NEUMAN & ESSER forms strategic partnership with Surfcleaner to boost water treatment and sustainability across global industries

Global provider for integrated plant engineering solutions NEUMAN & ESSER has formed a strategic  partnership with Swedish tech developer Surfcleaner, to boost water treatment and sustainability across global industries.

As a leading OEM for reciprocating compressor systems, NEUMAN & ESSER is a trusted partner of the oil & gas, chemical and petrochemical and process industry. With hydrogen production systems like electrolyzers and reformer systems, the company established itself as a single-source provider for technologies required in decarbonization projects. Mechanical process engineering solutions in the portfolio play a crucial role in demanding applications ranging from e.g., minerals and powder coating to performance materials for battery storage systems, recovered Carbon Black, and enriched protein production.

Following a new distribution agreement, the firm will now integrate Surfcleaner’s world’s-first water skimmer-separator hybrid technology into its product portfolio.

The core principle behind Surfcleaner’s technology was developed by clinical physiologist Dr Stig Lundbäck MD PhD following his discovery of the human heart’s Dynamic Adaptive Piston Pump (DAPP) functionality. A unique technology, it is capable of highly effective separation, removal and recovery of floating water contaminants.

The news comes as NEUMAN & ESSER joins forces with Surfcleaner to exhibit at the Petroleum Refining Congress between May 13-15 in Amsterdam – Europe’s largest downstream event for refiners and petrochemical stakeholders.

Jens Wulff, Managing Director NEUMAN & ESSER Germany, said he was first introduced to Surfcleaner’s technology at the PRC in Helsinki in 2022.

“This kickstarted the thinking process that Surfcleaner could greatly support NEUMAN & ESSER’s new Sustainability Strategy,” said Jens. “Water is a scarce global resource. Surfcleaner’s super smart technology allows us to recapture water resources across many project sites, which would otherwise be hard to use and require transporting for complicated treatment. For example, refineries and chemical plants around the world as well as at hydrogen production sites that use NEUMAN & ESSER’s equipment.”

More broadly, NEUMAN & ESSER is increasingly delivering ‘ecological audits’ for industrial plants to address areas such as energy consumption and water quality. According to Mr Wullf, Surfcleaner’s technology adds another ‘piece in the puzzle’ providing a more ‘holistic’ view to help industry boost sustainability.

In addition, the novel water treatment technology will also support NEUMAN & ESSER’s extensive work in the renewable energy sector, which includes the delivery of equipment for the production of green hydrogen.

“Since the early 2000s we have been working in bio-methane, increasing our exposure to ‘greener’ gases,” said Mr Wulff. “In 2020 we acquired electrolyzer competence, and we are now actively making equipment for green hydrogen production. For this, you always require clear water. For every kg of hydrogen, it requires an input of around 15 litres of water – roughly tap water quality.

With Surfcleaner, we now have the means in our portfolio to treat and reclaim water across industrial processes to become a feedstock for our electrolyzers. This is massive for regions where water is especially scarce and was another key element of our rationale to partner with Surfcleaner.”

Ilya Asser, Managing Director NEAC Compressor Service Germany, NEUMAN & ESSER’s Aftermarket Organization:

“In the Aftermarket it is essential we provide solutions for our customer that go beyond our traditional products like spare parts, field service and repairs. Building trustful relationships by solving our customer’s pain points when needed. Being at site, our technicians see the water ponds containing a rainbow-like oil sheen. It’s a win-win situation to be able to treat and reuse this water, while helping the refineries lower their carbon footprint.”

Surfcleaner Founder & Chief Sustainability Officer Christina Lundbäck said the new partnership will help underpin both the energy transition and the circular economy.

“Our partnership with NEUMAN & ESSER opens up vast opportunities for the years ahead,” Lundbäck said. “Surfcleaner’s technology has the ability to revolutionise the water treatment process across global industries. While it supports the reuse of precious water, it also crucially enables the recovery of resources like oil, diesel and petrol for use in the circular economy, while significantly reducing VOC, CO2 and methane gas emissions.

“Through NEUMAN & ESSER we will now have even greater access to markets, through an extensive network of production sites, sales and service centres worldwide. This will help to unleash our technology further afield and maximise its true potential.”

