Coway Entech secures reverse-osmosis concentrate treatment technology from Yeungnam University

Coway Entech, the water treatment subsidiary of Coway, has signed a technology transfer agreement with Yeungnam University to acquire key reverse-osmosis concentrate treatment technology for the water reuse sector.

The agreement moves toward commercialization the results of a joint research project the two institutions have conducted since 2024, focused on developing an energy-saving process for treating concentrate generated inside water reuse plants. Coway Entech said it completed technology demonstration and performance verification within two years of the project's launch — more than a year ahead of the original three-year schedule.

The technology addresses the treatment of reverse-osmosis concentrate produced during wastewater reuse processes. Reverse-osmosis systems typically recover only 70 to 80 percent of source water depending on raw water quality, with the remaining 20 to 30 percent discharged as high-salinity concentrate. Particularly high nitrogen concentrations in that concentrate have driven up treatment costs, long identified as a barrier to broader water reuse.

Coway Entech said it developed a microbial treatment process that reduces costs compared with conventional methods and improves economic viability. The company expects the ability to treat concentrate on-site within reuse facilities to improve the profitability of its water reuse business.

Coway Entech has applied processes including membrane bioreactor technology, which combines biological treatment and membrane separation for wastewater processing, and has operated a project at the Incheon Gajwa water reuse facility — where it invested project capital — to supply industrial water to nearby businesses. The newly acquired technology brings concentrate treatment, the final stage of the reuse process, fully within the company's own capabilities.

Through the technology transfer, Coway Entech has secured rights to the process technology and will move ahead with full commercialization. The company plans to strengthen its technological competitiveness in the water reuse sector and accelerate expansion of related projects.

"Concentrate treatment has been the last link in water reuse and a long-standing challenge to solve," said Bang Yun-hyeok, CEO of Coway Entech. "We expect this technology acquisition to advance the circular structure of domestic water use and contribute to broader water reuse." Bang, who has worked as a materials researcher for 34 years, received the Order of Science and Technology Merit's Innovation Medal in April.