Clean water everywhere and for everyone

1. Contaminated wastewater from laboratories, pharmaceutical industry and hospitals goes into the device.
2. The wastewater flows through the catalyst, which consists of polymeric sheets that are made of special nanomaterials.
3. When activated, every nanoparticle (yellow diamonds) is charged negatively and positively, resulting in billions of surface charges in the smallest pores of the membrane (black dots) in just a fraction of a second.
4. These electrical charges then split the water (dark blue) and oxygen molecules (light blue) into highly reactive radicals (red) – the real cleaning ‘champions’.
5. The radicals react with all the synthetic pollutants in the water, breaking them down into harmless molecules such as water, oxygen and carbon dioxide. The polymer membranes remain clean. The treated water can now be returned into the water cycle.
6. The nano-porous catalyst is activated by clean energy sources such as direct sunlight, magnetic fields, or mechanical vibrations produced by an ultra-sonicating transducer or a gas bubbler.
    

Broad, multi-industry application to clean all toxic and persistent wastewater pollutants 

With its highly efficient membranes, the nanocatalyst-driven treatment device provides an effective and sustainable treatment of wastewater for various industries, R&D labs, hospitals, wastewater treatment plants, and individual households. They all produce wastewater containing harmful products including hormones, pesticides, colorants etc. Equipped with real-time water-monitoring capabilities, the technology enables all users to assess water quality at all times. 

Having grown up in India, Oxyle’s co-founder, Ms. Fajer Mushtaq, knows all too well what it means not to have continuous access to clean water. From an early age, she was well versed in reusing and preserving water for safe use and consumption. Even back then, she was determined to find a solution for the acute water shortage crisis. The pursuit of an answer paved her way in her studies in electrical and electronic engineering and mechanical engineering. From there, Fajer went on to earn her PhD from the ETH in Micro- and Nanotechnology for Environmental Remediation. Today, she is the CEO of Oxyle, tackling and solving this global problem.

In 2023, Oxyle will kick off with their small-scale device. Ideal for the use in hospitals, R&D labs, or individual households, the small-scale device is able to clean up to 1’000 litres per day. This device cleans the wastewater on site, enabling its immediate re-use. “Picture a device the size of a regular coffee machine that fits right under the sink,” says Fajer Mushtaq.

Oxyle’s second product on the market, i.e. their medium-scale reactors, will be able to treat up to 10’000 liters per day, while its largest reactor can process a few million liters per day (suitable for larger-scale operations such as wastewater plants, housing complexes, and big industrial or pharma companies).

Flowing towards cleantech, the tide of the future

Having received revenue from collaborations as well as competitions they have won (the latter providing non-dilutive funds), Oxyle is keen to collaborate with manufacturing partners for the production of their reactors, and with sales and distribution partners to accelerate their market and boost their sales. Ideal partners would include the likes of industrial clients, R&D labs, hospitals, municipal wastewater plants, and household complexes. In 2022, Oxyle aims to raise new funds from investors seeking to invest in the rapidly growing and much needed cleantech sphere.