Membrane & Separation Technology News articles from August 2003

Membrane & Separation Technology News archives from August 2003

REVERSE OSMOSIS: BEV Elements Approved by NSF.
August 1, 2003... GE Osmonics has launched the first NSF/ANSI Standard 61 certified spiral wound membrane elements for the production of consistent, high quality water for juices, carbonated soft drinks, bottled water and other beverages. The OSMO BEV series of...

TriSep Products Receive Certification.
August 1, 2003... TriSep Corp. has received NSF/ANSI Standard 60 and 61 Certification for its RO and NF membrane elements, and membrane anti-scalant chemicals. According to company VP Peter Knappe, 44 of 50 U.S. states now require Standard 61 certification...

REVERSE OSMOSIS: Desal Plant's Brine May Prove Useful.
August 1, 2003... The use of RO in water and wastewater applications is creating a waste treatment problem in the form of byproduct brine. But, concentrated reject brine from Tampa Bay's desalination plant could prove to be beneficial for The Florida Aquarium...

MEMBRANE CONTACTORS: Liqui-Cel Strips Ammonia From Waste.
August 1, 2003... Membrana's Liqui-Cel membrane contactors offer a rapid, less expensive alternative to conventional ammonia removal methods without creating a secondary waste stream. The contactors also can convert ammonia byproducts into an ammonium salt, a...

MICROFILTRATION: Carbon Cuts Fouling in Biomolecule Recovery.
August 1, 2003... Novozymes A/S, the world's largest manufacturer of industrial enzymes, has patented an MF process for recovering fermented biomolecules without membrane fouling, by adding activated carbon prior to or during the microfiltration step. Activated...

Mykrolis Debuts Advanced Filters.
August 1, 2003... At SEMICON West, held July 14-16 in San Francisco, Mykrolis Corp. introduced several new membrane products for minimizing contamination in semiconductor manufacturing. Wafergard SC (Supercritical) is an all-metal point-of-use filter...

Pall Improves Purity of Processing Fluids.
August 1, 2003... Pall Corp. has introduced a pair of products that meet the need for purer processing fluids in the manufacture of semiconductors and flat panel LCDs (liquid crystal displays) at San Francisco's annual SEMICON West exhibition. Pall's new...

MEMBRANE REACTORS: High Purity Hydrogen Obtained in Single Step.
August 1, 2003... Membrane Reactor Technologies Ltd. (MRT) will begin a demonstration of an industrial grade unit that generates low-cost, high-purity (99.99%) hydrogen more efficiently than conventional methods of natural gas reforming. Based on a novel...

Redlands to Reclaim, Reuse Wastewater.
August 1, 2003... In the face of growing California water shortages the City of Redlands, CA, will make the most of its limited drinking water supplies by recycling wastewater for non-potable uses with a Zenon membrane reactor. When completed in June 2004, the...

GAS SEPARATION: Mixed Matrix Materials Improve Permeability.
August 1, 2003... Chevron USA and the University of Texas at Austin have patented mixed matrix membranes consisting of carbon molecular sieving particles incorporated into a polymeric membrane. The presence of the carbon particles increases the effective...

ELECTROCHEMICAL: Low Cost, High Performance Ionomer.
August 1, 2003... Gore Fuel Cell Technologies has developed low cost, high- performance ionomers for fuel cell applications. Gore ionomers have been used in a variety of commercial Gore membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) since mid-2002, enabling long-life...

SANYO, Hoku to Develop MEAs.
August 1, 2003... Hoku Scientific, Inc. has formed a joint development relationship with SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. that will focus on new membrane electrode assembly (MEA) technology for SANYO's Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The MEA, for the...

BIOMEDICAL & BIOMEMBRANE: Seamguard Minimizes Surgical Complications.
August 1, 2003... W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. has introduced the Seamguard bioabsorbable membrane, a thin, flexible material designed for reinforcing surgical staple lines in pulmonary and bariatric surgery. Seamguard is composed of historically safe...

Portable Monitor Detects AIDS.
August 1, 2003... An AIDS researcher from Massachusetts General Hospital and a chemist from the University of Texas have devised a portable, simple-to-use CD4 T-cell monitor for identifying when AIDS patients should begin therapy. Unlike existing techniques for...

