- Email: [email protected]
Industry study forecasts strong growth for membranes
NEWS high capacity makes it an ideal, single-use product for the removal of arsenic. According to the company, it offers greater strength along with reduced turbidity and backwash requirements than the previously released Adsorbsia GTO media. At the same time, it also features a longer useful life than traditional adsorbent media, making it more productive across a wide range of water conditions. The titanium-based media maintains the same strong Adsorbsia ‘hold’ on the removed arsenic, enabling the toxic chemical to be disposed of easily and safely. Adsorbsia media is the only commercially available product that meets the California Total Threshold Limits as well as the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and California’s Waste Extraction Tests (WET), claims Dow.
systems. Likewise, SVA-FujiFilm’s implementation of its ideals won it the GE Ecomagination Leadership Award,’ commented Zhou Weifang, President, GE Water, Greater China. SVA-FujiFilm, a joint venture between China’s SVA Electron and Japan’s Fuji Film Corp, provides colour filter products for manufacturers of large-screen thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays. Ecomagination is GE’s corporate-wide sustainable business strategy that aims to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy and a reduction in emissions. The award is given to the top one percentile of GE Water’s customers that demonstrate a significant improvement in environmental and economical performance, striking a balance between today’s environmental, industrial and sustainability challenges.
Contacts: The Dow Chemical Co, Dow Water & Process Solutions, Customer Information Center, PO Box 1206, Midland, MI 48642-1206, USA. Tel: +1 989 636 9086, www.dowwatersolutions.com, www.dow.com/liquidseps
Contact: GE Water & Process Technologies, 4636 Somerton Road, Trevose, PA 19053-6783, USA. Tel: +1 215 355 3300, www.gewater.com
Dow Customer Information Group, Prins Boudewijnlaan 41, B-2650 Edegem, Belgium. Tel: +32 3 450 2240
Industry study forecasts strong growth for membranes
GE technology helps Chinese manufacturer conserve water
T
T
echnology developed by US-based GE Water is helping SVA-FujiFilm Opto-Electronic Materials Co Ltd, based in China, to reduce tap-water consumption, wastewater discharge and operating costs. A customised water treatment system at the company’s site based in Shanghai has been operating since September 2008 and has achieved both high water quality and a raw water saving – a reduction of 15–25% in water consumption compared with other technology that is currently available. The ultra-pure water system has a capacity of 180 m3 (47 500 gallons) per hour and is the first installation of its kind for GE in mainland China. It employs the company’s licensed, high efficiency reverse osmosis (HERO) filter technology. GE Water has presented its ‘Ecomagination Leadership Award’ to the company for the effort it has made to conserve water and reduce costs. ‘SVA-FujiFilm’s desire to conserve resources and to be environment-friendly led the company to install GE Water’s ultra-pure water
August 2009
he global demand for membranes is projected to increase at a healthy 8.6% a year to reach over $15 billion in 2012, according to a an industry study published by The Freedonia Group, entitled ‘World Membrane Separation Technologies to 2012’. The US-based market research firm says that the BRIC countries and others with large, developing industrial bases and stressed local water resources are expected to post the strongest gains through the forecast period. Increased attention paid to water quality, the disposal of industrial and other waste streams, and food and beverage safety regulations will propel membrane sales. Gains in global membrane demand also will be driven by interest in water reuse and material reclamation because of the rising price of raw water and other inputs, and concerns about the environment – particularly water scarcity in many parts of the world. North America, the largest regional market, accounted for one-third of global membrane sales in 2007 and will advance a strong 8.3% annually through to 2012, predicts the study. Gains in the US market are projected to be aided by upgrades of water treatment techniques to accommodate newer water quality regulations and the use of low quality water resources in the water-stressed regions.
