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New product developments
Filtration Industry Analyst
NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTS • UK-based Clearwater Group has developed a range of coolant recovery systems which can extend coolant service life and reduce tooling expenditure dramatically, claims the company. The different machines comprising the range are referred to as the workshop system, which offers throughputs from 20 litres/h, the dedicated factory system, rated at 2000 litres/h to 30 000 litres/h, and the high capacity system, capable of throughputs in excess of 30 000 litres/h). The technologies used in these systems include vertical gravity separation and hydrocyclones. • International separations technology company Whatman Inc has launched the Polydisc GW, a ready-to-use in-line disc filter that can be used to prepare ground water samples for the analysis of dissolved heavy metals. With its pre-rinsed, hydrophilic cellulose acetate membrane, the Polydisc GW filter has been specially developed for sample filtration in trace analysis. Housed in a polypropylene material, the filter meets the regulations set out by the US Environmental Protection Agency and by NEN in Europe, for samples used to analyse dissolved or suspended metals in ground water. • USFilter Stranco Products of Bradley, Illinois, USA, has introduced the PolyBlend M1200 Series liquid polymer feed system for belt filter press applications. The system can be used in areas that involve drinking water or wastewater, and in the municipal or industrial
sectors. The system is capable of handling a dilution water flow rate of 227-4542 litres (60-1200 gallons) per hour, and can be paired with a variety of polymer pump types, including electronic diaphragm, gear and progressive cavity. Compatible with most types of 2 m belt filter presses, the polymer system is also offered with a unique set of controls, including a polymer dosage controller option. • Millipore Corp of Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, has introduced an isolator version of its Steritest Equinox pump for sterility testing applications. According to the company, the pump has been optimised for use with its Steritest and Steritest EZ sterility testing devices, and it delivers consistent testing in a secure environment and reduces overall testing time. The software-controlled peristaltic pump can be installed in both glove and half-suit isolators, giving laboratory technicians a safe and uniform way of transferring drug samples from various packaging formats to the Steritest and Steritest EZ testing devices, claims Millipore. • Now available from US company Agilent Technologies Inc is a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) system that features a novel user-interface that allows application methods to be shared electronically. Using the Agilent 5975 Inert MSD, which is the next generation of the 5973 Inert MSD benchtop GC/MS systems, eliminates the need to manually create an application method on new instrumentation, and it
accelerates the transfer and standardization of methods across laboratories, says the company. Using a process called eMethods, researchers can download new applications from Agilent’s website and import them directly into the instrument. It also allow analysts to transfer their existing 5973 Series mass selective detector (MSD) methods to the new 5975 inert MSD with a simple software upgrade. • Developer and manufacture of high performance fibrebased materials Ahlstrom Corp has commissioned a new production line at its plant in Turin, Italy. It is dedicated to making what the company describes as Fine Fiber nonwoven materials. The facilty uses a manufacturing process that is based on a custom meltspinning technology which has been developed to produce materials with unique characteristics, says Ahlstrom. With the ability to use multiple polymers as well as create multi-layer and calendered products, this line will give Ahlstrom great flexibility to serve multiple applications, and particularly the growing air and liquid filtration markets. According to Ahlstrom, where traditional meltblown technology produces most fibres above 1 µm, its Fine Fiber technology produces a much higher proportion of fibres in the submicron range. This greater number of finer fibres helps to increase filtration efficiency while maintaining performance. • Hydranautics of Oceanside, California, USA, has introduced the ESNA1-LF2 and ESPA-B membrane elements based on energy saving nanofiltration (ESNA) technology. The new ESNA1-LF2 elements are
designed to provide high rejection of natural organic materials and moderate rejection of total hardness, while running below 0.7 MPa (100 psi), the company says. ESNA1-LF2 provide 29.5 m3 (7800 gallons) per day of flow at 80% nominal calcium chloride rejection. Ideal for treating highorganic well water, the membranes are installed in five major facilities in Florida including the Boca Raton plant. Rated at 151 400 m3 (40 million gallons) per day, the company claims that this is the largest nanofiltration plant in the world. Hydranautics' new ESPA-B element combines high boron rejection with energy saving polyamide (ESPA) technology. According to the company, the ESPA-B element will be of interest to communities where boron levels are naturally high or to manufacturers that are challenged by boron contamination issues. • Porostar, a multi-layered, sintered, wire mesh disc filter, is now being offered by US company WS Tyler. The filter packs feature stackable discs to obtain specific flow requirements. The one-piece constructed disc filters are manufactured from 316 stainless steel, making them highly resistant to corrosion and allowing them to operate at high temperatures, the company claims. The individual discs create a selfsupporting filter with no media migration and the unique disc filter allows material to flow from one or both sides to a common central tube. They also can be used in rotating filter assemblies to keep the filter surfaces clean, WS Taylor says. Typical applications include sump filters, process filters, self-cleaning rotating filters and horizontal or vertical plate filters.
