Membrane & Separation Technology News articles from May 2000

Membrane & Separation Technology News archives from May 2000

RO AND NANOFILTRATION Treatment Reduces Most Leachate Volume.(reverse osmosis)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Mobile Process Technology (MPT) has developed a reverse-osmosis leachate treatment process that reduces leachate volume by more than 90%. Properly treating landfill leachate can be challenging, especially when the levels of impurities are...

ED AND FUEL CELLS UOP Integrates Avista PEM.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... UOP, LLC (25 E. Algonquin Rd., Des Plaines, IL 60017-5017; Tel: 847/391-2000) will integrate its fuel process with Avista Labs' proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Avista's cartridge-based approach allows the fuel cells to be easily...

DaimlerChrysler EV First to Roll.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... DaimlerChrysler (1000 Chrysler Dr., Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2766; Tel: 248/576- 5741) is the first automaker to offer electric vehicles with proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The company plans to build 20 to 30 city buses with fuel...

Power Plant Marks First Anniversary.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... A commercial design of a PEM fuel cell has passed several milestones in a joint, public-private development effort. FuelCell Energy, Inc. has completed one year of commercial design validation and endurance testing of a 250-kW direct-fuel-...

BIOMEDICAL AND BIOMEMBRANES Spaceship Runs on Sewage Cocktail.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Scientists in Michigan have developed a biofuel cell that creates a constant, low-power electricity supply by feeding glucose to common bacteria, such as E. coli. Biochemists Gregory Zeikus and Doo Hyun Park at Michigan State University (1200...

FDA Okays BetaSorb for Human Trials.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... RenalTech, Intl., LLC (320 E. 65th St., No. 116, New York, NY 10021; Fax: 212/717-8643) has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin human clinical trials of its BetaSorb device. BetaSorb incorporates a adsorbent...

Fluid Membrane Screen Drug Test Approved.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... Avitar, Inc. has received patent approval for a component of ORALscreen, a point-of-contact oral fluid membrane screening test for illicit drugs. ORALscreen is comprised of a foam collector and testing device that houses a cellulose...

Pinhead-Size Capsules Aid Cell Transplant.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... The same technology that creates computer microchips may one day help treat diseases such as diabetes. Mauro Ferrari, professor of biomedical engineering at Ohio State University, has devised a method for implanting tiny silicon capsules-about...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Red Cross Suspends HemaSure System Use.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The American Red Cross has notified HemaSure, Inc. that it has suspended the use of HemaSure's r\LS System pending the outcome of an investigation of a small number of noncritical adverse reactions in patients who have received a transfusion...

Feds Nix BOC Divestiture.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... U.S. antitrust enforcers have rejected a divestiture plan that industrial gas giants Air Liquide SA (75 Quai D-Orsay 75321, Paris Cedex 07, France) and Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (7201 Hamilton Blvd., Allentown, PA 18195; Tel:...

Little, De Nora Form Nuvera.(De Nora Fuel Cells merged with Epyx)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Arthur D. Little Co. (ADL, Acorn Park, Cambridge, MA 02140-2390; Tel: 617/498- 5000, Fax: 617/498-7200) has merged its Epyx fuel processing business with De Nora Fuel Cells, a subsidiary of De Nora (De Nora S.p.A., Via Bistolfi 35, 20134...

Plug Power Inks Development Deal.(with Axiva GmbH)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Plug Power, Inc. (968 Albany-Shaker Rd., Latham, NY 12110; Tel: 518/782-7700, Fax: 518/782-7914) has signed a joint development agreement with Axiva GmbH (Industriepark Hchst, Gebude K 801, 65926 Frankfurt, Germany) to develop a...

PRAM Filtration Consolidates.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... PRAM Filtration Corp. has consolidated of two of its divisions in Minneapolis, Minnesota, resulting in 4th quarter favorable operating results for its Cook Screen business unit. In the first quarter of 1999, the company announced that it was...

Dow to Double FilmTec Capacity.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... To meet the growing global demand for reverse-osmosis membranes, the Dow Liquid Separations business is doubling the size of its FilmTec membrane manufacturing plant. Dow will invest about $35 million in the plant, located in Minneapolis,...

MARKETS AND APPLICATIONS FilmTec Keeps Cars Spot Free.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... FilmTec membranes are helping "spot-free" car washes deliver on that promise. Dow Liquid Separations' reverse-osmosis membranes remove calcium and magnesium - mineral salts that stay behind as white residue on a freshly washed car - from...

Fuel-Cell Market - $2 Million and Growing.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... According to a Business Communications Co., Inc. report entitled Fuel Cells: On the Verge, fuel cells already constitute a $2 billion industry. Spending on fuel cells is expected to reach $10 billion by 2003 with another $40 billion in related...

GAS SEPARATIONS: Pilot Tests Confirm CO2 Removal.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Recent field pilot tests in Texas and Scotland have confirmed theoretical and laboratory performance of Kvaerner Oil & Gas' (P.O. Box 169, N-1325 Lysaker, Norway) permeable-membrane gas-liquid contactor. Since 1992, Kvaerner Oil & Gas and its...

