Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Silverwing Energy Corp. has approached SAIT Polytechnic for assistance in technical testing and verification of electro-flotation (EF) and electro-chemical oxidation (ECO) technologies to treat produced water in the Canadian oil sands operations. EF and ECO technologies have been commercially used in Europe, the Middle East and Asia to treat industrial wastewater. Silverwing believes that such technologies, with their capabilities in removing scale forming mineral and heavy minerals in water, are an ideal alternative to traditional water treatment technologies used in Canadian industrial sectors. Silverwing has established a partnership with a German wastewater technology expert who has been involved in about 200 wastewater treatment projects worldwide and owns the IP of the EF and ECO technologies. Through the partnership, Silverwing is planning to apply the technologies to the industrial sectors, such as oil sands, mining and construction, in Canada in the areas of wastewater treatment and water recycling. The Engage project comprises testing of two bench-scale EF and ECO systems, and an evaluation of the functionality of and testing of Silverwing's pilot EF system, the EF Miniflot S-200. The results of the Engage research will be exploited immediately by the company. SAIT and Silverwing expect to launch a larger research project which will include the design and building of a pilot scale wastewater treatment system using ECO technology, as well as the integration of the system with the EF Miniflot S-200. SAIT will also conduct lab tests on the integrated pilot EF-ECO system to determine the best operational parameters for further on-site testing. It is expected that design and fabrication of commercial sized treatment platforms based on the combined technologies will be undertaken in 2017 with full commercialization in early 2018.