For more information on Surfcleaner visit www.surfcleaner.com

About NEUMAN & ESSER

NEUMAN & ESSER stands as the industry’s reliable partner, propelling the energy transition and the circular economy through its integrated solutions for the energy infrastructure of tomorrow. Our experience in the compression of gases and mechanical process engineering is the basis for the technologies needed for a defossilized society. We are propelling the energy transition and the circular economy as an OEM for: piston and diaphragm compressors, electrolysers and reformer technologies, as well as grinding and classifying systems.

As a family business for almost 200 years, today more than 1,600 employees in a global network of production and service sites implement challenging projects all over the world – from feasibility studies to engineering, construction and commissioning to digitally supported 360° service during operation. German engineering for the oil and gas-based industry and for a future powered by renewable energy sources and sustainable raw materials.

www.neuman-esser.com

About Surfcleaner

Surfcleaner designs, develops and manufactures the world’s first hybrid skimmer separators for removal, separation and recovery of contaminants floating on the water surface – oil, diesel, petrol, floating sludge, and more. The Surfcleaner technology is unique; by combining variations in inflow velocity and direction with gravimetric separation, the process is very efficient – keeping pollutants from accumulating on the surface and therefore help minimising greenhouse gas emissions.

Surfcleaner makes it possible for water treatment plants to solve floating sludge problems and achieve a more effective and stable treatment process. We help refineries, industries and recycling companies to recover oil, diesel and petrol from contaminated water and significantly reduce VOC, CO2  and methane gas emissions. Surfcleaners can also be used for swift removal of oil in ports, rivers, lakes, mines and oil pits. Future models of Surfcleaner will remove microplastics and algae in rivers, ports and coastal areas and make the oceans cleaner. 

The principle behind the technology is Stig Lundbäck’s discovery of the human heart’s Dynamic Adaptive Piston Pump (DAPP) functionality. He built on DAPP to invent and develop the Surfcleaner – but he also applied other universal laws of physics from the nature and the universe, such as gravity, equilibrium, variation in rotation velocity in the centre and the periphery, different density, and more.

This makes the Surfcleaner a truly unique machine, working in concert with the laws of nature, instead of trying to combat them. We are enhancing gravity by setting the liquid in vertical and horizontal motion inside the body of the Surfcleaner – creating a circular inflow at the top, and an outlet at the bottom – the rest is just pure physics. The Surfcleaner needs no pump, no power pack, no hydraulics, no pneumatics. That is why the operation of the Surfcleaner is so efficient and cost-effective; we just put the forces of nature to work.

Highlights and values achieved by the Surfcleaner technology:

• Collection, separation, and discharge of the contaminant is achieved within one efficient unit – this reduces complexity, energy consumed within the process (150w at 8m3 oil separation) as well as making the operation process easy to handle. 
• Large collection area – enables stationary or semi-stationary installations (the unit does not need to move around to achieve a high collection capacity for a large area).
• Intelligent technology – the unit can be controlled and monitored remote, minimizing exposure to personnel in hazardous environments.
• 24/7 operation and aggregation of data – cost efficient, and the collected data can easily be uploaded into e.g., a sustainability report.
• The technology allows for effective collection and separation in varying conditions – e.g., with varying thickness levels of hydrocarbons, as well as floating debris.
• Verified technology with a clear legacy – units have been in operation for more than 20 years, with minimal need for maintenance, due to only two moving parts

SCO 1000 features:

• Lightweight, less than 30kg, easy to move and handle
• Requires no pump, no power-pack, no hydraulics, no pneumatics
• Low power operation, 20W in average
• Remote control via smartphone/tablet
• Data output over how much oil is collected over time, and electricity consumption
• Automatic removal and separation of oil with up to 99,5% separation
• Separate up to 1,000 liters of pure oil per hour
• Continuous unmanned/remote operation with minimal service requirements
• No noisy generators needed, allowing recovery in sensitive areas
• ATEX/EX certified for Zone 0 

SCO 8000 features:

• Automatic removal and separation of oil with up to 99,5% separation capability 
• Capacity to collect and separate up to 8,000 liters of pure oil per hour 
• Continuous operation: 24 h per day, 7 days a week, with minimal service requirements, even over long periods of time
• Low power operation, 150W in average
• Energy and cost-efficient operation with low maintenance, enabling substantial cost savings 
• Easy handling, installation and service 
• ATEX/EX certified for Zone 0
• SCADA integration 
• Data output over how much oil is collected over time, and electricity consumption