Building a sustainable future
“For longer than I have lived (1971), humanity has used more resources than the earth can provide. This means that we are using up the resources of future generations; this can no longer continue. At Purgatoria, we take this seriously.”
Frans Durieux
From tree to waste product
It starts with bringing our product ICABUS to market. This system extends the useful life of the tree that provided the original source for the toilet paper. The entire chain from tree to waste is already well designed: paper is reused up to 7 times before the fiber is finally discarded as toilet paper. After this, the fiber is too short and insufficiently branched to serve as paper fiber and is used for toilet paper. Our aim is to give the fiber at least one additional cycle.
Circular company
But in addition to providing a circular product, our goal is also to be a circular company. A linear company sells a product but no longer wishes to have responsibility for it once the warranty period has passed. We look at this differently: our commitment to our products is continual. We will continue to review whether the system is running as it should periodically, and fix problems if they arise, at any stage of the system’s lifecycle. We will also retrieve any waste materials generated by our product for as long as the system is with the customer. We analyze the used parts so we can identify the cause of defects and learn how to improve our systems as a result. And afterwards, we will also ensure that these products are reused in a certified and correct manner. The components will then be repurposed in new ICABUS systems as much as possible. Any parts that can’t be repurposed directly will be converted into new products in accordance with approved procedures.
“Paper is reused up to 7 times before the fiber is discarded as toilet paper, but even then it still remains a valuable product!”
Purgatoria comes from the Latin Charta Purgatoria, which means toilet paper. Literally ‘the map you toss out.’ It’s precisely that tossing out that we want to prevent by harvesting the cellulose and putting it to good use. Thus, our logo depicts a roll of toilet paper in a dynamic movement that symbolizes this circularity.
Sustainability first
Innovative solutions
Innovation is a crucial factor in which we develop new, more efficient processes and valuable solutions
Measurable results
We achieve good results and attain higher capacities, better efficiency, less maintenance, waste, and lower energy consumption.
Purgatoria is the inventor and owner of ICABUS, an innovative technology designed to get the most out of wastewater.
Frans Durieux
Founding partner
Jacco Tijssen
Manager
Robbert Brand
Designer (Innoving B.V.)
Arjen van Asselt
Builder (MTA)
Mark Kik
Controls (PMBK)
The ICABUS story
The origins
Around 2006, we discovered that toilet paper can be deposited in sewage with a sieve. This led to research and projects aimed at harvesting cellulose from wastewater using fine mesh screens (0.3-0.5 mm).
Brush filter
Since 2013, Aqua Innovation Network has represented the CONTEC, a brush filter that effectively extracts fibers from wastewater, such as hairs and cellulose. Water flow over the sieve plate causes the fibers to move in the proper direction, resulting in efficient separation.
The EUREKA-moment
As soon as it became known that fibers were separated with (ultra)fine sieves, we knew that this was not the most optimal way to remove fibers from the water. The insight came in November 2019 around 5 in the morning, while riding along in a friend’s car in the Kruger Park: instead of using ultra-fine sieves, a brush plate set at a small angle to the water stream would extract the fibers from the water much more cheaply and efficiently. This idea became the basis for further development.
Patenting and the ICABUS 10C
Patents were filed for 25 different concepts, both for Europe and the US. Funding was found through OOSTNL and the Regio Zwolle Incubator fund. The ICABUS 10C, a new system, has been tested on wastewater from paper mills (Industriewater Eerbeek) and at various water boards (Vallei and Veluwe, Rijn and IJssel, Hollands Noorderkwartier, De Stichtse Rijnlanden). There is much interest because of the lower costs for investment, energy and maintenance.
“Then I knew what we had to do to remove the fibers from the water much cheaper and easier; flat plates with a brush at a slight angle to the water flow.”
