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Membrane deaeration technology is targeted at the oil and gas sector
NEWS to complete the engineering development unit hardware phase. Technologies selected to continue to the second phase will be used to develop prototype hardware with NASA support that provides up to $2 million per award for up to 24 months. The organisations selected to work on the development of advanced life-support technologies are: UÊ
-½ÃÊiÊ,iÃi>ÀV Ê iÌiÀ]Ê iÛi>`Ê (oxygen recovery from carbon dioxide using ionexchange membrane electrolysis technology); UÊ iÊ,iÃi>ÀV Ê iÌiÀÊ>ÊVLi`ÊÃ`Ê oxide co-electrolyser and carbon formation reactor system for spacecraft life support oxygen regeneration); UÊ 1 *+1Ê,iÃi>ÀV Ê ]Ê ÞÀÌiÊ Àii]Ê Oregon (continuous Bosch reactor); and UÊ 1ÛiÀÃÌÞÊvÊ/iÝ>ÃÊ>ÌÊÀ}ÌÊVÀvÕ`VÊ electrochemical reactor for oxygen recovery via carbon dioxide electrolysis). According to NASA, future “maturation” of these technologies may use the International Space Station National Laboratory as a proving ground to retire risk and gain experience with capabilities needed for deep-space exploration. Contact: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Suite 5R30, Washington, DC 20546, USA. Tel: +1 202 358 0001, www.nasa.gov
Membrane deaeration technology is targeted at the oil and gas sector
G
lobal water treatment specialist Water Standard has launched its compact Membrane Deaeration (MDA) product line for use in water-flooding, improved oil recovery (IOR) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications. The company formed a partnership with Membrana as an original equipment manufacturer to enable it to use Liqui-Cel membrane contactors. It says that it successfully piloted the technology in continuous sea-water trials resulting in a proprietary system which, compared with vacuum towers, requires 50% less space and is lighter in weight, whilst removing oxygen more efficiently. ‘We are excited about delivering this stateof-the-art, proven technology to the oil and gas industry. MDA is a superior technology compared with conventional vacuum towers and can be used in multiple applications, including deaerating produced water,’ said Amanda Brock, CEO, Water Standard. 4
Membrane Technology
Lisa Henthorne, CTO, Water Standard, added: ‘The MDA pilot unit produced approximately 5000 barrels per day of deaerated sea water and operated without chemical oxygen scavenging, scaling or fouling of the membranes for an extended period.’ ‘The pilot evaluated operating and design parameters, such as sea-water flow-rate, level of pre-filtration, and nitrogen sweep rate. Throughout pilot testing the MDA unit consistently achieved less than 10 ppb of dissolved oxygen in the treated water, without chemical addition. This compares very favourably with vacuum towers, which normally achieve 50–100 ppb and require additional oxygen scavenging chemicals.’
operating the Gwangyang East Revetment desalination systems, POSCO E & C says it is now planning to enter overseas desalination markets, including the Middle East and Latin America, as well as strengthening its position domestically.
Contact: Water Standard, 4265 San Felipe, Suite 620 Houston, TX 77027, USA. Tel: +1 713 400 4777, www.waterstandard.com
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POSCO E & C completes Korea’s first commercial desalination plant
K
orea’s POSCO Engineering & Construction Ltd (POSCO E&C) has recently completed the construction of what it claims is the nation’s first and largest commercial sea-water desalination plant. The company implemented the Gwangyang East Revetment Desalination Water Supply Project to create a stable supply of good quality water for its steel mill in Gwangyang and secure water resources for the city. The plant, completed through the engineering, procurement and construction method, will supply approximately 30 000 tons of industrial water a day. This capacity represents 13% of the industrial water supplied to the Gwangyang mill daily. According to POSCO, this project has employed a patented method for directly coupling ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) as well as low-energy RO desalination technology using rainwater blending, which was certified as a new technology by the Ministry of Environment – reducing construction and operation costs. In addition, it has applied a sea-water RO (SWRO) process (based on an internal staged design) to increase the recovery rate from 40–45% to 50–55%, consequently reducing investment costs dramatically. Drawing on its experience in developing desalination technologies, and constructing and
Contact: POSCO Corp, 180 Daesong-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. Tel: +82 54 223 61145 www.poscoenc.com/eng
Nipro introduces first dialyser in USA without BPA or DEHP ipro Medical Corp used Kidney Week 2014, which was held recently in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, as an opportunity to launch its next-generation Elisio Polynephron single-use, high-flux, hollow-fibre dialyser. The company – the subsidiary of Japanese dialyser designer and manufacturer Nipro Corp responsible for selling and marketing products in North & South America – says this is a superior version of the Elisio dialyser that was launched in 2014. Both the housing and the membrane are made from materials that do not contain bisphenol A (BPA) and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). According to the firm, the Polynephron membrane has outstanding solute-removal performance – resulting in superior clearances for better patient outcomes. ‘We have taken a dialyser that delivers excellent clearance and reduced thrombogenicity, and improved it by eliminating any BPA or DEHP,’ explained Joe Dawson, Senior Vice President, Nipro North America. ‘Both chemicals are known endocrine disruptors. There are many published studies showing that endocrine disruptors cause adverse effects in animals. As a company that is focused on making products that improve the lives of patients we are excited that we now have a dialyser that can do that.’ The dialyser is based on advanced pore-spinning technology which, says Nipro Medical, creates more homogenous pore sizes to optimise sieving properties and improve middle molecule clearance. In addition, the unique ripple structure in the fibre creates less dialysate channelling – promoting better diffusive transport whilst enhancing small molecule clearances, and reducing the risk of fibre leakage. The new polypropylene (PP) housing is also around 25% lighter than currently available dialysers, thus making disposal and transportation more cost-effective. It also generates 25% less
