filtration and separation

The world market for large-scale reverse osmosis systems will increase nearly 50% over next 4 years, according to McIlvaine Company forecasts.

The McIlvaine Company has completed an online report which projects that, worldwide, there will be a 45-50% increase in sales of large-scale reverse osmosis (RO) systems over the next 4 years. In its online report RO, UF, and MF World Markets, McIlvaine forecasts that world RO equipment and membrane sales will reach USD$5.6 billion in 2012, compared to USD$3.8 billion in 2008.

H2O Innovation (2000) Inc has announced the signing of three new contracts in California, USA and Alberta and northern Quebec, Canada. The contracts total CAN$2,675,000, bringing the firm's backlog to CAN$17 million.

The first contract was awarded to H2O's American subsidiary, Membrane Systems Inc. The low pressure membrane filtration system to be installed in the city of Oxnard, northwest of Los Angeles, California, will recycle 6 million gallons of wastewater per day using extremely effective membrane technologies.

H2O's Alberta division, Sigma Environmental, has been awarded a contract for the design and manufacture of a water purification system to be installed in an oil industry construction camp near Calgary, Alberta.

Cleanroom is one of the mainstays of pharma production.Ken Sutherland gives a brief review of the characteristics and classification of cleanroom systems, and looks at the use of filters in the provision of ultra-clean working spaces.

A cleanroom is an enclosed working space in which work is done that is delicate, and needs protecting from contamination by impurities in the ambient air. The air quality (i.e. the amount of suspended material in the air), the temperature and the humidity are regulated in order to protect the contents of the room from the dust and bacteriologically contaminated particles that exist naturally in the atmosphere and in the ambient air around the cleanroom, and also those that might be generated within the cleanroom itself.

Eco-Solution has introduced a technology platform for the high-throughput selection of micro-organisms. Designed to protect the environment, Eco-Solution claims this new technology platform makes it possible to treat persistent pollutants in the environment and produce renewable energies.

The company says this new technology platform from Eco-Solution is based on the control of directed evolution, a technology developed by the company for the high-throughput selection of natural variants of microbial strains with improved properties. The technology uses new manipulation tools to streamline the selection of natural variants, like the high-throughput screening systems used to discover pharmacologically active molecules.

Held every four years, INDEX is one of the largest international non-woven events in the industry. Predicted figures for INDEX 2008, which took place from 15 April at the Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, suggest that this year's event attracted nearly 12,500 visitors, an increase on the 12,024 that attended INDEX 2005.

The exhibitors count also exceeded that of 2005, with 520 companies and organisations, attending the show, up from a figure of 465 in 2005. The halls covered a space of 50,000 m2 with a total net surface area of stands in excess of 21,500 m2.

ConocoPhillips and GE Water & Process Technologies have announced that GE has become an equal co-venturer in ConocoPhillips' Water Sustainability Centre (WSC) in Qatar.

Set within the Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) in Doha, the centre is expected to open later this year. The WSC will research and develop water solutions primarily for the petroleum and petrochemical sectors, but also will focus on municipal and agricultural solutions. According to GE, the two companies will work to develop more efficient and cost-effective treatment technologies at the WSC.

Siemens Water Technologies has started 2008 with an order from German water supplier Berliner Wasserbetriebe and the acquisition of Singapore-based Chemitreat Group.

Government-owned Berliner Wasserbetriebe's order is worth around €5.8 million and involves the migration of the process control systems in five purification plants. The project is scheduled for completion by August 2010 without any interruptions to operation of the purification plants.

Berliner Wasserbetriebe supplies 3.6 million inhabitants with water and removes the wastewater of 3.9 million people in the region. Over 220 million m3 of water is purified every year in five purification plants with the help of 147 pump stations and a network of wastewater channels with a total length of 9,400 km.

BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc is to begin the second of six potential water treatment projects identified in its November 2006 joint venture agreement with Jiangxi Copper Company (JCC), China's largest copper producer.

The first project by the the joint venture company, JCC-BioteQ Environmental Technologies Co Ltd, was the plant at JCC's Dexing site, and this is now operational. The joint venture has since initiated work on the second project, located at JCC's Yinshan mine site in Jiangxi Province. The first stage of this second project has been approved and a design report is to be conducted jointly by BioteQ and JCC to define the scope of the Yinshan project, including plant capacity and cost estimates.

JMAR Technologies, Inc has upgraded its BioSentry sensor, a water monitoring system that provides early contamination warning from waterborne microorganisms in high-purity water applications. The sensor uses laser-based technology to provide continuous, on-line, real-time monitoring of harmful bacteria and is now suitable for high-purity water applications in such industries as pharmaceutical, personal health care and semiconductor manufacturing.

Upgrades to the BioSentry senor include high temperature compatibility for water for injection (WFI) and sanitation requirements, use of pharmaceutical-grade materials including a 316L stainless steel flow cell, automatic flow control and auto-sanitisation.

www.jmar.com

United Air Specialists (UAS) has introduced advanced nanofibre filtration technology for dust collection cartridge filters. The filter allows UAS cartridge filters to last up to twice as long as cellulose and 80/20 commodity filters, cutting total dust collection costs by reducing the number of replacement filters needed, lowering maintenance cost and decreasing total energy use.

Longer filter life is a result of nanofibre's surface loading capabilities. UAS filters with nanofibre technology include a surface treatment of synthetic nanofibres and these fibres form a nanoscopic mesh that traps dust particles on the filter's surface, where they easily release during the cleaning cycle and lower the pressure drop over the life of the filter.

At this year's sanitation, heating and air-conditioning trade fairs SHK in Essen and IFH in Nuremberg, KSB, will for the first time be presenting its new rainwater harvesting system, The Eco-Rain system, which will complement the current product range.

The unit comes ready to be plugged in and includes all accessories required for installation when delivered. The plug-in unit's compact design facilitates rainwater utilisation even where space is limited like in small terraced or single-family houses. On-site investments by the owner are not required.

The EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) is investing up to 105 million for a 10% stake in Veolia Voda, with the aim of boosting the role of the private sector in the provision of water and wastewater services. The funds will be used by Veolia Voda to continue its expansion in the bank's countries of operation with an emphasis on development in Russia and Ukraine .

A holding company for Veolia Water Central and Eastern European activities, Veolia Voda has already made successful entries into the markets of Hungary and the Czech and Slovak republics. The EBRD's investment will support Veolia's entry of a world leader in the water sector into Russia and Ukraine .

GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, announced today that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended acquisition of Whatman plc, global supplier of filtration products and technologies. Under the terms of the transaction, each Whatman shareholder will receive 270 pence in cash for each Whatman share, valuing Whatman at approximately £363 million (approximately US$713 million.) The transaction is subject to approval by Whatman's shareholders as well as customary regulatory approvals.

Siemens Water Technologies has expanded its enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) capabilities with the new Centrol Filter System with denitrification enhancement. The filter enhancement allows municipalities to reduce nitrogen in wastewater to levels suitable for discharge into receiving water bodies.

Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies has developed Actiflo Turbo, a new generation of clarifier for potable and process water. The clarifier, which is a development of the company's established Actiflo clarifier, is suitable for a range for applications requiring high quality treated water. It can also be used in the production and recycling of industrial process water.