Earth Tech builds water-treatment plant in Australia

Earth Tech builds water-treatment plant in Australia

NEWS would improve the quality of experimental work, productivity and reduce down time, and after acquiring Purite technology we were delighted to dis...

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NEWS would improve the quality of experimental work, productivity and reduce down time, and after acquiring Purite technology we were delighted to discover that they provided an integral centralized system,’ explained Chris Lancashire, Biological Sciences Liaison. ‘The Prestige Descale water purification and Neptune systems were installed during March 2006, and since then the in-house centralized system has made remarkable improvements to our water quality and productivity. Both systems are extremely reliable and efficient in supplying a constant supply of pure water for laboratory use’, added Lancashire. The Prestige Descale RO water purification unit is compact and easy to install. It includes an integrated pre-filtration stage, which removes particulates and colloidal contaminants down to 5 µm from mains water, says Purite. Following the pre-filtration stage, the water is pressurized by an integral boost pump and fed to the RO module (within the Descale unit), where up to 98% of dissolved minerals and up to 99% of organic, bacterial and particulate contaminants are removed. Any impurities are flushed away via the drain by an automatic membrane concentrate flush, which helps to extend membrane service life, thereby reducing replacement costs. After RO, the permeate is fed through to an external storage tank before being pumped through a cylinder deionizer, removing 99% of any remaining ionic impurities. Disinfection by ultraviolet light and a filter rated at 0.2 µm are used to enhance the purity. The purified water is then distributed to various outlets within the facilities via the ring main. The Descale unit purifies up to 2000 litres of mains water per day, which enables greater productivity and a more consistent pure water supply, helping to reduce contamination and ensuring that results are reliable and consistent. The Neptune further polishes the ring main water to provide UPW for analytical and life science experiments, and is typically used in molecular biology, in vitro fertilization, genome research and critical cell culture. The bench-mountable system monitors operating parameters, including water quality, temperature, pressure and flow, incorporating automated sanitizing routines and generating an alarm when filter cartridges need to be changed.

arth Tech Incorporated of Long Beach, California, USA, has been selected by Australia’s Western Water Authority to design, build and manage a recycled water plant near the township of Melton, located just west of Melbourne. The four-year contract, valued at $5.2 million (AU$6 million), covers an initial design and construction phase, followed by a threeyear operating period. Site work will start at an existing plant for recycling water near Melton, and the project is expected to be completed in early 2008. The Surbiton Park Recycled Water Plant will be capable of producing 5 million litres (1.3 million gallons) of Class A recycled water per day. It will primarily serve the new township of Eynesbury, south of Melton. This development will feature equine facilities, a golfcourse and parkland. The new plant will consist of a pretreatment facility, a ultraviolet light disinfection system and a membrane microfiltration unit. It will supersede the existing facility, which currently produces Class C recycled water for construction work at Eynesbury and the irrigation of crops at Surbiton Park. The recycled water will be used for toilet flushing, watering residential gardens, recreational irrigation and fire fighting, and will reduce the use of drinking water in the new growth areas by 50%, or 4.2 million litres (1.1 million gallons) per year by 2030. This is the third Class A recycled water scheme in Victoria. The others are the Eastern Irrigation Scheme, which Earth Tech designed and currently operates, and the Werribee Irrigation District Project. These projects not only address the area’s ongoing growth demands, but also the government’s mandate to conserve water. Earth Tech says that it is Australia’s largest supplier of Class A recycled water, with approximately 43% of the supply coming from its Virginia Pipeline Scheme in South Australia and Eastern Irrigation Scheme in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Contact: Purite Ltd, Bandet Way, Thame, Oxfordshire OX9 3SJ, UK. Tel: +44 1844 217141, www.purite.com

Contact:: Earth Tech Incorporated, 300 Oceangate, Suite 700, Long Beach, CA 90802, USA. Tel: +1 562 951 2000, www.earthtech.com

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Membrane Technology

Earth Tech builds water-treatment plant in Australia

Vaperma opens centre to test new clean energy technology

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aperma Incorporated of StRomuald, Québec, Canada, has officially opened its new 2040-m2 (22 000-ft2) research and technology centre dedicated to developing and pilot testing gas separation membranes. The company says that its proprietary hollow-fibre membranes perform a new ‘dewatering’ process that can be used to produce fuel ethanol. Large ethanol refining plants in both North America and Brazil will find this membrane technology useful when trying to meet the growing demand for bioethanol as a petrol additive. In addition, the technology potentially could be used for the dehydration of natural gas, and tests for this application will begin during October 2007. Dehydration is required to purify this clean-burning petroleum fuel. Vaperma’s pre-commercial membrane spinning facility is scheduled to go on-line as this issue of the newsletter goes to press. The pilot line will spin enough fibre to enable testing to be done on a large scale. Vaperma says that over the past 18 months, it has successfully strengthened the company and its assets − taking Siftek membrane technology from the laboratory into the demonstration phase, by forming partnerships with potential customers such as GreenField Ethanol and EnCana Corporation (see Membrane Technology May 2007, page 5). ‘Vaperma is positioning itself to become a leading supplier of membrane systems for the production of fuel-grade ethanol and for natural gas treatment. Funding support from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, EnCana’s Environmental Innovation Fund, and Natural Resources Canada/Technology Early Actions Measures (NRCan/TEAM) are key in reducing the financial risk posed by the introduction of this technology into the market place,’ said Claude Letourneau, Vaperma’s President and Chief Executive Officer. ‘We are confident in the successful demonstration of the commercial viability of our membrane systems in partnership with GreenField Ethanol and look forward to the demonstration phase with EnCana’, added Letourneau. Robert Gallant, President and Chief Executive Officer of GreenField Ethanol, commented: ‘Vaperma was successful in the initial ethanol dehydration field trial of the first membrane system, which took place at

September 2007