In Brief H2O Innovation’s Guy Goulet resigns Guy Goulet has resigned from his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of H2O Innovation Inc, a Canadian company that is exclusively dedicated to water treatment. However, he will continue to collaborate with the company in identifying and evaluating international sales and development opportunities. The firm’s directors have appointed Philippe Gervais as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors. Gervais has been a company director since December 2001 and has also served on the board’s various committees over the course of this period. Hyflux signs agreement to build desalination plants in Libya Hyflux Ltd, a water purification and fluid treatment company that is based in Singapore, has signed an agreement to build two sea-water desalination plants in Libya with General Desalination Co, the commercial arm of Libya’s Ministry of Utilities, report The Straits Times and The Business Times. According to the reports, Hyflux will construct the desalination plants in the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi. These facilities will uses its filtration pretreatment membranes and process technology to produce desalinated water. SeprOx receives commercialisation award from Texas Emerging Technology Fund In the USA, SeprOx Corp has received a preseed commercialisation award from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF). SeprOx will receive an initial investment of $0.25 million and is eligible to receive up to $1 million in total funding. The firm, which located in The Woodlands, Texas, was established in 2008 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Trans Ionics Corp to scale up and commercialise technology that is capable of separating virtually pure oxygen from air using a proprietary membrane material, under an exclusive licence from the Texas Center for Superconductivity’s Energy Materials Program at the University of Houston. Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies acquires rights to ZDD technology Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, the technology subsidiary of Veolia Water, has acquired worldwide rights to commercialise a patented, zero discharge desalination (ZDD) technology developed in the USA at the University of South Carolina by ZDD Inc. The technology uses a combination of separation processes, including an electrodialysis device, in an ion substitution mode, to remove divalent salts from water.
Membrane Technology
3
NEWS Also, a growing number of industries use membranes to reduce water use and waste disposal expenditures. Unlike many other US industries, the US membrane industry is expected to account for a larger share of global growth than China through to 2012. Canada’s membrane market is much smaller than that of the USA, but benefits from comparable industrial development, regulations and investment in water treatment technologies. The Mexican market is smaller still and much less advanced because of its lower level of investment in water and wastewater treatment, and the relative lack of industries that require ultrapure water. Still, growth will be strong as regulations tighten and investment increases, says Freedonia. In developing countries, gains are based on the continued growth of water-intensive industries, increased need to tap brackish or otherwise poor quality water resources, and rising investment in modernising water and waste infrastructure. However, in many of the least developed countries – especially in Africa and parts of South Asia – growth will be more limited because of a lack of adequate funding and local corruption that impedes progress. Much of the Middle East has invested heavily in sea-water and brackish water treatment to ensure a sufficient supply of water for drinking, agricultural and industrial purposes. Until recently, much of that came from thermal distillation plants, however, even oil-rich nations are increasingly shifting to more efficient desalination systems based on reverse osmosis membranes. Contact: The Freedonia Group, 767 Beta Drive, Cleveland OH 44143. Tel: +1 440 684 9600, www.freedoniagroup.com
KMS UF modules improve environmental performance at BMW
I
n the USA, Koch Membrane Systems Inc (KMS), a company that specialises in membrane-based filtration systems, is supplying its KPAK ultrafiltration (UF) modules for use in BMW Manufacturing Co’s expanded assembly plant based in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The UF system is used for paint recovery, paint bath control and hazardous waste minimisation at the plant’s new electrocoating and phosphating facility. The KPAK modules 4
Membrane Technology
