular
focus domains including membranes, biotechnology,
chemistry, mathematical modelling, and waste
management.
Strength In
Environmental
Fundamentals
Industry
Relevance
ECMG
N.PhD
Detection And
Quantification Of
Contaminants
Research Support
In Environmental
Domains
The 3 core areas of interest of the group
The 3 core areas of student development
“Understanding sustainability,
DHI-NTU
imparting a social
conscience
coupled with technical
excellence.”
21
Trans-Disciplinary
Strengths
Trans-Disciplinary Strengths | 22
NEWRITech
NEWRIComm
NEWRI Technology
Development
NEWRI Community
Development
NEWRI’s Technology Business Arm
NEWRI’s CSR Arm
Director
Assoc Professor
Tan Soon Keat
Director
Professor
Ng Wun Jern
NEWRIComm partners benefactors for social investments for a better shared future
in Asia through innovations and holistic solutions in water technologies. Through its
water and sanitation-related development work, it addresses five levels of objectives
– individual beneficiaries, benefitting community, providing education, achieving a
balanced ecosystem, and enabling healthy waterbodies.
Acting as the community development arm of NEWRI, NEWRIComm connects
NEWRI to numerous communities through these core activities:
• Training Environmental Leaders
Incubator for water management solutions in Asian developing communities through knowledge sharing with academia, government and communities
• Implementation of Development Projects
Partner for capacity building and solutions implementation with local stakeholders
Healthy Water
Body
Individual
Beneficiaries
NEWRICOMM
“Your global partner for
impactful social investments.”
As the business development arm of NEWRI, NEWRITech generates industry
relevance, leveraging on novel innovations from NEWRI’s research teams; and
engaging industry partners on technology development and commercialisation
through such activities as:
• Commercialisation of Technologies
Collaborates with industry players by leveraging on technological innovations
Technology
Test-Bedding
• Technical Support
Provider of expertise such as technology testbedding, IP commercialisation, applications
development, environmental specialist
Environmental
consultancy, process modelling/ simulation,
Engineering
and feasibility/treatability studies
Specialist Support
NEWRITECH
Benefitting
Communities
Balanced
Ecosystem
NEWRITech leads the business of research for the water and environmental domains,
generating economic value from research activities for industry partners.
IP
Commercialisation
Environmental/
Process
Modelling
Education
Surveys/
Feasibility
Studies
The 5 core areas of interest of the initiative
The 5 core capabilities of our tech-business arm
“Reaching out to industry DHI-NTU
monetizing
R&D.”
NEWRI collaborated with Konzen on development and design of
anaerobic system for energy recovery from Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)
in East Malaysia & Kalimantan.