Element Six, a world leader in synthetic diamond supermaterials and member of The De Beers Group of Companies, announced today that its DIAMOX™ wastewater treatment solution was named a winner of the Technology Innovation category in the 2017 China BlueTechTM Awards in Shanghai. Organized by BlueTech™ Research and Mandarin Environment in partnership with Aquatech China, the China BlueTech awards are a platform for international companies to highlight their technology innovation and leadership in water and wastewater to the Chinese market. Winners were selected by a panel of Chinese judges based on the innovation and market readiness of the technology for the wastewater industry in China. 

Designed to treat highly contaminated industrial wastewater, DIAMOX is an electrochemical cell that utilizes synthetic industrial diamond electrodes to mineralize dissolved pollutants in the water. Previous methods for cleaning such contaminated wastewater have typically involved using electrochemical cells, with additional UV and strong bleach-like chemicals in a multi-step process. DIAMOX enables this process to become purely electrochemical, which is simpler and safer to operate, cost effective and more environmentally sustainable. Pilot studies using DIAMOX have demonstrated that a single step process can treat the water to a degree that it is safe to put back into the environment. It is successful in treating even the most formidable industrial wastewaters that are extremely difficult to treat by conventional means. DIAMOX has successfully been used to treat spent caustic waste from oil refineries and pharmaceutical and textile dye house wastewaters effectively and efficiently without the need for additional chemical dosing.

“Element Six continually seeks innovative ways to harness the unique properties of diamond. DIAMOX has demonstrated the extraordinary stability of solid diamond electrodes by treating industrial wastewaters that are contaminated with extremely difficult-to-treat dissolved organics,” said Dan Twitchen, Head of CVD Business Development at Element Six. Dan Chew, Head of Sales China at Element Six added “We’re honored to have this innovative and inherently safe method of advanced water treatment technology recognized by the judges of the China BlueTech™ Awards, and look forward to discussing new and exciting opportunities to expand the use of DIAMOX as an on-site treatment solution for highly contaminated wastewaters in China—a critical market for Element Six.”