CIP-EIP-Eco-Innovation-2013: Pilot and market replication projects. ID: ECO/13/630314 LESS-WATER BEV.TECH.
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CIP Eco-innovation
First application and market replication projects
Call Identifier: CIP-EIP-Eco-Innovation-2013
LESS-WATER BEV.TECH Project Contract ECO/13/630314
WP5 - BUSINESS PLAN & EXPLOITATION
D5.5 Patents registration and/or extension
Reporting Date
31/03/2017
Project coordinator: A DUE DI SQUERI DONATO & C. S.p.A.
Project website: www.lesswaterbevtech.com
DOCUMENT DISSEMINATION LEVEL
PU Public
PP Restricted to other programme participants (including the Commission Services)
RE Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission Services)
CO Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the Commission Services)
CIP-EIP-Eco-Innovation-2013: Pilot and market replication projects. ID: ECO/13/630314 LESS-WATER BEV.TECH.
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Introduction
The present report is part of the activities carried out in Work Package 5 (WP5), whose aim is
to have an exploitation and a market replication of the new water treatment system on the EU
and MENA markets during the implementation of the project, starting from the fine-tuning of
the existing business plan on the base of the existing data and results coming (from time to
time) from the other WPs. This brings to a better definition of the effective exploitation
strategies to be implemented and to the guidelines for the long term market sustainability of
the new water treatment technology on the market.
All the phases are reported in the following confidential deliverables (WP5), as follows:
Delive-
rable
N°
Deliverable name (self-
explanatory)
Type of
deliverable
Quantifi-
cation
For
Publica-
tions:
Language(s)
Accessibility
of delive-
rable
Month
of
comple-
tion
D5.1 Final Business Plan formal
definition (EU market) Business Plan 1 EN CO 18
D5.2 Final Business Plan formal
definition (MENA market) Business Plan 1 EN CO 24
D5.3
Technology benefit
demonstration and
measurement. Technology
adaptation. (EU market)
Report 1 EN CO 27
D5.4
Technology benefit
demonstration and
measurement. Technology
adaptation. (MENA market)
Report 1 EN CO 28
D5.5 Patents registration and/or
extension Patent demands TBD EN PU 30
D5.6
First-mover & New
technology standard
exploitation
Installed
innovative
equipment
Report
1 EN CO 36
D5.7 Capabilities & Human
Resources Report 1 EN CO 30
D5.8
Economies of Scope &
Technology Collaboration
Report 1 EN CO 30
D5.9
Clients exploitation: Group
1: Big CSD Bottling
Companies in EU and
MENA – Technology
partnerships
Installed
innovative
equipment
1/3 Italy, UK or
MENA CO 36
D5.10 Distribution, Promotion &
Replication Report 1 EN CO 36
D5.11 Cost-Benefit Analysis. Report 1 EN CO 36
In particular, D5.5 aims at assessing the opportunity of registering a patent to protect the
technical solution developed within the Project. This is in order to maintain the competitive
advantage constituting a further barrier market enter both for the existing competitors and for
potential new entrants.
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D5.5 Patents registration and/or extension
The project team verified the possibility to protect the new system with international patents.
At first, UniBo made a detailed bibliographical and patent search on solutions and the existing
trends on patent licensing in the field of water purification solutions and applications to the
food and beverage industry.
Bibliographical analysis
The evidences from the bibliographical analysis of the scientific literature are summarized in
the following table providing a systematic classification against the following drivers:
Manuscript type.
Industrial sector.
Purified fluid.
Investigated technology.
The global overview of the matrix shows the research trends in this research field. Some
interpretative keys are in the following.
Multiple examples of full-scale plants are proposed indicating an advanced technology
readiness level of water purification technologies. This is particularly true for RO
technology already widely adopted in both large and small-scale F&B plants.
The frontier of the research, studied from different perspectives in a wide number of
research papers, is on innovative materials for membranes, on the integration of
multiple technologies for a low-maintenance, low-carbon and low-energy purification
plant and on wastewater local recovery even under critic conditions in terms of water
contaminants, e.g. meat, dairy and fruit industries.
The integration of ultrafiltration and RO within the series of the plant functional
modules is widely adopted in the F&B sector. This is to remove the suspended solids
and, then, the solutes. UV is, generally, at the last stage.
Wide interest is in water desalination, even from seawater, due to the large
applicability of such solutions, worldwide.
Despite deep studies applied to the beverage industry exist; research is more limited
for the food industry mainly because of the lower attention to the water problems.
Research on wastewater is still limited respect to raw water (including water within
water-based products); it is concentrated in the most recent years even if the
pioneering studies dated early ’90s state the water intensity of the F&B sector.
Rising attention is on alternative purification technologies with very-low
environmental impact. Good examples use bioreactors strongly reducing the need of
chemicals. Weaknesses of such solutions are in the process time, the need of batches
instead of continuous water flows and the maintenance activities on the active agents.
Upgrades are mandatory before their use within the F&B industry.
