Metito, the leader and provider of choice for total intelligent water treatment and management solutions in emerging markets, is set to make a significant investment in Thermal Purification Technologies (TPTec), a clean-tech company which has patented a Low Temperature Distillation (LTDis) technology.

LTDis is a robust. next generation desalination and water purification technology capable of treating high saline and/or polluted water in an efficient manner. Metito will exclusively introduce, and help develop, LTDis in markets across Asia and Africa, where the feasibility of desalination and the resources required for water and wastewater purification continues to be a challenge.

Bassem Halabi, Metito Group Business Development Director, said: “Metito is an advocate for safe, clean and sustainable technologies and our investment in TPTec is absolutely in line with our vision and strategy to provide technologically advanced and innovative water and wastewater solutions to emerging markets. LTDis has the potential to redefine the practice of thermal desalination as it not only offers advanced benefits over existing thermal and membrane technologies, but it also provides significant energy and cost savings compared to other technologies.”

Mark Lehmann, CTO, TPTec added: “TPTec uses advanced thermodynamics and waste heat stream(s), in order to produce pure water in a clean, efficient and robust process. TPTec looks forward to working with Metito, with their extensive experience and resources in the water industry, to fully explore the potential of this, among other, innovative technology.”

The cost-effective thermal process is based on the principle of low temperature distillation, which is considered to be the future of desalination. The technology is simple to integrate and highly efficient with low operating and maintenance costs making it a clear choice to achieve significant savings in the medium-long run. The technology can also be retrofitted to existing plants to optimise processes, without incurring huge investments.

Although LTDis can be used in conjunction with other technologies, Metito believes it will quickly become the leading go-to thermal solution, in time swapping places with the current RO and thermal desalination technologies. The process is very tolerant of salinity and is not limited to treating seawater, but also polluted water, brine from other desalination plants and various industrial wastewaters, including produced water from oil and gas exploration and mining which ordinarily can be problematic to deal with.

“Metito will invest in capable and experienced human resources and in other technical resources required to support TPTec as it actively develops, better and commercialise its innovative/clean technology offerings. We will firstly introduce LTDis and roll it out in the Asian and African markets and we are very excited at the prospects,” said Halabi.

Metito’s hopes to leverage its strong shareholder base which includes Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Gulf Capital and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) gives the group the scale, expertise and financial backing to transform LTDis into a mainstream solution.