Canadian wastewater treatment provider signs agreement to eliminate pharmaceuticals in wastewater

On-site industrial wastewater treatment provider Axine Water Technologies announced the signing of a multi-year service agreement with a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer to treat wastewater at their manufacturing plant located in the US.

Under the agreement, Axine will design, build, own, operate and maintain an on-site wastewater treatment system at the customer’s facility. According to Axine, the plant’s wastewater is contaminated with active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and solvents and is currently trucked off-site and incinerated.

Axine said its proprietary electrochemical oxidation technology will destroy the APIs so the treated water can be safely discharged to sewer. It also claims the treatment process will eliminate over 160,000 km of trucking, eliminate more than 3.6 million kg of waste incineration, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Axine’s proprietary electrochemical treatment process uses advanced catalysts and electricity to generate powerful hydroxyl radicals that oxidize, mineralize and destroy the APIs. Axine said the APIs are converted to trace volumes of harmless byproduct gases such as N₂, O₂ and H₂, with no residual solid or liquid wastes.

Development and commercialization of Axine’s technology is supported by the National Research Council of Canada – Industrial Research Assistance Program and Sustainable Development Technology Canada.