Roxanna Delima – Wastewater Into Chemicals
With Rushnu, Roxanna Delima is converting carbon dioxide and salt from waste streams into chlorine products, enabling lower-cost domestic chemical production.
About
Roxanna Delima
Delima is the chief executive officer of Rushnu, which is developing a thermochemical process that converts industrial waste heat into valuable chemicals, including chlorine and carbonated minerals. The company's modular units enable customers to produce chemicals on-site, reducing costs, supply chain risks, and the need to transport hazardous materials.
During West Gate, Delima is validating her technology and advancing its path toward commercial deployment by leveraging NLR's expertise in analytical characterization, techno-economic modeling, and process scale-up.
Critical Need
Chlorine production relies on a century-old chlor-alkali electrolysis process that is energy and capital intensive. This drives production to a handful of centralized facilities, requiring dangerous chemicals to be shipped long distances to reach end users. These dynamics create significant supply chain risk and constrain the industry's ability to scale quickly.
Potential Impact
Rushnu's process cuts chlorine production costs by 60% and makes on-site, distributed production viable for the first time, removing the need to ship dangerous chemicals long distances. This shifts chlorine supply away from centralized, vulnerable facilities toward resilient, local production co-located with end users in wastewater treatment, steel, mining, and semiconductors.
Innovation and Advantages
Unlike conventional chlorine production, which relies on energy-intensive electrochemical processes, Rushnu uses a thermochemical approach that operates using available industrial waste heat and carbon emissions. By eliminating the need for costly membranes, electrodes, and large-scale infrastructure, Rushnu's modular systems can be deployed closer to end users with lower capital requirements. This enables a more flexible and distributed approach to chemical manufacturing.
Profile
Status
Prototype
Industry
Wastewater treatment, steel, semiconductor, mining
Potential Markets
- Wastewater treatment
- Steel
- Mining
Looking For
- Industry mentors
- Funding
- Strategic partnerships
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Last Updated Sept. 2, 2026