13
NPD
June 2005
NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTS • UK-based Clearwater Group has developed a range of coolant recovery systems which can extend coolant service life and reduce tooling expenditure dramatically, claims the company. The different machines comprising the range are referred to as the workshop system, which offers throughputs from 20 litres/h, the dedicated factory system, rated at 2000 litres/h to 30 000 litres/h, and the high capacity system, capable of throughputs in excess of 30 000 litres/h). The technologies used in these systems include vertical gravity separation and hydrocyclones. • International separations technology company Whatman Inc has launched the Polydisc GW, a ready-to-use in-line disc filter that can be used to prepare ground water samples for the analysis of dissolved heavy metals. With its pre-rinsed, hydrophilic cellulose acetate membrane, the Polydisc GW filter has been specially developed for sample filtration in trace analysis. Housed in a polypropylene material, the filter meets the regulations set out by the US Environmental Protection Agency and by NEN in Europe, for samples used to analyse dissolved or suspended metals in ground water. • USFilter Stranco Products of Bradley, Illinois, USA, has introduced the PolyBlend M1200 Series liquid polymer feed system for belt filter press applications. The system can be used in areas that involve drinking water or wastewater, and in the municipal or industrial
sectors. The system is capable of handling a dilution water flow rate of 227-4542 litres (60-1200 gallons) per hour, and can be paired with a variety of polymer pump types, including electronic diaphragm, gear and progressive cavity. Compatible with most types of 2 m belt filter presses, the polymer system is also offered with a unique set of controls, including a polymer dosage controller option. • Millipore Corp of Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, has introduced an isolator version of its Steritest Equinox pump for sterility testing applications. According to the company, the pump has been optimised for use with its Steritest and Steritest EZ sterility testing devices, and it delivers consistent testing in a secure environment and reduces overall testing time. The software-controlled peristaltic pump can be installed in both glove and half-suit isolators, giving laboratory technicians a safe and uniform way of transferring drug samples from various packaging formats to the Steritest and Steritest EZ testing devices, claims Millipore. • Now available from US company Agilent Technologies Inc is a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) system that features a novel user-interface that allows application methods to be shared electronically. Using the Agilent 5975 Inert MSD, which is the next generation of the 5973 Inert MSD benchtop GC/MS systems, eliminates the need to manually create an application method on new instrumentation, and it
accelerates the transfer and standardization of methods across laboratories, says the company. Using a process called eMethods, researchers can download new applications from Agilent’s website and import them directly into the instrument. It also allow analysts to transfer their existing 5973 Series mass selective detector (MSD) methods to the new 5975 inert MSD with a simple software upgrade. • Developer and manufacture of high performance fibrebased materials Ahlstrom Corp has commissioned a new production line at its plant in Turin, Italy. It is dedicated to making what the company describes as Fine Fiber nonwoven materials. The facilty uses a manufacturing process that is based on a custom meltspinning technology which has been developed to produce materials with unique characteristics, says Ahlstrom. With the ability to use multiple polymers as well as create multi-layer and calendered products, this line will give Ahlstrom great flexibility to serve multiple applications, and particularly the growing air and liquid filtration markets. According to Ahlstrom, where traditional meltblown technology produces most fibres above 1 µm, its Fine Fiber technology produces a much higher proportion of fibres in the submicron range. This greater number of finer fibres helps to increase filtration efficiency while maintaining performance. • Hydranautics of Oceanside, California, USA, has introduced the ESNA1-LF2 and ESPA-B membrane elements based on energy saving nanofiltration (ESNA) technology. The new ESNA1-LF2 elements are
designed to provide high rejection of natural organic materials and moderate rejection of total hardness, while running below 0.7 MPa (100 psi), the company says. ESNA1-LF2 provide 29.5 m3 (7800 gallons) per day of flow at 80% nominal calcium chloride rejection. Ideal for treating highorganic well water, the membranes are installed in five major facilities in Florida including the Boca Raton plant. Rated at 151 400 m3 (40 million gallons) per day, the company claims that this is the largest nanofiltration plant in the world. Hydranautics' new ESPA-B element combines high boron rejection with energy saving polyamide (ESPA) technology. According to the company, the ESPA-B element will be of interest to communities where boron levels are naturally high or to manufacturers that are challenged by boron contamination issues. • Porostar, a multi-layered, sintered, wire mesh disc filter, is now being offered by US company WS Tyler. The filter packs feature stackable discs to obtain specific flow requirements. The one-piece constructed disc filters are manufactured from 316 stainless steel, making them highly resistant to corrosion and allowing them to operate at high temperatures, the company claims. The individual discs create a selfsupporting filter with no media migration and the unique disc filter allows material to flow from one or both sides to a common central tube. They also can be used in rotating filter assemblies to keep the filter surfaces clean, WS Taylor says. Typical applications include sump filters, process filters, self-cleaning rotating filters and horizontal or vertical plate filters.
13
NPD
June 2005