An Iranian knowledge-based company has produced a nanobubble generator with wide industrial applications.
The device, which is also called ultrafine bubble generator, mixes a gas and water to produce nanobubbles. The Nano Hobab Energy Company claims that the device could increase agricultural productivity by 20%.
“A 50% reduction in energy consumption and a 30% decline in the initial investment of a water and wastewater treatment plant are other advantages of the nanobubble technology,” Aref Dadgostar, the company’s CEO, was quoted as saying by the news portal of Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council.
“The distinguishing feature of the technology we’ve developed is that it increases the productivity and efficiency of various systems. The technology can increase productivity in various industries such as agriculture, water, oil and gas, fisheries and food industries by improving the efficiency of mixing water and other liquids,” he added.
According to Dadgostar, the device can produce bubbles under 200 nanometers in a controlled manner.
“We are one of the few companies that have complete control over the size of the bubbles produced. The properties of nanobubbles can be affected by their size, so controlling the size is very important in this system. We can also produce nanobubbles with different sizes, as per the needs of each industry.”
Mixing gas with a liquid is one of the major challenges in industries. If the gas can be kept in a liquid, the special properties of that liquid can be used in industries.
When the size of the bubbles reaches 100 nanometers, these bubbles do not come out of the water. For example, in water and wastewater treatment, aeration provides the necessary oxygen for water-purifying microorganisms.
The equipment currently used in different industries are imported, which has become problematic under sanctions, apart from problems related to getting parts and after-sale services.
The domestic device solves these problems and can be supplied at a lower price.
Knowledge-Based Systems Making Tangible Difference
A knowledge-based company has produced wastewater treatment equipment using plasma and cavitation technology that purifies different types of wastewater for reclamation.
It can be used for the removal and neutralization of organic pollutants in industrial, mining, household and other wastewaters, treatment of hospital effluent containing toxic compounds and treatment of contaminated and toxic water with heavy metals and microorganisms.
The equipment is produced by Pishro Fanavar Tav Asia (also known as Panta Plasma) with the support of the Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council, the news portal of the Vice-Presidency for Science and Tech reported.
The company claims that the facility eliminates all types of harmful microorganisms, polluting organic compounds and heavy metals in wastewater.
The ability to destroy stable materials, using limited space for the purification process, avoiding use of chemicals, lower cost compared with peers, removing heavy metals and reducing sludge volume during treatment are among the advantages of the new facility, the company says.
Amalgamation of plasma and cavitation technology in the equipment reportedly results in more efficient purification compared to other systems.
Plasma technology is the use of high-voltage electric discharge by creating high-energy points in water using methods such as arc discharge, glow discharge and dark discharge in a pulsed manner without increasing the temperature of the fluid, which will reduce energy consumption and increase discharge power in a shorter time compared with other methods.
Cavitation technology creates macro/micro cavities by using cavitation modules (orifice pellet, venturi, rotary and vortex) and creating a pressure difference. With the explosion of these cavities, high energy points are created in the fluid.
The pulsed plasma in the new facility provides an environment prone to the obliteration of pollutants by creating an electrical discharge in the water.
The company said it was able to boost efficiency by synergizing plasma and cavitation using combined geometry and controlling specific conditions.
Ultrasonic Water Meter
A knowledge-based company has designed a smart water meter with high accuracy and new features to replace the aging mechanical meters.
“The ultrasonic smart meter has higher accuracy than the traditional mechanical meters,” Abolfazl Jan Fada, CEO of Be Saaz-e-Energy Company, said.
In residential units, a water meter is installed on the inlet pipe and another on the outlet pipe so that the flow difference can be measured to calculate the consumption of hot water, the news portal of Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology reported.
With the new gadget, it is possible to measure the consumption of water and thermal energy in different parts of the building to calculate the water and gas bills of each housing unit. The same could be done for industrial use.
The meter also measures fluid velocity, instantaneous and volumetric flow, direction of water movement, meter operation time and water temperature.
The lifespan of the smart meter is almost three times that of mechanical meters and due to its accuracy, it helps pay the real water bill.
With this advanced measurement device, water can be turned off to units that exceed the acceptable consumption volume, or fail to pay the bill. The meter is available at a lower price and could compete with European models.
The next wave of economic growth is going to come from knowledge-based businesses, as academia and informed Iranians have long realized and are trying to convey this message across the board, especially to policy- and decision-makers.
It’s a smart product, because of its ability to interpret information to enable the user to act more efficiently. Smart products, created by knowledge-based businesses, can be identified by a variety of characteristics: they are interactive, they become smarter the more you use them and they could be customized.
Consumers become learners when they use smart products, which both oblige and help them to learn. Businesses will move toward making their offerings smarter because they will profit from doing so. When their customers use those products, they will be engaging in an educational process.
Changing technology is driving the next wave of economic growth. To take advantage of that growth, nations will have to apply not only new technology but also new thinking to understand the shift in the economy from data to information to knowhow.