FDA Approves Polyflux LR.
August 1, 2003... Gambro Renal Products has received FDA 501(k) clearance for the Polyflux LR, a hemodialyzer for treating chronic and acute renal failure. The latest addition to the Polyflux product line, the high efficiency, low flux LR may be reprocessed for...

Step Toward Functional Organs.
August 1, 2003... Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Draper Laboratory and Harvard Medical School have constructed a microscopic membrane-based device capable of supplying oxygen and nutrients to living organ cells. The tiny...

MultiScreen Optimized For Cell-Based Assays.
August 1, 2003... Millipore's MultiScreen-MIC 96-well filter plates have been optimized for migration, invasion and chemotaxis assays. The versatile systems now incorporate a choice of 3m, 5m or 8m polycarbonate membrane for use with a variety of cell types and...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Sinomem IPO Is Oversubscribed.
August 1, 2003... Water treatment firm Sinomem Technology's recent initial public offering on the Singapore Exchange was 71 times oversubscribed, attracting $183 million in application money. The company uses advanced membrane technology to purify water for...

Entech Closes Old Lines.
August 1, 2003... Battery separator manufacturer Entek International is closing its two oldest membrane manufacturing lines and has completed a round of layoffs in an attempt to retain its competitive edge. The company, which employs 423 people in the U.S. and...

Largest U.S. Water Treatment Plant.
August 1, 2003... Black & Veatch and Cal Water have started-up the largest water treatment plant in the U.S. to integrate MF membrane filtration with an advanced pretreatment process, high-rate sedimentation using plate settlers. The pretreatment scheme reduces...

NittoDenko Buys Elan Transdermal.
August 1, 2003... Nitto Americas, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Nitto Denko, will acquire 100% of the stock of Elan Transdermal Technologies, Inc. (ETT) a wholly owned subsidiary of Elan Corp., plc (Dublin, Ireland). ETT is a transdermal research, development and...

Capacity Expansion At Qadipur Gas Field.
August 1, 2003... Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd. (Islamabad, Pakistan) is expanding gas-processing capacity at its Qadirpur gas field from 400 million cubic feet per day to 500 million cubic feet per day. The plant, already the largest gas processing...

Alung Hopes for Federal Funding.
August 1, 2003... Alung Technologies, developers of the Intravenous Membrane Oxygenator (IMO), is anticipating receiving federal funding under the $368.7 billion defense appropriations bill recently approved by the House of Representatives. The bill, which...

CALENDAR.
August 1, 2003... September 30-October 1, Membrane Technology in Water Purification and Wastewater Treatment, Eurogress Center, Aachen Germany. Contact: Thomas Wintgens, Institut fr Verfahrenstechnik der RWTH Aachen, Turmstrasse 46, 52056 Aachen, Germany; Tel:...

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Membranes for PEM Fuel Cells.
August 1, 2003... By Anna Crull and Dick Hooker, BCC, Inc. 25 Van Zant St., Norwalk, CT 06855 The huge potential profits to be gained by corporate success in the hydrogen-powered energy industry, which is almost certain to replace the oil industry as a...

Industry Structure.
August 1, 2003... It is likely that a variety of power sources will coexist with the fuel cell for a considerable period after its initial acceptance in the marketplace. As the fuel cell industry attempts to get off the ground, it would appear that everyone...

Challenge To Materials.
August 1, 2003... Many existing polymer membranes operate most effectively within a limited temperature range and require that the membrane remain constantly hydrated with water. This results in complex and expensive engineering solutions. In very cold...

Some Choices.
August 1, 2003... Highly fluorinated nonfunctional polymers are particularly useful for applications which experience weathering, harsh chemicals or other severe conditions. However, since these highly fluorinated nonfunctional polymers also have a low surface...

Synthesis Variables For New Electrolyte Membranes.
August 1, 2003... In looking for new polymer membranes for PEM fuel cells there are a number of parameters to be varied. The chemical composition can be varied. The morphology (shape, structure, form) of the polymer can be varied. The numbers and types of acid...

Path To Development.
August 1, 2003... Using dissimilar polymers in the membrane and electrode seemingly cause both poor adhesion and performance problems at the membrane- catalyst interface. The polymer in the PEM fuel cell needs high proton conductivity and a path to catalyst...