It is the world's first. While the international water industry has been eagerly awaiting the development of the 16-inch reverse osmosis membrane, PUB became the first in the world to use it in water reclamation works. This new membrane technology was successfully developed by GrahamTek Singapore, a homegrown water company, last year.

Since August 2004, GrahamTek had been test-bedding their 16-inch reverse osmosis membranes at the Bedok NEWater Factory. Encouraged by the good results after two years of test-bedding, PUB decided to adopt the new technology at the Bedok NEWater plant in 2006.

The new technology has proven to be more efficient in the production of reclaimed water than the current industry standard where eight-inch membranes are used. Compared to the eight-inch system, the 16-inch reverse osmosis membrane takes up 25 per cent less space and saves up to 15 per cent of the annual operating costs for the reverse osmosis system.

GrahamTek's breakthrough is a good example of how a local company has gained from PUB's efforts to encourage good R&D ideas and help turn them into successful commercial products.

"PUB has all along been encouraging innovation and R&D in water technologies, offering our facilities as test-bedding sites. The development of the 16-inch RO membranes is a good example of how our efforts in promoting R&D in the local water industry have paid off," said Khoo Teng Chye, Chief Executive of PUB, who is also concurrently the Executive Director of the Environment and Water Industry Development Council.

"We hope more agencies in the private and public sectors will come forward and offer their facilities for test-bedding and pilot-testing of new products, ideas and technologies. At the same time, we encourage major global water players to use Singapore as a test-bedding and piloting base for new water technologies," added Mr Khoo.

"To position Singapore as a leader in the world water industry, we need to not only encourage R&D activities but also be an adopter of new technology. By allowing GrahamTek to test-bed their idea at our facilities, PUB is able to witness the results first-hand and GrahamTek gets to work with real data from the plant. This is a win-win situation for both parties." The successful collaboration between PUB and GrahamTek is another step in Singapore's goal to develop into a global hydrohub.

"PUB's adoption of the technology on a large scale in one of its plants is a major breakthrough for us. PUB will be an important reference for GrahamTek that will greatly boost our track record and elevate our standing in the global water arena," explained GrahamTek Director Roland Goh.

By TEO YIN YIN