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Industrial
ApplicationResearch Paper Review/Survey Beverage Food
Multiple/Cross-
sectorialOther(s) Water/Wastewater Juices
Multiple/Cross-
sectorialOther(s)
Microfiltration [0.1-
0.5]µm
Ultrafiltration [0.005-
0.05]µm
Nanofiltration [0.0005-
0.005]µmReverse Osmosis Other(s)
1 1992 Capannelli et al. Lebensm-Wiss X X X X
2 1995 Al-Mazidi Desalination X X X
3 1996 A1-Malack & Anderson J of Membrane Science X X X X
4 1996 Jiraratananon & Chanachai J of Membrane Science X X X X
5 1996 Snow et al. Desalination X X X X X X
6 1997 Alvarez et al. J of Membrane Science X X X X
7 1997 Jiraratananon et al. J of Membrane Science X X X X
8 1998 Grimm et al. Desalination X X X Elettrochemistry
9 2000 El-Manharawy & Hafez Desalination X X X X
10 2000 Mavrov & Bélières Desalination X X X X X
11 2001 Al-Jayyousi & Mohsen Desalination X X X X
12 2001 El-Manharawy & Hafez Desalination X X X X
13 2002 Bruijn et al. Desalination X X X X
14 2003 De Barros et al. J of Membrane Science X X X X
15 2004 Galambos et al. Desalination X X X X X
16 2004 Uche et al. Desalination X X X X Distillation
17 2005 Bohdziewicz & Sroka Process Biochemistry X X X X
18 2005 Hinkebein & Price Desalination X X X X X X
19 2005 Mehta & Zydney J of Membrane Science X X X X
20 2005 Yazdanshenas et al. Separation & Purification Tech X X X X
21 2006 Baruah et al. J of Membrane Science X X X X
22 2006 Bruijn & Borquez LWT X X X X
23 2006 Cassano et al. Desalination X X X X Distillation
24 2007 Cassano et al. Desalination X X X X
25 2007 Cassano et al. J of Food Engineering X X X X
26 2007 Rai et al. J of Food Engineering X X X X
27 2007 Rektor et al. Separation & Purification Tech X X X X
28 2008 Cassano et al. Innovative Food Science and Emerging Tech X X X X
29 2008 Frenkel ASCE X X X X X X X
30 2008 Mirza Desalination X X X X X
31 2008 Mondal et al. AIChe X Oil & Gas X X X
32 2008 Poulirot Int Dairy J X X Dairy fluids X X X X
33 2008 Vourch et al. Desalination X X X X
34 2009 Di Giacomo & Taglieri Food Bioprocess Tech X X X X
35 2009 Eltawil et al. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews X X X X X X X
36 2009 Gokmen et al. J of Food Process Engineering X X X X
37 2009 Pradeep & Anshup Thin Solid Films X X X Thermal
38 2009 Tarquin et al. ASCE X Civil Uses X X X
39 2009 Zularisam et al. Separation & Purification Tech X X X X
40 2010 Astudillo et al. Separation & Purification Tech X X X X X X
41 2010 El-Kamah et al. Desalination X X X Thermal
42 2010 Geise et al. Wiley X X X X X X X
43 2010 Girard & Fukumoto Critical Review in Food Science & Nutrition X X X X X X
44 2010 Kanani et al. J of Membrane Science X X X X
45 2010 Onsekizoglu et al. J of Membrane Science X X XMembrane
distillation
46 2010 Yazdanshenas et al. Desalination X X X X
47 2011 Echevarrìa et al. Food Engineering Reviews X X X X X X
48 2011 Gao et al. Desalination X X X X
49 2011 Habibi et al. J of Food Process Engineering X X X X
50 2011 Razi et al. Int J of Food Science and Technology X X X X
51 2012 Macedonio et al. Chemical Engineering & Processing X X X X X X X
52 2013 Al Abdulgader et al. Separation & Purification Tech X X X X X X X
53 2013 Ghaffour et al. Desalination X X X X X X X
54 2013 Kujawski et al. J of Food Engineering X X X X
55 2013 Sudhakaran et al. Science of the Total Environment X X X X X X X
56 2014 And et al. Desalination X X X X X X X
57 2014 Mahmoud et al. Desalination X X X X X X X
58 2014 Sorlini et al. Water Practice & Technology X X X X X X X Thermal
Purified Fluid Key Investigated Technology(ies)Industrial SectorManuscript Type
Editorial SourceAuthor(s)Year#Id
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Patent search
Concerning the patent search, UniBo went through the EPO-Espacenet database to investigate
the existing patents in the field and, most important, the patent categories matching the
elements of innovation of the proposed plant and solution.
Among all, the most relevant patent category fitting the Project is: “C02F 1/00 Treatment of
water, waste water, or sewage”, sub-categories:
C02F 1/44: by dialysis, osmosis or reverse osmosis (general membrane separation
processes B01D61/00, membrane modules B01D63/00, electrodialysis C02F1/4693,
combination of membrane modules and bioreactors C02F3/1268);
C02F 1/441: by reverse osmosis;
C02F 1/444: by ultrafiltration or microfiltration.
