Peter Christou Swirltex

1. Peter Christou
President & Founder
pchristou@swirltex.com
587-991-1941
A SPIN ON FILTRATION
A Spin on Oily Water
Treatment

2. Swirltex is an Alberta-based solutions provider and manufacturer of wastewater treatment
systems.
Our foundational technology is a buoyancy-enhanced filtration process that treats
challenging waste waters at higher throughput, lower energy consumption, and in a broader
range of climates.
We take a different approach on concentrating the way we use membranes for wastewater
streams that would otherwise be consider non-reusable.
About Swirltex
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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3. The Swirltex process manipulates the hydraulics of off-the-shelf tubular ultrafiltration
membranes to simultaneously:
Conventional Tubular
Membrane Laminar Flow
Step 2: Induce Spiral Flow
(Create Buoyancy/Density Separation)
Swirltex Tubular Membrane
Filtration with Induced Annular Flow
Gas/Oil/Solids flow through core of membrane
tube & water flows along membrane surface
The Swirltex Solution – Buoyancy Manipulation + Phase Separation
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
Step 1: Inject Micro-Gas
(Enhance Buoyancy of Contaminants)
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4. Our Technical Process Onsite
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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5. The Swirltex Solution – Significant Flux Improvements
With the Swirltex process
implemented, tubular membranes
consistently operate at higher
stabilized permeate flux rates
compared to conventional tubular
membrane operation.
Swirltex minimizes oil/solids
interaction with the membrane
and maximizes water velocity at
the membrane surface
(Petrochemical Wastewater)
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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6. Energy Consumption and Annular Flow
Swirltex’s patented technology significantly reduces energy consumption because
we inject air into our process.
Our annular flow process increase efficiency and prevents fouling as well.
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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7. The Swirltex Difference - Traditional Tubular Membranes
The Swirltex Difference:
• Clean and consistent water with minimal TSS
and bacteria
• No concentration of contaminants due to open
loop operation
• Continual operation of system during cleaning
and maintenance
• Reduction in membrane fouling due to
annular flow pattern
• Ease of operation and ability to handle
different flow conditions
We take traditional membranes and enhance them even further to promote efficiency and
reduce environmental impact.
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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8. High Water Quality Capacity Efficiency Footprint
Swirltex Buoyancy
Enhanced Membranes
Comparative Technology Matrix
• Our modular units are compact, high-capacity, with a small footprint
• The Swirltex system significantly improves efficiency in comparison to conventional membranes
• Clean and consistent water produced even under variable flow conditions
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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9. Produced Water Challenges and Solution
Challenges:
• Produced water has high costs in terms of disposal costs
and operation, as well as environmental concerns
• Heavy sludge production and poor oil-water separation
• Problems with iron, total suspended solids (TSS), oils and
grease, and bacteria
The Swirltex Solution
• Energy efficient approach resulting in reduction in energy
consumption and a reduction in environmental footprint
• Automated operational system which is low maintenance
• Significant increase in permeate production and improved
removal of iron, TSS, bacteria, and oil
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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10. Produced Water Treatment – Montney Region Case Study
PROBLEM
• Underperforming oil removal filter (ORF)
system
• High TSS, oil content, iron & bacteria,
leading to high OPEX costs for chemical
treatment
• Bacteria removal challenged and difficulty
• ESG pressures and fresh-water scarcity and
sustainability
PROJECT GOALS
• Support OPEX + CAPEX reduction
• Reuse of wastewater
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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11. Produced Water Treatment – Montney Region Case Study
PROJECT SPECIFICS
• Average treatment volume: 150 to 750 bbl/d
• Project duration – 4 months
• System configuration, Pre-Treatment + Swirltex UF System
Parameter Raw Feed
Water
Permeate
Water
Removal
Efficiency
Bacteria (pg/L) 550 <15 90%
TSS (mg/L) 445 <10 97%
Fe (mg/L) 60 <0.5 99%
Oil & Grease
(mg/L)
275 <5 98%
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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12. Produced Water Treatment – Flux Data
Flux (L/m2 h) 500
Operating Time (min) 180
pH 8
Energy Consumption (kWh/m3) 1.1
Temperature (Celsius) 10
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Corrected
Permeate
Flux
at
25
C
(LMH)
Time (min)
Treated Produced Water: SWTX
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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13. Produced Water Treatment – Business Value and Full-Scale System
• Operational savings in pond cleaning and
chemical reduction
• Up to a 75% reduction in freshwater
consumption, thus saving an average of
357,000 m3 of fresh water per year
• Full scale Swirltex system installation
Q2/Q3 2022, 20,000 bbl/d (3,000 m3/day)
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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14. Produced Water Treatment Conclusion And Full-scale System
On April 6, 2022, Swirltex announced that they have been
awarded a project to supply their patented “Buoyancy
Enhanced Membrane Filtration” technology for produced
water treatment with ARC Resources Ltd., a leading
Canadian energy producer in the Montney region.
Read more from our official
press release here:
© 2022 Swirltex Inc.
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15. Thank you for
attending!
Peter Christou
President & Founder
pchristou@swirltex.com
587-991-1941