DOE Selects Greenhouse Projects.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The Department of Energy (DOE) has tapped the talents of eight of its national laboratories to capture and store greenhouse gases. In the first of two major project selections the department expects to make this year in its carbon...

Praxair Joins Fed O2 Separation Efforts.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Praxair (777 Old Saw Mill Rd., Tarrytown, NY 10591; Tel: 914/789-2748, Fax: 914/789-2026) has joined the Federal Energy Technology Center's (Tel: 304/285- 4826) effort to develop a more cost-effective method for separating oxygen from air. The...

Parker Hannifin Corp.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Across the Board Rise: Parker Hannifin Corp. (Cleveland, OH) reports a 39.5% increase in third-quarter net income for the period ended March 31, 2000. The company earned $106.7 million on sales of $1.39 billion, compared with net income of...

Millipore Corp.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Millipore Off to a Good Start: Millipore Corp. (Bedford, MA) says its first quarter revenues were $225 million, up 25% from the same period last year. Profitability is up more than 100% compared to the first quarter of last year, and revenues...

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Air Products' Profits Stronger: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (Lehigh Valley, PA) reports a stronger-than-expected rise in fiscal second-quarter operating profits despite higher energy and raw materials costs. Excluding one-time items,...

Osmonics, Inc.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Osmonics Sales Increase 13%: Osmonics, Inc. (Minnetonka, MN) reports sales of $50.3 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2000, an increase of 13% compared to sales of $44.5 million for the first quarter of 1999. Net income for the...

Praxair, Inc.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Cost-Cutting Pays Off: Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, CT) says first quarter earnings rose a more-than-expected 21% on cost-cutting and increased demand, sending its stock higher. Net income rose to $114 million from profit from operations of $94...

Parker Hannifin.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Merger Complete: Parker Hannifin (Cleveland, OH) and Commercial Intertech (Youngstown, OH) have completed their merger. This transaction is among 45 mergers, joint ventures, and acquisitions completed by Parker since April 1993, which together...

Whatman's Industrial Business.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Separately, Parker announced it will purchase Whatman's Industrial Business (Maidstone, U.K.), which manufactures high-efficiency depth-filtration and membrane technology for gas separation. The business is split evenly between compressed air...

DuraSwitch Industries, Inc.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Memtron Acquires License: DuraSwitch Industries, Inc. (Mesa, AZ) has granted a nonexclusive license for its PushGate push-button membrane switch to Memtron Technologies (Frankenmuth, MI), a subsidiary of Korry Electronics Co. (Seattle, WA)....

Recycling Centers of America, Inc.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Dairy Installs Filtration: Recycling Centers of America, Inc. (RCAI, Lake Forest, CA) has installed a vibrating filtration system, along with the necessary auxiliary systems and equipment, to manage and reduce the dairy's BOD, COD, and TSS....

Projects Funded.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Triad Pilot Study Subsidized: Triad Innovation Corp. (Amarillo, TX) has signed a technology development agreement with Gulf-Tex Environmental Services, LLC (Midlothian, TX). Gulf-Tex will provide funding to construct a pilot module of Triad's...

Recent Patents.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Resin Adds Resistance: A gas separating membrane with a polycarbodiimide resin layer has been fabricated by Nitto Denko Corp. (Osaka, Japan), which the company says demonstrates excellent permeating performance, good heat resistance, chemical...

Calendar.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... June 26-30, 2000, The Sixth International Conference on Inorganic Membranes, ICOM, Montpellier, France. Contact: Secretariat of ICIM-6, c/o R. Foglizzo, LMPM, ENSCM, 8 rue del'Ecole Normale, 34296 Montpellier Cedex 5, France; Tel: +33 4 67...

INDUSTRY INSIGHT: Wastewater Reuse: The San Diego Experience.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... By Paul Gagliardo, Partner, Samer Adham, Rudy Tekippe, and Rhodes Trussell, Montgomery Watson, 555 E. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91101 San Diego County Water Authority and the City of San Diego have been promoting the development of...

Materials & Methods.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... A pilot-scale treatment train consisting of the various processes, shown in Figure 1, was operated during the study.

AWT Pilot Treatment Train Flow Diagram.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... A microfiltration system (Model 6M10C) that uses Memcor hollow fiber membranes was employed in the study. The MF pilot consists of a feed pump, a feed tank, an air compressor, and a recirculation loop which includes the membrane modules. Six...

Findings/Results.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Performance evaluation of the AWT system was based on three criteria: flux and fouling of the membrane systems, disinfection capability, and rejection of pollutants such as salts, organics, and nutrients. The membranes were operated for...

Conclusions.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The results of the study demonstrated the integrated membrane system is a very effective and reliable process for water re-purification. Minimal membrane fouling was observed for all of the membranes employed in the study. Significant...

Ethanol Production Increased Ten-fold.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Engineering Science Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) has achieved a ten-fold increase in ethanol product over industrial batch processes using a small pilot...

Selected Abstracts.
May 1, 2000... Permeation Through Palladium: Linkping University (Linkping, Sweden) researchers have found while both CO and O2, individually, inhibit hydrogen permeation through a 25-micron-thick palladium membrane, a combination of CO, O2, and hydrogen...