Research and Development
At Osorno, innovation has been key to our company's success. We continue to reinvest a substantial portion of our revenue back into research and development (R&D).
Some of our innovations over the past 10 years include:
- Developing a chlorine dioxide generator that can act as the master control and SCADA system for a water treatment plant;
- Installing satellite communication to help local operators and control a plant remotely if needed; and
- Designing a security module (SecureWall™) that shields Internet connectivity from unauthorized access.
Chlorine Dioxide as a Disinfectant and Oxidant
The focus of this R&D project was to demonstrate the viability of using chlorine dioxide to oxidize and disinfect drinking water as well as treat wastewater.
The R&D project included:
- Water treatment and disinfection with chlorine dioxide to remove iron and manganese, improving water quality and taste without forming trihalomethanes;
- Wastewater disinfection with chlorine dioxide for improved disinfection efficiency with no undue impacts on the biota of receiving waters.
This project was partially funded by the National Research Council of Canada.
Distributed Secure Intelligence in Water and Wastewater Infrastructure
This multi-year project involved developing Intelligent components and equipment for water and wastewater treatment plants based on the SmartGrid concept.
The goal of this project was to address Canada's security requirements for protecting human health and our infrastructure. The R&D project included:
- Plant Security and Remote Communication – Developing a special device to guarantee secure remote access to a treatment plant while defending against Intranet intruders. The project resulted in the development of SecureWall™.
- Communication Protocol – Developing communication protocols for transmitting standard images of PLCs and SCADA systems, ensuring complete interoperability. The project resulted in OSAUT, the Osorno Automation Protocol, an open standard communication protocol officially registered with the IANA.
- Intelligent Filter Head – Developing an electronically controlled filter head capable of communicating with PLC or SCADA via Ethernet TCP protocol. The project resulted in a fully electronically controlled Intelligent Filter Head.
- Intelligent Sensors and Actuators – Developing sensors that transmit data via Ethernet TCP protocol. The project resulted in a pH/ORP/T sensor that transmits values digitally, with a web browser to show values in different scales. The system also allows the sensors to be calibrated remotely.
- Intelligent Disinfection Systems – Developing a multi-functional chlorine dioxide generator with enhanced chemical yield, SCADA touch screen, and remote communication with multiple access levels. The project resulted in a new line of generators with different capacities.
This project was partially funded by the National Research Council of Canada.