January 2015
-½ÃÊiÊ,iÃi>ÀV Ê iÌiÀ]Ê iÛi>`Ê (oxygen recovery from carbon dioxide using ionexchange membrane electrolysis technology); UÊ iÊ,iÃi>ÀV Ê iÌiÀÊ>ÊVLi`ÊÃ`Ê oxide co-electrolyser and carbon formation reactor system for spacecraft life support oxygen regeneration); UÊ 1 *+1Ê,iÃi>ÀV Ê ]Ê ÞÀÌiÊ Àii]Ê Oregon (continuous Bosch reactor); and UÊ 1ÛiÀÃÌÞÊvÊ/iÝ>ÃÊ>ÌÊÀ}ÌÊVÀvÕ`VÊ electrochemical reactor for oxygen recovery via carbon dioxide electrolysis). According to NASA, future “maturation” of these technologies may use the International Space Station National Laboratory as a proving ground to retire risk and gain experience with capabilities needed for deep-space exploration. Contact: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Suite 5R30, Washington, DC 20546, USA. Tel: +1 202 358 0001, www.nasa.gov
Membrane deaeration technology is targeted at the oil and gas sector
G
lobal water treatment specialist Water Standard has launched its compact Membrane Deaeration (MDA) product line for use in water-flooding, improved oil recovery (IOR) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications. The company formed a partnership with Membrana as an original equipment manufacturer to enable it to use Liqui-Cel membrane contactors. It says that it successfully piloted the technology in continuous sea-water trials resulting in a proprietary system which, compared with vacuum towers, requires 50% less space and is lighter in weight, whilst removing oxygen more efficiently. ‘We are excited about delivering this stateof-the-art, proven technology to the oil and gas industry. MDA is a superior technology compared with conventional vacuum towers and can be used in multiple applications, including deaerating produced water,’ said Amanda Brock, CEO, Water Standard. 4
Membrane Technology
Lisa Henthorne, CTO, Water Standard, added: ‘The MDA pilot unit produced approximately 5000 barrels per day of deaerated sea water and operated without chemical oxygen scavenging, scaling or fouling of the membranes for an extended period.’ ‘The pilot evaluated operating and design parameters, such as sea-water flow-rate, level of pre-filtration, and nitrogen sweep rate. Throughout pilot testing the MDA unit consistently achieved less than 10 ppb of dissolved oxygen in the treated water, without chemical addition. This compares very favourably with vacuum towers, which normally achieve 50–100 ppb and require additional oxygen scavenging chemicals.’
operating the Gwangyang East Revetment desalination systems, POSCO E & C says it is now planning to enter overseas desalination markets, including the Middle East and Latin America, as well as strengthening its position domestically.
Contact: Water Standard, 4265 San Felipe, Suite 620 Houston, TX 77027, USA. Tel: +1 713 400 4777, www.waterstandard.com
N
POSCO E & C completes Korea’s first commercial desalination plant
K
orea’s POSCO Engineering & Construction Ltd (POSCO E&C) has recently completed the construction of what it claims is the nation’s first and largest commercial sea-water desalination plant. The company implemented the Gwangyang East Revetment Desalination Water Supply Project to create a stable supply of good quality water for its steel mill in Gwangyang and secure water resources for the city. The plant, completed through the engineering, procurement and construction method, will supply approximately 30 000 tons of industrial water a day. This capacity represents 13% of the industrial water supplied to the Gwangyang mill daily. According to POSCO, this project has employed a patented method for directly coupling ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) as well as low-energy RO desalination technology using rainwater blending, which was certified as a new technology by the Ministry of Environment – reducing construction and operation costs. In addition, it has applied a sea-water RO (SWRO) process (based on an internal staged design) to increase the recovery rate from 40–45% to 50–55%, consequently reducing investment costs dramatically. Drawing on its experience in developing desalination technologies, and constructing and
Contact: POSCO Corp, 180 Daesong-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. Tel: +82 54 223 61145 www.poscoenc.com/eng
Nipro introduces first dialyser in USA without BPA or DEHP ipro Medical Corp used Kidney Week 2014, which was held recently in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, as an opportunity to launch its next-generation Elisio Polynephron single-use, high-flux, hollow-fibre dialyser. The company – the subsidiary of Japanese dialyser designer and manufacturer Nipro Corp responsible for selling and marketing products in North & South America – says this is a superior version of the Elisio dialyser that was launched in 2014. Both the housing and the membrane are made from materials that do not contain bisphenol A (BPA) and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). According to the firm, the Polynephron membrane has outstanding solute-removal performance – resulting in superior clearances for better patient outcomes. ‘We have taken a dialyser that delivers excellent clearance and reduced thrombogenicity, and improved it by eliminating any BPA or DEHP,’ explained Joe Dawson, Senior Vice President, Nipro North America. ‘Both chemicals are known endocrine disruptors. There are many published studies showing that endocrine disruptors cause adverse effects in animals. As a company that is focused on making products that improve the lives of patients we are excited that we now have a dialyser that can do that.’ The dialyser is based on advanced pore-spinning technology which, says Nipro Medical, creates more homogenous pore sizes to optimise sieving properties and improve middle molecule clearance. In addition, the unique ripple structure in the fibre creates less dialysate channelling – promoting better diffusive transport whilst enhancing small molecule clearances, and reducing the risk of fibre leakage. The new polypropylene (PP) housing is also around 25% lighter than currently available dialysers, thus making disposal and transportation more cost-effective. It also generates 25% less
January 2015