increase the capacity of the electrocoat paint system by about 68%, says KMS. The new facility is part of a major $750-million expansion of BMW’s factory in South Carolina, which will add 139 354 m2 (1.5 million ft2) of floor area and, potentially, around 500 new jobs on-site to produce three vehicle models and increase production capacity. The KPAK UF completely replaces the plant’s existing UF unit and offers BMW several benefits compared with its old system. These include increased energy efficiency, better UF module cleaning characteristics and safe, easy installation. In addition, the KPAK UF system’s efficient operation enables paint recovery to be maintained at more than 95% within the closedloop rinse system, which lowers the load on the wastewater treatment plant, reduces ultimate disposal costs and the impact the plant has on the environment. KMS has delivered two UF skids. Designed to generate a total of 216 litres (57 gallons) per minute of permeate, they will be used for gray cathodic electrocoating applications. Each skid was designed by KMS to enable one spiral membrane module to be cleaned at a time during production without shutting down the system. In the past it was necessary to shut down the plant’s old unit for cleaning during nonproduction periods. ‘I have high expectations for the KPAK UF system,’ commented Mark Beckwith, Section Manager/Engineering, BMW. ‘Since beginning operations with the unit in April 2009 the plant has significantly increased its recovery rates and maintained a stable flux rate. We are successfully cleaning the spiral UF modules with the easy-to-use and operatorfriendly clean-in-place process.’ The KPAK modules feature a ‘potted spiral’ design, in which the spiral-wound membrane is secured, using epoxy, to the inside of a shell made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) – forming a single, integrated structure. The potted construction allows for zero bypass of paint or cleaning solution, resulting in maximum use of paint, excellent energy efficiency and improvements in cleaning. The increased membrane area packaged in the module creates greater turbulence during cleaning, which leads to enhanced flux recovery. Together, these features can lead to higher permeate rates, explains KMS. Contact: Koch Membrane Systems Inc, 850 Main Street, Wilmington, MA 01887-3388, USA. Tel: +1 978 694 7000, www.kochmembrane.com
Nitto Denko launches energy-saving RO membrane element
J
apan’s Nitto Denko Corp, a diversified materials company, and its wholly owned US-based water technology subsidiary Hydranautics have added a high performance and efficient model to the PROC Series of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane elements, which are used to produce pure industrial water from raw water that is heavily loaded with sodium chloride and contaminants. Designed to run under an extremely low operating pressure with ultra-low fouling, the PROC20 RO membrane element consumes as much as 30% less electrical power than the firms’ earlier PROC10 model, which was launched during 2006 and targeted the water treatment market in China. Nitto Denko plans to start full-scale commercial production of the PROC20 and, like the PROC10 model, will market it in China, where water shortages and environmental problems are expected to become increasingly serious. In China, raw water contains heavy concentrations of foulants, which means that the desired level of performance of RO membrane elements sometimes cannot be achieved. In an attempt to reduce fouling during operation, the structural design of the PROC20 includes a unique raw-water passage to make it difficult for the in-coming foulants to become trapped inside the membrane element. PROC Series RO membrane elements also have improved chemical resistance to enable them to be cleaned with chemicals that are stronger than those that are conventionally used, and use an air-purge system to swiftly discharge trapped air (between the elements and the vessel) in order to prevent the elements from being damaged. Nitto Denko projects that fiscal 2009 sales revenue for PROC20 membrane elements will reach around ¥500 million. In announcing the PROC20, Nitto Denko and Hydranautics say they will continue to expand the range of products they offer their customers by including microfiltration and ultrafiltration membrane elements for pretreatment systems, and even possibly encompassing membrane bioreactor applications, plant maintenance and administration fields, providing total coverage of the membrane-based watertreatment business sector.
August 2009
systems. Likewise, SVA-FujiFilm’s implementation of its ideals won it the GE Ecomagination Leadership Award,’ commented Zhou Weifang, President, GE Water, Greater China. SVA-FujiFilm, a joint venture between China’s SVA Electron and Japan’s Fuji Film Corp, provides colour filter products for manufacturers of large-screen thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays. Ecomagination is GE’s corporate-wide sustainable business strategy that aims to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy and a reduction in emissions. The award is given to the top one percentile of GE Water’s customers that demonstrate a significant improvement in environmental and economical performance, striking a balance between today’s environmental, industrial and sustainability challenges.