An extract of relevant existing recent patents is in the following list:
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The streams of potential patentability of innovations in the waste water sector deals with:
Innovations in the filtration materials;
Innovations in the filtration dynamics;
Innovations in the filtration system overall energy and material performances;
Innovations in the purification technology;
Innovations in the membrane cleaning and/or self-cleaning;
Innovation in the filtration pressure dynamics;
Extension of existing purification processes to new sectors/contexts;
Extension of existing purification processes to new polluted water flows;
Extension of existing purification processes to new plants.
Globally, the combination of existing purification methods to configure innovative (and
highly innovative) solutions is within the integration of existing patents (one for each method)
and, generally, not immediately patentable themselves. Exceptions exist to this trend leading
to a specific subset of patents.
Decision on technology patentability
The bibliographic and patent analysis reveal that the new water treatment system is beyond
the scientific state of art but it does not completely fulfil the requirements for an immediate
patentability. The present technical state of the art, i.e. everything which has been made
accessible to the public, in Italy or abroad, has some precedent of attempts to combine
different technologies to increase the overall purification potential.
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In addition, in this phase the partners agreed to focus their attention on the modularity and
adaptability of the process and the plant to the entry waste water and the plant boundary
conditions and not to freeze a standard configuration to protect with a patent. The definition of
rigid borders to the technology to protect, mandatory when applying a new patent, is not fully
coherent with the dynamic of the plant development, assessment and modularity.
Know-how protection long-term strategy
It is a strong interest for A DUE and the whole project partners to have high care of the know-
how they developed and integrated to the project plant. As a consequence they have been pro-
active in adopting actions to put in place an appropriate strategy. The objective was to defend
and protect confidential info and the acquired know-how, by implementing and organizing in
a cohesive fashion a series of actions, developed at different levels and at different points of
time. Such strategy is better tailored to the aforementioned features of the overall project.
Such strategy is built up on an organizational structure, able to supervise and control carefully
and scrupulously and to deal with appropriate measures every active action, from the inside to
the outside, by identifying and qualifying not only the content of know-how that need
protection, but also the parties involved in the matter.
This kind of activity has strategically involved the A DUE Company Top Management
(supported by an external lawyer with experience in managing problems and issues
concerning bonds, international contracts, company law, distribution agreements), and, from
an executive point of view, A DUE Legal Department, ICT Dept., the purchasing staff and the
various department heads. The achieved result is an effective Confidentiality Policy, which
regulates how the people involved should treat confidential information. The Confidentiality
Policy affects employees (including ownership), consultants, suppliers and/or technological
partners (Universities of Bologna and Parma, the SSICA- Experimental Station for the Food
Preserving Industry in Parma, etc.), customers who may have access to confidential
information.
In this way, even when Industrial Patents are not granted, industrial and strategic plans,
besides data concerning know-how, technological processes and trade secrets are protected,
through appropriate Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) among all Parties.
A DUE drew up adequate procedures and documents, able to settle the access to
confidential/classified info and, generally speaking, to the whole know-how of the Company.
Also the management of the above mentioned info, carried out by employees, suppliers and
customers, has undergone a strict regulation, as a prevention to their diffusion to third non-
authorized parties and/or their improper use.
With some strategic suppliers A DUE proposed an even more detailed NDA or with usual
suppliers, the Company subscribed a framework agreement.
Please find here attached:
standardized draft of NDA with a third party,
draft of a framework, subscribed with a long-term strategic supplier,
documents concerning the internal procedures for managing confidential info.
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Specifically for the on-going “Less-water Bev tech” project, A DUE has also developed
contracts for the regulation and management of confidential information:
with European Community (GRANT AGREEMENT)
with project’s partners (CONSORTIUM AGREEMENT)
with Consorzio Casalasco del Pomodoro (CCDP) which is the partner hosting the pilot
plant
with all technical and commercial consultant, who have supported the Company.
With the objective to grant all info, in terms of preservation, safety and recoverability, A DUE
has acted properly, embedding appropriate and adequate information protection system and
appliances, and also adopting dedicated company procedures, like for example The Corporate
Rules and Regulation for safety and usage of company electronic devices.
The whole information system is equipped with an up-to-date virus detection system
(Symantec End Point Protection, which keeps updated automatically everyday) and with a
Firewall WatchGuard, with an eventual daily update of all operating system’s features and of
the updates of WebFiltering and Application Filtering.
Anti-intrusion systems and information protection systems, but also the stringent criteria and
procedures for information transmission safety, have been defined after a profound and
accurate risk analysis connected with:
potential non-authorized access to all data and info from an external entity or party,
intentionally or unintentionally meant (protection of info/data confidentiality and privacy);
potential data alteration and/or deletion from non-authorized subjects;
potential not controllable events or occurrences that can damage data integrity (protection
of info integrity).
Finally, A DUE introduced suitable systems for recoverability of damaged info or lost data
and for data preservation in a copy (back-up plans), as a guarantee of integrity, and
procedures that define the preservation and recoverability mode.
In conclusion, the Confidentiality Policy and organizational structure implemented in A DUE
can guarantee a good level of protection of the know-how and of all confidential info,
allowing A DUE to maintain its competitive advantage. The project Partners agreed with the
adopted strategy and from their own sides collaborate to the know-how protection policy.
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The
contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the partners project and can in no
way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.