DuPont Launches New Biofouling Preventing Technology for Reverse Osmosis Installations

The new DuPont™ B-Free™ pre-treatment technology reduces operational costs and boosts plant uptime and reliability.

DuPont, a global science and innovation leader, today announced the launch of a new pre-treatment technology that eliminates the effects of biofouling in Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems to reduce operational costs and to boost plant uptime and reliability.

Biofouling is one of the most common and severe problems in the operation of a reverse osmosis (RO) system. Unchecked, it causes significant operational problems such as frequent interruption, damage to the membranes, intense chemical and energy use, and regular cleaning-in-place (CIP) of the RO.

DuPont Water Solutions is launching a novel pre-treatment technology that efficiently eliminates the effects of biofouling in RO systems.

DuPont™ B-Free™ patent-pending solution is the result of a multi-year research and development effort that consists of a vessel-based media technology that offers a reliable, easy-to-use and sustainable solution. It is based on B-Free™ pre-treatment technology ability to create an instant and sustained biostatic environment for the downstream RO operations without the need for chemicals and resilient to upstream upsets.

DuPont™ B-Free™ pre-treatment is the solution designed for customers suffering from biofouling and looking for designing, building and operating reliable RO systems at an optimized cost of water and sustainability footprint. DuPont™ B-Free™ technology enables an important reduction of Clean-In-Place (CIP) frequency by up to 75% and may double the RO membranes and cartridge filters lifetime. The B-Free customers will be able to achieve a low-touch and stable plant operation with up to 50% lower operations downtime required.

“B-Free™ pre-treatment is a unique breakthrough technology that effectively eliminates biofouling and enables a significant improvement in plant reliability. As a result, this new technology will provide reverse osmosis plant operators the ability to eliminate this troublesome and costly occurrence in RO systems,” said Nanette Hermsen, Global Marketing & Strategy Director DuPont Water Solutions.

With proven robustness and value, DuPont™ B-Free™ pre-treatment technology is now available globally. It is one of several recent innovations DuPont has introduced to help decrease the economic and environmental cost of water treatment to help combat water scarcity, and it is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

“With this new patent pending technology, DuPont continues demonstrating innovation leadership and commitment to solve customer water challenges,” said Gary Gu, Global Innovation & Technology Leader DuPont Water Solutions.