BGU partners with U. of Johannesburg and UCLA on water research

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has partnered with the University of Johannesburg and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to conduct scientific research into the fields of water purification and microalgal biotechnology, according to a press release last month.

"This is an international partnership that will benefit the peoples of South Africa, Israel and other countries around the world,” said BGU’s Vice President for External Affairs Prof. Amos Drory on occasion of the signing. Drory and Prof. Derek van der Merwe, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Johannesburg, signed the research collaboration agreement in South Africa.

"The two universities will become involved in extremely important, evolutionary research that will mainly benefit third world countries throughout the world,” said Dr. Bertram Lubner, Vice-Chairman of BGU’s Board of Governors and president of the SA Associates of Ben-Gurion University (SAABGU).

Prof. Sammy Boussiba and Prof. Yoram Oren from Ben Gurion University’s Blaustein Institute for Desert Research will head up the projects in Israel working together with Prof. Bhekie Mamba, leading the South African research teams. They will be assisted by Prof. Eric Hoek, an expert in the fields of water purification and microalgal biotechnology at UCLA.

According to Prof. Mamba, the two universities will brainstorm on how they can contribute to ongoing South African research into water purification in rural areas and around the Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria. In addition, they will research the feasibility of harvesting algae from the Dam and converting it to energy. The Hartbeespoort Dam remediation programme is being implemented by the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) to address the imbalances and unhealthy biological conditions in the dam.

"We will investigate how we can contribute and add value to this ongoing project,” said Prof. Mamba. Ongoing research into the use of membranes to purify water in rural areas will also benefit from the UJ, BGU and UCLA collaboration.

"We will look at the effective treatment of dam and river water used for drinking in rural areas,” he continued. "Here, the pollution is not industrial, but microbial. We need to address the issue of bacteria and viruses into the water, and we will be looking at what role UJ and BGU can play. "We hope to come up with a low-cost, low-maintenance solution geared for rural areas,” Prof. Mamba said.

BioPetroClean raises funds from 21Ventures

Israeli water purification company BioPetroClean has closed its latest financing round, raising $5 million from 21 Ventures LLC, according to an announcement by the company and a report in "Globes".

BioPetroClean is developing bioremediation systems for cleaning waste water contaminated by oil and other pollutants, through a process called Active Chemostate Treatment (ACT). The company was founded in 2006 by chairman Hezi Marueli, CEO David Amir, and CTO Eugene Rosenberg, a world-renowned authority in the biological treatment of oil pollution and a professor at Tel Aviv University.

According to Globes, the money will be used by BioPetroClean to set up a sales network and fund several potential BOT projects.

"During the refining process, refineries produce large quantities of water, that they have to treat rather than pumping it out as effluent. We bring the quality of the water to a level that enables them to either pump it back out into the environment or improve its quality through a further treatment process to a level that will enable it to be used for irrigation or in industry," explains BioPetroClean director of business development Yael Barash.

The company's technology is currently being tested in a pilot project at a number of key facilities in Israel and other countries, and Barash gives as examples, two projects now underway in South Africa. One is at a refinery in Durban and the other was a one-time project carried out in cooperation with global energy giants BP and Shell. "We carried out a single cleaning project for them two months ago, and we're now working on the terms of a contract with them for a larger project," adds Barash.

As to the potential financial value of the contracts, Barash notes that at small sites, meaning tanker farms for ports, a project can range from $300,000 to $800,000. A facility at oil refineries and drilling sites, which are considered large sites, will cost $1-3 million. A single service (cleaning an accrued quantity of water at a specified site) will cost around $50,000 to $250,000.

Computerized Electricity Systems raises $3.75m from AquAgro Fund

"Globes" reports that AquAgro Fund has made its second investment, investing $3.75 million in Computerized Electricity Systems Ltd. (CES). AquAgro declined to disclose the company value for the investment, but market sources believe that it was more than $10 million, before money.

CES's technology aims to replace the household electricity box, enabling electric utilities to reduce the demand on the grid during peak hours in a uniform and equitable way for all customers, thus avoiding the need for initiated blackouts and brownouts of entire neighborhoods.

AquaAgro made its first investment in January, investing $4 million in Advanced Desalination Technologies Ltd. AquaAgro has also set up Aqua Lab, which will invest in early-stage cleantech start-ups.

CTO Lupu Wittner founded CES in 2002. Based in Netanya and managed by CEO Yaron Sheinman, CES has 15 employees in Israel, mostly R&D staff. A representative in the US handles business development.

South Africa-based "Engineering News" reports that CES's technology has been successfully tested in Israel by the Israel Electric Corporation, in South Africa by state power utility Eskom, and in the US by the Energy Power Research Institute.

In a lengthy interview with Engineering News, CTO Lupu Wittner says that the company plans to install its product in South Africa beginning in March, initially importing systems from Israel, with a long-term plan of creating a manufacturing facility in South Africa.

Homes that consume the highest amount of electricity are the targeted clients for the product, says Wittner.

"If two-million electricity customers with high consumption accept a 20% saving structure through this system, Eskom could potentially save to 4,000 MW."