Membrane & Separation Technology News articles from October 2003

Membrane & Separation Technology News archives from October 2003

REVERSE OSMOSIS: ZPlex Designed to Lengthen Spiral Life.
October 1, 2003... GE Osmonics has introduced a polypropylene melt blown, depth cartridge filter for RO pretreatment. Called ROsaveZ, the cartridge lessens RO operating expense by reducing filter cost, change-out labor costs, equipment downtime and waste...

Commission Wary of Desal Plants.
October 1, 2003... California's Coastal Commission has sent a report to its board of directors cautioning that increased proliferation of seawater desalination plants could threaten marine life, promote development in sensitive habitats and turn the ocean into a...

MICROFILTRATION: ETV Approves USF Drinking Water System.
October 1, 2003... The EPA has awarded USFilter Memcor Products ETV Drinking Water Systems verification for its 3M10C continuous microfiltration (CMF) system. The 3M10C is part of USF's small range CMF packaged drinking water product line, which features units...

Express SHF Filters Two Times Faster.
October 1, 2003... Millipore Corp.'s new polyethersulfone (PES) Express SHF (sterilizing-grade, high flux) filters offer broad chemical compatibility and up to two times faster flow rates for the filtration of buffers, pH adjusters and other clean aqueous...

Filter Maximizes Protein Recovery.
October 1, 2003... Millipore's new Multilayer Durapore cartridge filters pharmaceutical and biological liquids requiring high protein recovery and extended throughput with low-pressure drops using a combination of membranes. The multi-membrane construction...

Pleats Filter Wet-Etch Baths.
October 1, 2003... Mykrolis Corp. has added to its QuickChange product line with the QuickChange ATM disposable filter designed specifically for aqueous-based chemicals used in wet-etch applications. Introduced at SEMICON Taiwan in Taipei, the QuickChange ATM...

ULTRAFILTRATION: Koch's FEG PLUS High Strength, Heavy Duty.
October 1, 2003... Koch Membrane Systems, Inc. has introduced a robust, high performance tubular membrane for use in commercial and industrial applications requiring a high-strength, heavy-duty product. Building on the success of its original FEG UF element,...

Mobile Floating System Treats Shipboard Waste.
October 1, 2003... Two New York inventors have patented a self-contained floating mobile membrane filtration vessel suitable for treating contaminated marine waters and shipboard wastes including ballast water, graywater, blackwater and excess dredge waters. The...

NANOFILTRATION: Water Transported in Frictionless Flow.
October 1, 2003... Scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have simulated the transport of water molecules through carbon nanotube membranes to find that the nanoscale flow is essentially frictionless and the...

MEMBRANE BIOREACTORS: FasPac Suited to Small Applications.
October 1, 2003... USFilter's new FasPac membrane bioreactor package plants offer dynamic wastewater treatment in a pre-engineered system designed for applications of 100,000 gallons per day or less. MBR technology combines a biological treatment process with...

GAS SEPARATION: Films Minimize Palladium Cost.
October 1, 2003... Working under a recently awarded $1.5 million grant, a research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) will develop palladium membranes that minimize the amount of precious metal needed to separate hydrogen from gaseous mixtures. ...

Construction Offers Palladium Performance.
October 1, 2003... Scientists at Japan Fine Ceramics Center (JFCC) have devised an all-ceramic membrane that overcomes many of the problems encountered by palladium alloy films used in hydrogen separations. Palladium-base alloy membranes have a high...

ELECTROCHEMICAL: Membranes to Drive Fuel Cell Expansion.
October 1, 2003... According to a soon-to-be-released updated report from BCC, Membrane and Membrane Electrode Assemblies for PEM Fuel Cells, currently in the U.S., the proton exchange membrane (PEM) and the rest of the components making up the fuel cell stack...

EDR Successful in Plume Remediation.
October 1, 2003... Successful testing of a pilot electrodialysis reversal (EDR) system from Ionics, Inc. indicates that the membrane-based method is physically feasible and economical for remediating a brine plume flowing in excess of one mile from its source....

Mini Battery Built to Power Nanomachines.
October 1, 2003... A University of Tulsa research team has designed a nanobattery so small it cannot be seen with the naked eye or with traditional microscopes. The tiny power supply, based on pore-filled membranes, is designed to run nanomachines for medical,...

BIOMEDICAL & BIOMEMBRANE POC SARS Test Rapid, Accurate.
October 1, 2003... Researchers at Genelabs Diagnostics have developed a rapid membrane-based point-of-care (POC) SARS test that gives results in less than 15 minutes, costs less than $10 and is 99% accurate. Using a format similar to home pregnancy kits, the...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Grant to Benefit Olefin Producers.
October 1, 2003... A consortium consisting of NOVA Chemicals, the Alberta Research Council Inc. (ARC) and the University of Waterloo will receive first-round funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to develop an improved separation process...

Ineos Converting Chloralkali Process.
October 1, 2003... Britain's Ineos Group's Ineos Chlor subsidiary will convert its 700,000 ton per year mercury cell chloralkali plant to membrane technology with the help of a government grant designed to safeguard jobs at the facility. About half of...

Formosa Plastics Buys Electrolysis Train.
October 1, 2003... Asahi Kasei Corp. (AKC) has entered into an agreement with Formosa Plastics Corp. (FPC) to supply membrane process equipment with a 300,000 ton per year capacity for installation at FPC's chloralkali plant in Mai-Liao, Taiwan. The...

Honolulu Plant Wins WateReuse Award.
October 1, 2003... At its September symposium, the WateReuse Association recognized a high-tech treatment plant in Honolulu, a public-private partnership between the Honolulu Board of Water Supply and USFilter Operating Services, with its "Outstanding...

Briefly Noted.
October 1, 2003... Ionics, Inc. (Watertown, MA) has begun a restructuring program intended to improve financial performance through a realignment of management structure, a reduction in personnel, and the consolidation of certain business operations. The...

CALENDAR.
October 1, 2003... November 10-14, IMSTEC '03, 5th International Membrane Science & Technology Conference, University of new South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Contact: IMSTEC '03 Organizing Committee, School of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry, The...

INDUSTRY INSIGHT: Packaging Applications of Biodegradable and Renewable Polylactides.
October 1, 2003... By Rafael Auras and Susan Selke, 110, School of Packaging, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1223; Tel: 517/353-3367. Poly(lactide), PLA, polymers derived from lactic acid (2- hydroxypropionic acid) have been widely used in...