I googled “electro-precipitation” the other day, and here is what I found:  one link to a dictionary, two wikipedia entries, three research articles, and four links or news stories related to Latitude Solutions.  That’s right – four!  Not only did Latitude Solutions account for 40% of the top ten google results, but it was the only electro-precipitation company mentioned.  Naturally, I spoke to someone at the company to find out more…

Latitude Solutions provides products, processes and solutions for contaminated water remediation in industrial applications.  Made up of three different divisions, the company manages to target multiple industries in multiple geographic markets.

The first business unit I learned about was Latitude Solutions Energy Services, which is dedicated solely to the oil and gas industry.  The company’s technology uses electro-precipitation to flocculate Total Suspended Solids (TSS) at up to 98% efficacy, according to the company.  What separates this method from traditional coagulation methods is that currents from the electro-precipitation process remain in the treated water, thereby continuing to treat the water in the event it is transported to another location for discharge or reuse.

Latitude Industrial Water Solutions, a second subsidiary, targets industries outside of oil and gas.  Specifically, though, the company sees its solutions adding unique benefits to agricultural users that see high levels of fats, oils and greases (FOGs, as they are widely referred to) in their wastewater streams.  This is especially important if that wastewater is discharged directly to surface waters, which means the water quality is regulated by the EPA under the Clean Water Act.  Additionally, with water scarcity concerns putting more emphasis on water reuse solutions, regulation over discharged water is tightening.  To remain in a position to understand existing and future industry needs, Latitude Industrial Water Solutions’ R&D team makes it a point to be involved in focus groups and steering committees.

Finally, I was told the company just formed Latitude Worldwide, a new international subsidiary based in theUnited Kingdomto handle all commercial business outside ofNorth America.  While the business unit is meant to handle all applications of its electro-precipitation technology – in oil and gas as well as other industries – the overseas draw was largely driven by the aggressive development of hydraulic fracturing opportunities inEuropeand other parts of the world.

Our conversation eventually evolved to include a more detailed discussion of the electro-precipitation technology offering and it’s availability on the market.  For the specifics, take a look at the Latitude Solutions company profile on i3.

Arti Patel is on the Research & Advisory team at Cleantech Group.