IN DETAILS
Each Product in Depth
Our third-generation membrane technology empowers you to deliver advanced solutions across all major water treatment applications.
SW
NLCT SW combines high NaCl and boron rejection with high permeability to help meet World Health Organization (WHO) and other drinking water standards more cost-effectively. Can be effective used in permeate staged seawater desalination systems without impairing the performance of the downstream stage.
Best applications
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Sea water desalination
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Concentrated brackish water desalination
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Power plant boiler feed water
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Near zero liquid discharge
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Landfill leachate treatment
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Recovery of high-value solutes via solvent removal
Production
Rolled into 8-inch, 4-inch, and 2.5-inch spiral-wound elements.
Is also suitable for STRO and DTRO element production.
BW
NLCT BW is the workhorse of the RO portfolio with high flux and high rejection on the brackish water sources that account for most industrial reverse osmosis demand.
Best applications
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Industrial wastewater with high salt concentration
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Municipal wastewater
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Pharmaceutical and food industry process water
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Boiler feed water
Production
Rolled into 8-inch, 4-inch, and 2.5-inch spiral-wound elements.
ULP
NLCT ULP runs at roughly two thirds the operating pressure of a conventional BW membrane, which translates directly to lower energy consumption per unit of permeate. Salt rejection stays high..
Best applications
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Surface water and low-salinity sources (ground water, tap water, municipal water)
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Pure water and boiler feed
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Food processing
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Pharmaceutical industry water
Production
Rolled into 8-inch, 4-inch, and 2.5-inch spiral-wound elements.
XLP
NLCT XLP extends the energy-efficiency curve further than ULP for the lowest-salinity feed sources. Use it where pressure budget is the binding constraint, including point-of-use systems and polishing duty after a two-stage desalination train.
Best applications
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Point-of-use systems (drinking fountains, water refill stations)
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Pure water for hospitals and laboratories
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Pure and boiler feed water for industrial use
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Food processing and pharmaceutical applications
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Polishing the second-pass permeate from a two-stage desalination system
Production
Rolled into 8-inch, 4-inch, and 2.5-inch spiral-wound elements.
FR
NL FR targets high organic loading, biological fouling, and mineral scaling with two purpose-engineered defenses: a proprietary hydrophilic surface coating that minimizes foulant adhesion, and a wider feed spacer that reduces channel clogging and preserves hydraulic performance. Recovery after aggressive CIP cycles is clean and reliable — keeping operational lifetime long where other membranes fall short.
Best applications
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Feed water with fluctuating quality
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Higher microbial loads
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Industrial wastewater treatment and reclamation
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High-Hardness Brackish Water
Production
Rolled into 8-inch, 4-inch, and 2.5-inch spiral-wound elements.
NF-HR
NL NF-HR is built for high-rejection duty. As the high-rejection variant of NLCT's NF membrane line, it delivers rigorous removal of divalent and polyvalent ions — calcium, magnesium, heavy metals — alongside high organic rejection, all at operating pressures below one-third that of a conventional brackish water membrane. Precise separation. Low energy consumption. No compromise between the two.
Best applications
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Water softening
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Removal of total organic carbon (TOC), bacteria, and heavy metals
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Wastewater reuse
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Industrial water treatment
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Chemical recovery
Production
Rolled into 8-inch, 4-inch, and 2.5-inch spiral-wound elements.
NF-HF
Where throughput is the binding constraint, NL NF-HF delivers. A high-flux, energy-efficient nanofiltration membrane, NL NF-HF optimizes for production volume — trading a measured margin of rejection for significantly higher permeate flow and lower energy consumption. Purpose-built for organics removal in surface water treatment, reclaimed water reuse, and partial water softening across commercial, industrial, and municipal applications.
Best applications
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Municipal water treatment
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Drinking water production
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Partial softening of surface and ground water
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Reuse of reclaimed water
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Industrial water pretreatment
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Pesticide and organics removal from wastewater
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Organic and color removal
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Beverage processing
Production
Rolled into 8-inch, 4-inch, and 2.5-inch spiral-wound elements.
Custom
Custom membrane development draws on NLCT's full applied research capability, proprietary equipment design, and Six Sigma quality system — the same infrastructure behind the standard portfolio. The deliverable is a fully characterized membrane and process specification, sized to the licensee's target throughput and feed water conditions.
MEMBRANES IN ACTION
Real-World Applications of NLCT Membranes
The same NLCT process technology produces membranes for sea water desalination, industrial process water, food and pharmaceutical applications, wastewater reuse, landfill leachate, and point-of-use systems. Each industry has a primary family and one or more alternates depending on feed and energy budget.
Seawater Desalination
Convert high salinity water into usable fresh water by removing salt and minerals from seawater to produce freshwater for drinking, irrigation, and industrial use
Generate pure water for industrial process use, boiler feed, and reclamation streams in petrochemical operations and chemical plants. High flux at low energy when feed salinity is low.
Industrial Process Water and boiler water
Make high-purity process water under low operating pressure. Stable rejection on the salinity profiles typical of food and pharma sources.
Pharmaceutical and food processing
Wastewater Reuse and Reclamation
Reuse of reclaimed water from municipal and industrial streams. NF for organic removal and partial softening; FR for variable feed quality and microbial loads.
Treat landfill leachate for surface discharge. Possible trace volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ammonia emerging in the RO permeate can be removed with polishing step to meet the highest discharge standards.
Municipal Landfill Leachate
Point-of-use drinking water and laboratory water
Drinking fountains, water refill stations, hospital and laboratory water, and polishing duty after a two-stage desalination train.
OPERATING DISCIPLINE
Six Sigma, a data-driven scientific methodology for achieving quality-focused process control, variation reduction, and manufacturing excellence.
NLCT applies Lean and Design for Six Sigma methodology across its R&D and technology transfer work.
LEADING THE PRACTICE
Dr. Jane C. Li
Dr. Jane C. Li brings more than forty years of chemical and petroleum industry leadership to her role as Vice President of NL Chemical Technology. As a certified Master Black Belt, she has held senior positions at Exxon Chemical and UOP (Honeywell) — most notably as Technology Director of Six Sigma, where she led the successful enterprise-wide implementation of Six Sigma and the operational transformation it delivered. At NLCT, her expertise defines the quality standard every licensee inherits.
Vice President
Master Black Belt
BENEFITS
Why We Use it
Six Sigma delivers where it matters most:
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Profitable growth and sustainable competitive advantage in regulated, capital-intensive manufacturing
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Disciplined management of innovation projects and technology portfolios
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Measurable improvements in quality and productivity across the full operation
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Quantifiable bottom-line results that justify every quality investment
How to Implement It
BASIC PROCESS
DEFINITION
What Is Six Sigma
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A management strategy targeting world-class quality and continuous operational improvement
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A methodology that reduces process variation to 3.4 defects per million opportunities
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A shared management philosophy and common language across major industrial corporations
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A customer-centered, data-driven approach supported by a defined analytical toolkit
Five steps that maximize each employee's ability to add value
LEAN SIX SIGMA AT NLCT
01 Define value from the customer's perspective.
02 Identify the value stream and remove waste.
03 Make value flow at the pull of the customer.
04 Empower employees to act on data.
05 Pursue continuous improvement as a permanent discipline.