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Full scale trials for membrane sewage treatment in NSW
News and Views
Conducting polymers It is reported that thin films of organic pol ymers
ha ve been cast onto silicon substrates and doped with iodine to produce electrically cond ucti ve polymers. in research work conducted at the California Institute of Technology. Up to now. the researchers say. synthetic routes to electrically conductive polymers have generally produced insoluble. intractable materials . preventing th e fabri cation of uniform structures. A recently developed technique known as ring-opening metathesis polymerisation (ROMP) is used to form thin films of soluble. processible and conductive polyacetylenes. These can then be cast into thin films and doped with iodine. Initial applications include solar cells and semiconductors. but other applications in the membrane field should not be ruled out.
Full scale trials for membrane sewage treatment in NSW Th e New South Wales government has recently announced its decision to conduct a full scale trial using the Memtec Membio sewage treatment system at one of its Sydney sewage works. It is estimated that the trial will cost A$20 million. and the decision represents the government's first major commitment to cleaning up Sydney beaches (see Membrane Technology. Number 5). It is understood that the trials will be conducted at one of Svdnev's smaller sewage treatment centres. pro cessing 3 million litres a day of sewage. The Memtec system claims to remove 90% of suspended solids . compared to 65 % removal using conventional primary treatment systems. It involves a combination of aerobic bioreactor and microfiltration. and grease removal of 97% has been achieved in preliminary tests.
DC registers growth in membrane air separation Union Carbide Industrial Gases in the USA has announced that it has secured 32 contracts in the first half of 1990 for non-cryogenic air separation devi ces . compared to five for the same period in 1989. Th e total gas volume for the 32 new contracts
Membran e Technology
amounts to 300 tonnes a da y, and the company says that the new low-cost technology is beginning to make major inroads in the market. UCIG non-cryogenic technologies for air separation include both membrane systems and vacuum pressure swing adsorption. Cost are typi cally 20-50 % less than for cryogenic systems, according to UCIG.
Grace diagnostic membranes W R Grace has developed a new family of microporous composite membranes which can be used for diagnostic immuno-assays without the need for post-immobilization blocking and quenching steps. The membranes. knowm as Autobloc, exhibit low non-specific binding of proteins and are used with enzyme-linked immune-assays (ELISA). The new membranes are featured in an article in the August issue of BioTechniques.
Report available The practical and potential applications of membrane technology in the US food industry are assessed in a recent report. Available from Noyes Publications (Mill Rd. at Grand Ave., Park Ridge, New Jersey 07656, USA), it is an up-to-date coverage of the uses of membranes in food processing and is based on a report prepared for the US Department of Energy. The report, Membran e Applications and Research in Food Processing, authored by C M Mohr, S A Leeper, DE Engelgau and B L Charboneau, all of EG & G Idaho. was prepared to prioritise opportunities for Department of Energy-sponsored research and de velopment into reducing energy use in the food industry. The report provides three overviews - to the structure of the report itself, the food industry and membrane technology, before assessing the US food industry. Discrete sectors considered are "Meat and poultry processing", "Dairy products", "Fruit and vegetable processing". " Grain milling", "Baking industry" , "Sugar and confectionery", "Fats and edible oils" , and " Beverages" . The final chapter is a summary of the specific recommendations for consideration . with the conclusions of the findings. As with most Noyes Publications reports the lengthy contents pages serve in place of an index, which is more of a deficiency in this type of wideranging study than in the patents surveys for which Noyes are also known. It is, however, one of the few books on the subject and does illuminate the development of membrane separation technology in the US food industry.
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Conducting polymers It is reported that thin films of organic pol ymers
ha ve been cast onto silicon substrates and doped with iodine to produce electrically cond ucti ve polymers. in research work conducted at the California Institute of Technology. Up to now. the researchers say. synthetic routes to electrically conductive polymers have generally produced insoluble. intractable materials . preventing th e fabri cation of uniform structures. A recently developed technique known as ring-opening metathesis polymerisation (ROMP) is used to form thin films of soluble. processible and conductive polyacetylenes. These can then be cast into thin films and doped with iodine. Initial applications include solar cells and semiconductors. but other applications in the membrane field should not be ruled out.
Full scale trials for membrane sewage treatment in NSW Th e New South Wales government has recently announced its decision to conduct a full scale trial using the Memtec Membio sewage treatment system at one of its Sydney sewage works. It is estimated that the trial will cost A$20 million. and the decision represents the government's first major commitment to cleaning up Sydney beaches (see Membrane Technology. Number 5). It is understood that the trials will be conducted at one of Svdnev's smaller sewage treatment centres. pro cessing 3 million litres a day of sewage. The Memtec system claims to remove 90% of suspended solids . compared to 65 % removal using conventional primary treatment systems. It involves a combination of aerobic bioreactor and microfiltration. and grease removal of 97% has been achieved in preliminary tests.
DC registers growth in membrane air separation Union Carbide Industrial Gases in the USA has announced that it has secured 32 contracts in the first half of 1990 for non-cryogenic air separation devi ces . compared to five for the same period in 1989. Th e total gas volume for the 32 new contracts
Membran e Technology
amounts to 300 tonnes a da y, and the company says that the new low-cost technology is beginning to make major inroads in the market. UCIG non-cryogenic technologies for air separation include both membrane systems and vacuum pressure swing adsorption. Cost are typi cally 20-50 % less than for cryogenic systems, according to UCIG.
Grace diagnostic membranes W R Grace has developed a new family of microporous composite membranes which can be used for diagnostic immuno-assays without the need for post-immobilization blocking and quenching steps. The membranes. knowm as Autobloc, exhibit low non-specific binding of proteins and are used with enzyme-linked immune-assays (ELISA). The new membranes are featured in an article in the August issue of BioTechniques.
Report available The practical and potential applications of membrane technology in the US food industry are assessed in a recent report. Available from Noyes Publications (Mill Rd. at Grand Ave., Park Ridge, New Jersey 07656, USA), it is an up-to-date coverage of the uses of membranes in food processing and is based on a report prepared for the US Department of Energy. The report, Membran e Applications and Research in Food Processing, authored by C M Mohr, S A Leeper, DE Engelgau and B L Charboneau, all of EG & G Idaho. was prepared to prioritise opportunities for Department of Energy-sponsored research and de velopment into reducing energy use in the food industry. The report provides three overviews - to the structure of the report itself, the food industry and membrane technology, before assessing the US food industry. Discrete sectors considered are "Meat and poultry processing", "Dairy products", "Fruit and vegetable processing". " Grain milling", "Baking industry" , "Sugar and confectionery", "Fats and edible oils" , and " Beverages" . The final chapter is a summary of the specific recommendations for consideration . with the conclusions of the findings. As with most Noyes Publications reports the lengthy contents pages serve in place of an index, which is more of a deficiency in this type of wideranging study than in the patents surveys for which Noyes are also known. It is, however, one of the few books on the subject and does illuminate the development of membrane separation technology in the US food industry.
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