Contacts: The Dow Chemical Co, Dow Water & Process Solutions, Customer Information Center, PO Box 1206, Midland, MI 48642-1206, USA. Tel: +1 989 636 9086, www.dowwatersolutions.com, www.dow.com/liquidseps
Contact: GE Water & Process Technologies, 4636 Somerton Road, Trevose, PA 19053-6783, USA. Tel: +1 215 355 3300, www.gewater.com
Dow Customer Information Group, Prins Boudewijnlaan 41, B-2650 Edegem, Belgium. Tel: +32 3 450 2240
Industry study forecasts strong growth for membranes
GE technology helps Chinese manufacturer conserve water
T
T
echnology developed by US-based GE Water is helping SVA-FujiFilm Opto-Electronic Materials Co Ltd, based in China, to reduce tap-water consumption, wastewater discharge and operating costs. A customised water treatment system at the company’s site based in Shanghai has been operating since September 2008 and has achieved both high water quality and a raw water saving – a reduction of 15–25% in water consumption compared with other technology that is currently available. The ultra-pure water system has a capacity of 180 m3 (47 500 gallons) per hour and is the first installation of its kind for GE in mainland China. It employs the company’s licensed, high efficiency reverse osmosis (HERO) filter technology. GE Water has presented its ‘Ecomagination Leadership Award’ to the company for the effort it has made to conserve water and reduce costs. ‘SVA-FujiFilm’s desire to conserve resources and to be environment-friendly led the company to install GE Water’s ultra-pure water
August 2009
he global demand for membranes is projected to increase at a healthy 8.6% a year to reach over $15 billion in 2012, according to a an industry study published by The Freedonia Group, entitled ‘World Membrane Separation Technologies to 2012’. The US-based market research firm says that the BRIC countries and others with large, developing industrial bases and stressed local water resources are expected to post the strongest gains through the forecast period. Increased attention paid to water quality, the disposal of industrial and other waste streams, and food and beverage safety regulations will propel membrane sales. Gains in global membrane demand also will be driven by interest in water reuse and material reclamation because of the rising price of raw water and other inputs, and concerns about the environment – particularly water scarcity in many parts of the world. North America, the largest regional market, accounted for one-third of global membrane sales in 2007 and will advance a strong 8.3% annually through to 2012, predicts the study. Gains in the US market are projected to be aided by upgrades of water treatment techniques to accommodate newer water quality regulations and the use of low quality water resources in the water-stressed regions.
In Brief H2O Innovation’s Guy Goulet resigns Guy Goulet has resigned from his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of H2O Innovation Inc, a Canadian company that is exclusively dedicated to water treatment. However, he will continue to collaborate with the company in identifying and evaluating international sales and development opportunities. The firm’s directors have appointed Philippe Gervais as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors. Gervais has been a company director since December 2001 and has also served on the board’s various committees over the course of this period. Hyflux signs agreement to build desalination plants in Libya Hyflux Ltd, a water purification and fluid treatment company that is based in Singapore, has signed an agreement to build two sea-water desalination plants in Libya with General Desalination Co, the commercial arm of Libya’s Ministry of Utilities, report The Straits Times and The Business Times. According to the reports, Hyflux will construct the desalination plants in the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi. These facilities will uses its filtration pretreatment membranes and process technology to produce desalinated water. SeprOx receives commercialisation award from Texas Emerging Technology Fund In the USA, SeprOx Corp has received a preseed commercialisation award from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF). SeprOx will receive an initial investment of $0.25 million and is eligible to receive up to $1 million in total funding. The firm, which located in The Woodlands, Texas, was established in 2008 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Trans Ionics Corp to scale up and commercialise technology that is capable of separating virtually pure oxygen from air using a proprietary membrane material, under an exclusive licence from the Texas Center for Superconductivity’s Energy Materials Program at the University of Houston. Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies acquires rights to ZDD technology Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, the technology subsidiary of Veolia Water, has acquired worldwide rights to commercialise a patented, zero discharge desalination (ZDD) technology developed in the USA at the University of South Carolina by ZDD Inc. The technology uses a combination of separation processes, including an electrodialysis device, in an ion substitution mode, to remove divalent salts from water.
