RNS Reach

22 June 2023

Directa Plus plc

("Directa Plus", the "Group" or the "Company")

Directa Plus pilots new concept for produced water decontamination using Grafysorber®

Directa Plus (AIM: DCTA), a leading producer and supplier of graphene nanoplatelets based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has launched a pilot for a new concept for produced water treatment using Grafysorber®, through its subsidiary Setcar, which was showcased at the Setcar Braila location in Romania. Produced water is water that comes out of the well with the crude oil during crude oil production. Today produced water is disposed without being treated however industry regulations are becoming more stringent. This new development has the potential to open new markets for Directa Plus' Environmental division and is in line with the Group's strategy to adopt new technologies that can decontaminate and limit the waste of precious elements such as a water.

The testing concept includes a new Romanian Grafysorber® production unit with a produced water treatment solution that is flexible, modular, transportable, and cost-effective. Following the successful treatment of crude oil containing emulsion from the upstream process using Grafysorber technology, which in 2021-2022 recovered more than 11,000 tonnes of crude oil with a purity higher than 99%, Directa Plus and Setcar have now developed a new plant design solution for produced water treatment in a continuous flow. The aim is to achieve a continuous (ca. 50 cubic meters/hour) flow with concentrations of up to 300 ppm of hydrocarbons.

The new decontamination solution was demonstrated on a pilot scale to Romanian local authorities and key players across the oil & gas and steel industries at Setcar's Braila location, resulting in processed water with less than 5 ppm total petroleum hydrocarbon content. Directa Plus is now working with an existing major customer in Romania to transport this new solution for treating produced water inside one of their oil production areas, starting to operate as soon as possible, before rolling out the solution to customers globally. 

Directa Plus's patented Grafysorber® technology is a graphene-based solution for treating water sludges and emulsions containing hydrocarbons and is at least five times more effective than current technologies. In addition, Grafysorber® is sustainably produced, non-flammable and reusable, with the adsorbed hydrocarbons recoverable.  

Commenting, Giulio Cesareo, Founder and CEO of Directa Plus, said: "Working with Setcar to test a new concept for produced water treatment using Grafysorber® is another exciting step forward for Directa Plus as it offers the potential to open us to new market opportunities and is in line with our environmental strategy that aims to help our customers achieve their sustainability targets more easily, cheaply and at a faster rate. It is also a reflection of our continued investment to improve our performance and to broaden the range of potential applications for our Grafysorber technology, to limit the waste of precious commodities, in this case, water."

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Notes to Editors

Directa Plus (www.directa-plus.com) is one of the largest producers and suppliers of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets. The Company's graphene manufacturing capability uses proprietary patented technology based on a plasma super expansion process. Starting from natural graphite, each step of Directa Plus' production process - expansion, exfoliation and drying - creates graphene-based materials and hybrid graphene materials ready for a variety of uses and available in various forms such as powder, liquid and paste.

This proprietary production process uses a physical process, rather than a chemical process, to process graphite into pristine graphene nanoplatelets, which enables Directa Plus to offer a sustainable, non-toxic product, without unwanted by-products.

Directa Plus' products are made of hybrid graphene materials and graphene nano-platelets. The products (marketed as G+(R)) have multiple applications due to its properties. These G+(R) products can be categorised into various families, with different products being suitable for specific practical applications.

Directa Plus was established in 2005 and is based in Lomazzo (Como, Italy) and has been listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange since May 2016. Directa Plus holds the Green Economy Mark from London Stock Exchange which recognises companies that contribute to the global green economy.