Wastewater
Wastewater treatment is critical to protecting our environment and water supply, but it can be an energy intensive process. Our full slate of energy recovery devices can significantly reduce energy consumption and costs, and cover a wide range of pressure levels and plant sizes.
How it works
Our PX® Pressure Exchanger® (PX) energy recovery devices (ERDs) offer significant energy savings for wastewater treatment facilities. As membrane technologies continue to develop energy-efficient and cost-effective ways to meet wastewater treatment regulations, it becomes vital to include ERDs to compound those savings while preserving system reliability, flexibility, and availability. The PX can capture lost energy and recycle it back into the system to increase energy efficiency and reduce operating costs and emissions.
35,000
Amount of PX devices deployed worldwide
30
30 years that we’ve been leaders in the industry.
$7.2B
Approximate energy savings for our customers each year
100
Number of countries our devices are installed in
Sustainable Wastewater Treatment
94%
Peak efficiency of U Series
98%
Peak efficiency of PX devices
60%
Peak energy savings from recovering wasted energy
22.5M
Metric tons of carbon emissions avoided by our customers annually
Globally, much of the wastewater that is generated is discharged into the surrounding environment without treatment. As climate change and drought are stressing today’s water supply, treating and reusing wastewater efficiently is essential to avoid harmful discharge and provide new sources of water.
Energy Recovery’s suite of products optimizes the energy consumption of reverse osmosis in municipal and industrial wastewater systems and reduces the associated carbon emissions.
We offer low, high, and ultra high-pressure energy recovery devices suitable for any size plant or multiple stages of a membrane-based wastewater treatment system with pressures of up to 120 bar (1,740 psi).
Industry Applications
Mining
Globally, mining facilities are looking to lower the energy use of producing acceptable feedwater for mining and treating wastewater to prevent harmful discharge from acid mine drainage and tailing ponds.
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Water Reuse
As water scarcity becomes a pressing issue in many regions around the world, there is a growing recognition that we need to make the most of available water resources. Water reuse helps to alleviate the strain on freshwater sources and reduces our reliance on sources such as groundwater and storm capture, which are impacted by climate change and drought.
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Textiles
The textile industry is one of the largest consumers of water in the world, producing 4.6 billion tons of wastewater each year. That vast quantity of water—saturated with chemicals, dyes, and solids—presents a significant threat to local waterways, needs treatment, and presents a major cost for textile manufacturers.
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Lithium Mining and Battery Manufacturing
While demand is only increasing for lithium and lithium-ion batteries, lithium mining and battery production can be extremely resource intensive. It requires vast amounts of energy, land, and time, and increasing regulations now mandate these operations also treat their wastewater.
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High Recovery RO
With water scarcity worsening around the world and the use of reverse osmosis (RO) in applications such as brackish and industrial wastewater treatment growing, interest in high recovery RO is growing as well.
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Green Hydrogen
Green Hydrogen is a critical component in the energy transition as companies aim to meet net-zero regulations. Powered by renewable sources, green hydrogen is produced by splitting water, which can be supplied through seawater desalination.
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Resource Recovery
In water and wastewater treatment, the goal is to remove minerals, salts, and pollutants to produce clean water that is suitable for drinking, agriculture, industrial applications, or to return to the environment. Brine mining can help reduce cost and improve sustainability associated with leftover brine.
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Coal to Chemicals (CTX)
The coal-to-chemicals (CTX) industry plays a significant role in chemical production when traditional oil and gas is not readily available or is too expensive to import. But CTX and coal-to-olefins (CTO) are also highly water-intensive processes, and the resulting wastewater is particularly toxic and difficult to clean.
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Brackish Water
Brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) systems are increasingly critical for treating challenging water sources in industrial and municipal operations. These systems demand high energy input, driving up operational costs—especially at scale. Energy Recovery’s PX® Pressure Exchanger® technology delivers a high-efficiency solution, significantly reducing energy consumption and improving cost-effectiveness in brackish water desalination. Whether treating produced water, surface water, inland brackish groundwater, or industrial wastewater streams, PX technology enables efficient, sustainable operations—even under fluctuating feedwater conditions.
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Related Products
Low-Pressure PX
Ideal for brackish water reverse osmosis and water reuse in municipal and industrial applications, our low-pressure PX solutions…
High-Pressure PX
Including our gold-standard PX Q series, our high-pressure PX products provide unmatched energy recovery for large and small…
Ultra High-Pressure PX
The key to lower energy use in wastewater treatment and reuse for ultra high-pressure applications, helping make zero and minimal…
What our customers say
By integrating the PX into our high-pressure concentration process, we were able to reduce energy consumption in that process by 45%, making PX payback less than one year.
Mr. Wu Yong Dong, QingXu Plant Manager
Questions? Let’s talk.
We believe in nurturing long-lasting partnerships with our customers to achieve environmentally sustainable and profitable operations—and it all starts here.