Membrane & Separation Technology News articles from August 2004

Membrane & Separation Technology News archives from August 2004

REVERSE OSMOSIS: Converting Hog Waste to Usable Byproducts.
August 1, 2004... New Logic Research, Inc. sold its first North American VSEP (vibratory shear enhanced process) RO membrane system for treating hog manure. By installing a vibratory membrane unit, the hog or dairy farmer can harvest electrical energy,...

ULTRAFILTRATION: System Cuts Disposal Costs.
August 1, 2004... Adding to its line of industrial filtration products, The Hilliard Corp. has launched an efficient crossflow ceramic membrane system that can lower disposal costs for oily wastewater. The Hilco ceramic filtration system uses high-velocity fluid...

Aquakiosk Decentralizes Urban Water Treatment.
August 1, 2004... French water company Aqua Technique hopes to circumvent the problems of centralized urban water distribution systems with its line of compact, containerized UF water treatment kiosks that could be distributed throughout a city. The...

MICROFILTRATION: Extracting Oil from Cocoa.
August 1, 2004... Scientists at CocoTech, Inc. have devised a method using tubular inorganic membranes for the extraction of oil from foodstuffs that exist in powdered form, have high oil content and/or are sensitive to heat. The process is particularly useful...

MultiScreen Optimized for Elispot Assays.
August 1, 2004... Millipore Corp. has optimized its MultiScreen 96-well filter plates for high performance Elispot assays. The plates are available with a choice of Immobilon-P (PVDF) or mixed cellulose ester membranes, both of which offer a dense uniform pore...

BIOMEDICAL & BIOMEMBRANE: Coating Improves Drug Release Rate.
August 1, 2004... Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. has patented a membrane that controls the rate at which a therapeutic substance is released from an implantable medical device, such as a stent. Stents for coronary angioplasty are used not only for...

Aquapheresis vs. Diuretics in Fluid Overload.
August 1, 2004... CHF Solutions, Inc. has begun enrolling patients for a large clinical trial to evaluate its ultrafiltration-based Aquapheresis therapy compared with traditional diuretic therapy for fluid- overloaded patients. Using CHF Solutions Aquadex...

MEMBRANE SENSORS: Immunoassay Detects TNT.
August 1, 2004... Navy researchers have patented a reusable membrane-based displacement assay that rapidly detects the explosives TNT and RDX in groundwater and seawater at parts per billion levels. Displacement assays are performed by flowing a liquid...

GAS SEPARATION: Plating Uniformity Improves H2 Separations.
August 1, 2004... Research Triangle Institute inventors have patented a production- scale method for fabricating thin metal/ceramic composite membranes with high plating uniformity. The membranes are thermally and mechanically robust, and demonstrate excellent...

PERVAPORATION: Enabling Small-Scale Biomass-to-Ethanol.
August 1, 2004... As part of the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, the USDA has awarded $1 million to Membrane Technology and Research (MTR) for further development and demonstration of its BioSep technology, a pervaporation-based ethanol recovery...

ELECTROCHEMICAL: HTM Honored With R&D 100 Award.
August 1, 2004... Argonne Labs hydrogen transport membrane (HTM) has been recognized with an R&D 100 Award, an honor presented by R&D magazine to the years 100 best new commercial products and technologies. Argonne scientists Balu Balachandran, Stephen...

Penn State Reduces Methanol Crossover.
August 1, 2004... The Penn State Research Foundation has created a direct methanol fuel cell membrane that features improved resistance to methanol crossover and is less expensive than fluorocarbon-based polymers In U.S. Patent 6,759,157, Penn State...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Polyfuel Closes Funding Round.
August 1, 2004... PolyFuel, Inc. has closed an $18.4 million third round of funding, bringing total investment in the 5-year-old startup to about $40 million. PolyFuel is a leader in developing membrane technology for portable direct methanol fuel cells that...

Sandia Accelerates Desalination Research.
August 1, 2004... Desalination research will step up at Sandia National Laboratories over the next few years, the result of a $3 million allocation in the FY2004 federal Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill. The desalination program will focus on...

FilmTec Expanding Manufacturing Capacity.
August 1, 2004... After considering Dow sites in China, Thailand and Spain, FilmTec Corp. soon will double its RO membrane manufacturing capacity at an Edina, MI facility near company headquarters. In May, FilmTec purchased a 290,000-square-foot warehouse and...

NSF Adds Perchlorate to Standard 58.
August 1, 2004... NSF International has added perchlorate to the list of chemicals that drinking water treatment units can be tested against. The protocol now is included in NSF/ANSI Standard 58: Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Treatment Systems, a U.S. standard...

Briefly Noted:.
August 1, 2004... * Sartorius (Goettingen, Germany) has expanded its alliance with centrifuge manufacturer Alfa Laval to supply membrane filtration products for brewing beer. Alfa Laval receives the exclusive right to sell Sartorius membranes and membrane...

CALENDAR.
August 1, 2004... September 28-October 1, Aquatech Amsterdam 2004, Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Conference Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Contact: Heleen van der Meer, P.O. Box 77777, 1070 MS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Tel: +31 20 549 12 12, Fax: +31 20...

INDUSTRY INSIGHT: TransSep-S A Unique Pervaporation Process for the Removal of Sulfur from Gasoline.
August 1, 2004... By Robert Shucker, President, Trans Ionics Corp., 2408 Timberloch Place, Suite D-5, The Woodlands, TX 77380-1020; Tel: 281/296-9210, email: cschucker@transionics.com Since 1990, governmental regulations have driven changes in the sulfur...

Background.
August 1, 2004... Gasoline is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that fall in the boiling range referred to as naphtha. As sold at the pump, gasoline is typically made up of a mixture of alkylate, isomerate, reformate, oxygenate and cat naphtha. Industry data...

TransSep-S System.
August 1, 2004... In the TranSep-S system, feed (preferably ICN), is directed to the membrane modules. Since virtually all of the sulfur is contained in aromatic molecules, the membranes task is to selectively remove these aromatics from the feed at as high flux...

The Membrane.
August 1, 2004... The nature of the membrane determines the flux and selectivity for the removal of sulfur-containing aromatic molecules from the feed. The author invented a series of membranes in the late 1980s known as polyurea/urethanes that worked...

Permeation Studies.
August 1, 2004... Twenty-one permeation runs were carried out using the membranes with a mixture of model compounds comprising n-octane, 1-octane, toluene and 3-methyl thiophene. Runs were carried out primarily at 75C and 90C, with one run done at 100C. Average...

COMMENTARY: Membranes May Be Fundamental to Manned Mars Missions.
August 1, 2004... Although the earliest manned missions to the Red Planet will not occur until 2016, scientists already are evaluating membrane technology for use en route to Mars and on the Martian surface. Membranes are attractive for space applications...