Addressing adsorbent materials commercialization challenges for water treatment in European markets through productization

Abstract

The development of novel adsorbents for water treatment has become a significant branch of materials science and environmental engineering, with annual research output growing exponentially. New adsorbents, however, are typically not developed beyond the laboratory scale, creating a discrepancy between research volume and commercial adoption. This study analyzes the development of adsorbents using a productization framework. Three types of companies (adsorbent manufacturers/dealers, consultants/process designers, and treatment plant operators) were interviewed to understand the challenges for up-scaling and ultimately commercializing new adsorbents, and the requirements for treatment processes and the expectations of customers (adsorbent users), adsorbent producers, and service providers were determined. A framework for developing optimal business models, strategies, and approaches for productizing adsorbents was also created. The main challenges for commer-cializing adsorbents include their properties (such as quality, availability, lifespan, and adapt-ability), profitability issues (regeneration, disposal, and logistics cost), and activities related to environmental legislation, testing, and verification.