Membrane Technology
3
NEWS Also, a growing number of industries use membranes to reduce water use and waste disposal expenditures. Unlike many other US industries, the US membrane industry is expected to account for a larger share of global growth than China through to 2012. Canada’s membrane market is much smaller than that of the USA, but benefits from comparable industrial development, regulations and investment in water treatment technologies. The Mexican market is smaller still and much less advanced because of its lower level of investment in water and wastewater treatment, and the relative lack of industries that require ultrapure water. Still, growth will be strong as regulations tighten and investment increases, says Freedonia. In developing countries, gains are based on the continued growth of water-intensive industries, increased need to tap brackish or otherwise poor quality water resources, and rising investment in modernising water and waste infrastructure. However, in many of the least developed countries – especially in Africa and parts of South Asia – growth will be more limited because of a lack of adequate funding and local corruption that impedes progress. Much of the Middle East has invested heavily in sea-water and brackish water treatment to ensure a sufficient supply of water for drinking, agricultural and industrial purposes. Until recently, much of that came from thermal distillation plants, however, even oil-rich nations are increasingly shifting to more efficient desalination systems based on reverse osmosis membranes. Contact: The Freedonia Group, 767 Beta Drive, Cleveland OH 44143. Tel: +1 440 684 9600, www.freedoniagroup.com
KMS UF modules improve environmental performance at BMW
I
n the USA, Koch Membrane Systems Inc (KMS), a company that specialises in membrane-based filtration systems, is supplying its KPAK ultrafiltration (UF) modules for use in BMW Manufacturing Co’s expanded assembly plant based in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The UF system is used for paint recovery, paint bath control and hazardous waste minimisation at the plant’s new electrocoating and phosphating facility. The KPAK modules 4
Membrane Technology
increase the capacity of the electrocoat paint system by about 68%, says KMS. The new facility is part of a major $750-million expansion of BMW’s factory in South Carolina, which will add 139 354 m2 (1.5 million ft2) of floor area and, potentially, around 500 new jobs on-site to produce three vehicle models and increase production capacity. The KPAK UF completely replaces the plant’s existing UF unit and offers BMW several benefits compared with its old system. These include increased energy efficiency, better UF module cleaning characteristics and safe, easy installation. In addition, the KPAK UF system’s efficient operation enables paint recovery to be maintained at more than 95% within the closedloop rinse system, which lowers the load on the wastewater treatment plant, reduces ultimate disposal costs and the impact the plant has on the environment. KMS has delivered two UF skids. Designed to generate a total of 216 litres (57 gallons) per minute of permeate, they will be used for gray cathodic electrocoating applications. Each skid was designed by KMS to enable one spiral membrane module to be cleaned at a time during production without shutting down the system. In the past it was necessary to shut down the plant’s old unit for cleaning during nonproduction periods. ‘I have high expectations for the KPAK UF system,’ commented Mark Beckwith, Section Manager/Engineering, BMW. ‘Since beginning operations with the unit in April 2009 the plant has significantly increased its recovery rates and maintained a stable flux rate. We are successfully cleaning the spiral UF modules with the easy-to-use and operatorfriendly clean-in-place process.’ The KPAK modules feature a ‘potted spiral’ design, in which the spiral-wound membrane is secured, using epoxy, to the inside of a shell made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) – forming a single, integrated structure. The potted construction allows for zero bypass of paint or cleaning solution, resulting in maximum use of paint, excellent energy efficiency and improvements in cleaning. The increased membrane area packaged in the module creates greater turbulence during cleaning, which leads to enhanced flux recovery. Together, these features can lead to higher permeate rates, explains KMS. Contact: Koch Membrane Systems Inc, 850 Main Street, Wilmington, MA 01887-3388, USA. Tel: +1 978 694 7000, www.kochmembrane.com
Nitto Denko launches energy-saving RO membrane element
J
apan’s Nitto Denko Corp, a diversified materials company, and its wholly owned US-based water technology subsidiary Hydranautics have added a high performance and efficient model to the PROC Series of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane elements, which are used to produce pure industrial water from raw water that is heavily loaded with sodium chloride and contaminants. Designed to run under an extremely low operating pressure with ultra-low fouling, the PROC20 RO membrane element consumes as much as 30% less electrical power than the firms’ earlier PROC10 model, which was launched during 2006 and targeted the water treatment market in China. Nitto Denko plans to start full-scale commercial production of the PROC20 and, like the PROC10 model, will market it in China, where water shortages and environmental problems are expected to become increasingly serious. In China, raw water contains heavy concentrations of foulants, which means that the desired level of performance of RO membrane elements sometimes cannot be achieved. In an attempt to reduce fouling during operation, the structural design of the PROC20 includes a unique raw-water passage to make it difficult for the in-coming foulants to become trapped inside the membrane element. PROC Series RO membrane elements also have improved chemical resistance to enable them to be cleaned with chemicals that are stronger than those that are conventionally used, and use an air-purge system to swiftly discharge trapped air (between the elements and the vessel) in order to prevent the elements from being damaged. Nitto Denko projects that fiscal 2009 sales revenue for PROC20 membrane elements will reach around ¥500 million. In announcing the PROC20, Nitto Denko and Hydranautics say they will continue to expand the range of products they offer their customers by including microfiltration and ultrafiltration membrane elements for pretreatment systems, and even possibly encompassing membrane bioreactor applications, plant maintenance and administration fields, providing total coverage of the membrane-based watertreatment business sector.
August 2009