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TroisEau: New Carbon-Negative Integrated System for Sustainable Chlorine Generation for Water and Waste Water Treatment Works

 

By Rami Elias Kremesti M.Sc., CSci, CEnv, CWEM

Kremesti Environmental Consulting Ltd

www.kremesti.com

Transmutare Substantiarum Basium In Aurum

 

© 2025 All Rights Reserved – Kremesti Environmental Consulting Ltd

 

Abstract:

We present an innovative idea to water utilities to produce sustainable chlorine for disinfection using the Chlor-Alkali process which produces free Chlorine, Sodium Hydroxide – which can be used in DAC CO2 capture – and Hydrogen gas which is a sustainable fuel. We have named this process The TroisEau – from French Trois which means three and Eau which means water.

Introduction

Kremesti Environmental Consulting Ltd (KEC) was founded in 1999 in Los Angeles, California by Rami Elias Kremesti who is a chartered water and waste water treatment specialist residing in the UK. Rami earned his M.Sc. degree in chemistry in 1998 at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of North Texas. He has been working in the Chemistry field for over 30 years. He spent 11 years working on power stations and has hands on experience in the Water-Energy nexus.
KEC have developed a new integrated system for producing sustainable chlorine for water and waste water treatment works with a negative carbon foorprint. Water Utilities have a goal to achieve Net Zero by 2030 and this technology can help achieve that goal.

The Context

Climate change is one of the most difficult environmental problems facing global society with increasing CO2 atmospheric levels leading to global warming and extreme weather patterns. The problem of capturing CO2 has been researched extensively and the technology to capture it exists but the main hurdle is cost.

CO2 concentration in the atmosphere over the years
Figure 1: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels are a leading cause of global warming

The Idea

The Chlor-Alkali process to generate Sodium Hydroxide and Chlorine from Brine is a well established one. Technology providers such as Thyssen Krupp and De Nora are leaders in the technology which generates about 80 millions tons of NaOH annually. The net chemical reaction is:
2NaCl + H2O -> 2NaOH + Cl2 + H2

 

Chlor_Alkali_ProcessFigure 2: Schematic of the Chlor-Alkali Process

Our innovative idea is to couple the Chlor-Alkali process with a renewable DC source such as Wind or Solar, generate the Chlorine that a water/waste water treatment works needs and in the process produce NaOH which can be used in Direct Air Capture or DAC of atmospheric CO2. This technology is based on a simple reaction:

NaOH + CO2 -> NaHCO3

The Sodium Bi-Carbonate by product is safe substance and can be sold as a raw material or released to the outfall of a waste water treatment works or a river to increase its alkalinity and pH. This will counter the global trend of decreasing Ocean pH. The net impact will have a positive impact on the global problem of Ocean Acidification. Additionally, Hydrogen is generated with is a Carbon-Neutral fuel.

Ocean pH vs Time curve
Figure 3: Gobal decreasing trends in ocean pH are worrying conservationists as this has a negative impact on the Calcium Carbonate chemistry of Crustaceans.

TroisEau

Schematic of the TroisEau System

Value Added Proposal

KEC is looking for technology partners and Utilities to build prototype systems and pilot test them. We are in the process of seeking a patent for this idea which we call the Trois-Eau. The idea can improve the ESG goals of Utilities to achieve Net Zero by 2030 and fight climate change.

Here is a sample calculation:

Thames Water’s large Beckton WWTW’s for example, have an effluent flow rate of about 27 tons per second. If you dose average 10 grams of chlorine per m3, that’s 27 m3 effluent per sec x 3600 s/hr x 24 hours x 10 grams/m3 = about 23 tons of chlorine per day, it’s a massive amount of chlorine consumed that can be generated onsite from sea salt.
I would love to do an ROI calculation on this to justify the capex of a Chlor Alkali system, then there is the CO2 capture benefits + generation of NaHCO3 by-product + generation of H2 fuel to power lets say a H2 fleet of trucks.

The Future is Chemistry

KEC has published articles on similar topics and believes that the solution for climate change will come through the power of chemistry which is in our core DNA.

We recently published four articles on CO2 capture which are generating interest in the idea-sphere:

https://kremesti.com/democratising-dac-co2-capture-using-sodium-hydroxide/

https://kremesti.com/turning-waste-water-treatment-works-into-co2-sinks/

https://kremesti.com/turning-coal-or-dirty-diesel-power-station-fgds-into-co2-sinks-2/

https://kremesti.com/turning-sea-water-desalination-systems-into-co2-ocean-vacuum-cleaners/

 

 

 

Chlor Alkali Industry Leaders

The following is a link about companies that produce chlorine/NaOH from Euro-Chlor an association of chlor-alkali producers:

Members – Eurochlor

 

About the Author

The founder and managing director of KEC, Rami Elias Kremesti, is a published author and keen nature lover. He regularly hikes the Chilterns AONB and is fascinated by how plants convert inorganic chemistry to organic chemistry. The slogan and mission statement of the consultancy Transmutare Substantiarum Basium In Aurum was inspired by the great alchemists who believed in transforming base substances into gold. What most people don’t know is that the real gold is the human soul. He is active with CIWEM, UK Science Council and UK Society for the Environment and tutors an online CBT course on Reverse Osmosis technology.

 

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Dr Boris Liberman CTO of IDE

Rami Elias Kremesti with Dr. Boris Liberman, the legendary CTO of IDE, an Innovative Sea Water Desalination Israeli Company