Membrane & Separation Technology News articles from January 2003

Membrane & Separation Technology News archives from January 2003

YEAR END REVIEW: Lots of Changes in 2002.
January 1, 2003... Year 2002 was one of considerable flux for the membrane industry with the introduction of new environmental standards, expanding opportunities in "mature" and emerging market sectors, important product debuts, interesting new materials, and...

OSMOSIS: HTI Bags Potable Liquids.
January 1, 2003... Hydration Technologies (HTI), a spinoff of membrane maker Osmotek, has developed a pair of water filtration products that use sugar and "forward osmosis" (FO) to generate RO-quality water. The inexpensive, portable systems are designed to...

NANOFILTRATION: Element Removes Salt, Hardness.
January 1, 2003... Hydranautics' new ESNA1-LF (low fouling nanofiltration membrane) provides 90% salt rejection and controlled hardness removal, to eliminate the need for hybrid membrane systems. The low pressure membranes can significantly reduce operating costs...

GAS SEPARATION: Inerting Minimizes Tank Explosion Risk.
January 1, 2003... The FAA has installed the first on-board aircraft system for preventing fuel tank explosions that may occur with the mixture of air and fuel in nearly empty tanks. The simple lightweight system combines existing plane equipment with parts in...

NEA in Diesel Knocks Out NOx.
January 1, 2003... Compact Membrane Systems (CMS) scientists will begin testing a fluorinated polymer membrane system that adds nitrogen-enriched air (NEA) to the diesel engine combustion process as a means to reduce in-cylinder NOx production. The engine...

BIOMEDICAL & BIOMEMBRANE Improvements for Biohybrid Organs.
January 1, 2003... Scientists at GKSS Research Center have developed bilayer hollow fiber membranes based on acrylonitrile copolymers for biohybrid organs that feature an outer blood-compatible surface and an inner tissue-compatible one (or vice versa). The...

Light Powers Artificial Cell.
January 1, 2003... A collaborative effort between U.S. and Argentinean scientists has resulted in an artificial photosynthetic membrane cell that uses light in place of concentration gradients to transport calcium ions. Calcium ion transport is used by biological...

Dialyzer Speeds ADMET Screening.
January 1, 2003... Harvard Bioscience, Inc. has patented the Equilibrium Dialyzer, a 96-well plate for ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and toxicology) screening that increases throughput and productivity in the drug discovery process. ...

NON-SEPARATING: Chemical Warfare Suit Lighter, Comfortable.
January 1, 2003... Scientists at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center, also known as Natick Labs, are working to incorporate semipermeable membrane technology into chemical/biological (CB) clothing that is more effective, lighter weight, less bulky and more...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Bureau Accepting Desal Pre-Proposals.
January 1, 2003... The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Desalination and Water Purification Research and Development Program is soliciting pre- proposals in the areas of research and studies, pilot-scale systems, and demonstration projects. Research and studies focus...

Nuvera, BWT Ink Agreement.
January 1, 2003... Nuvera Fuel Cells, Inc and BWT (Best Water Technology) AG have entered an agreement to develop a high temperature (above 90(C) polymeric membrane for industrial PEM fuel cells. Under the contract, Nuvera will work with FuMA-Tech, a BTW...

Patent for Pathogen Removal Process.
January 1, 2003... Gradipore has received a U.S. patent (6,464,851) for a process using its core Gradiflow technology to eliminate biological contaminants from biological samples. The membrane-based Gradiflow instrument removes viruses, both enveloped and...

Briefly Noted.
January 1, 2003... * ITT Industries, Inc. (White Plains, NY) has acquired the assets of PCI Membranes (Laverstoke, UK) from Thames Water to expand the water and wastewater filtration and disinfection offerings of its Sanitaire division. PCI Membrane's products...

CALENDAR.
January 1, 2003... February 25-26, The International Water Reuse & Desalination Conference, Singapore Suntec Convention and Exhibition Center, Singapore. Contact: Ms. Ting Siew Mui, Suntec Integrated Media, 1 Raffles Boulevard, Suntec City, Singapore 039593, Tel:...

INDUSTRY INSIGHT The Dream of Cheap Water.
January 1, 2003... By William Eycamp, Consultant, 246 Pleasant St., Arlington, MA 02476 At the dawn of Reverse Osmosis, a target to produce water for 50 cents/1000 gallons was floated by the U.S. Office of Saline Water. Everyone (except possibly the man who...

A Lofty Goal.
January 1, 2003... In the late 60's, Dr. Channabassapa, in charge of government sponsored membrane research for the U.S. Office of Saline Water, stated his goal to demonstrate a plant with the ability to produce potable water from the sea for "50 cents per 1000...

How did this happen?
January 1, 2003... Let me refresh you on the history. In 1969, this is what was known: Most fundamental was Reid and Bretton's discovery that cellulose acetate membranes could desalt water (1958). Then came the Loeb and Sourirajan asymmetric membrane discovery...

Revolutionary Developments.
January 1, 2003... Lots of things had to happen to get where we are today. A few were truly revolutionary, but most were either evolutionary or the predictable outcome of industrial development. The truly revolutionary development was the invention of the...