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Oxford develops uniform shear filtration test cell
ISSN 0958-2118 May 2003 www.filtsep.com
H2O Innovation signs agreement with Inge AG Canadian company H2O Innovation (2000) Inc has signed an agreement with Inge AG, a German developer and manufacturer of ultrafiltration hollow-fibre membrane technology for drinking water, wastewater and industrial processes. H2O Innovation says that this move will enable it to acquire knowledge and additional expertise in the development of treatment processes for the Canadian territory. The terms and conditions of the transaction will also see the company becoming an exclusive distributor in the Canadian water treatment market place for a two-year period. “The expertise acquired by Inge AG in the development of a new multi-bore hollow-fibre membrane will enhance H 2O Innovation’s ability to market products that will reduce ser-
vicing costs and the need to replace membranes, and increase operational reliability of water treatment systems through the use of virtually unbreakable fibres,” said Frédéric Dugré, executive vice-president of H 2O Innovation. Inge says that it has decided to work exclusively with the Canadian company based on its previous pilot studies in Canada. Contacts: H2O Innovation (2000) Inc, 420 Boul. Charest Est, Suite 240, Québec, QC G1K 8M4, Canada. Tel: +1 418 688 0170, Fax: +1 418 688 9259. Inge AG, Flurstrasse 17, D-86926 Greifenberg, Germany. Tel: +49 8192 997 700, Fax: +49 8192 997 999, Email: [email protected].
Oxford develops uniform shear filtration test cell In the UK, membrane technologists at Oxford University have produced what they claim is a next-generation filtration test cell that has uniform surface shear on the membrane surface. Several microfiltration and ultrafiltration studies have shown that changing the magnitude and/or direction of shear on the membrane surface can result in the reduction of concentration polarization, and an improvement in permeate flux. But shear changes are usually uncontrolled and abrupt, as in the case of gas sparging. Besides, all existing filtration devices have nonuniform shear on the membrane surface, which makes it difficult to directly link shear with permeate flux. The uniform shear test cell overcomes this problem, say the researchers. It enables fundamental research to be done on transient shear and shear reversal effects, according to an article in the European Membrane Society’s Membrane News (No. 60, December 2002, pp. 43–46). The work was presented during 2002 by S.S. Vasan, a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, in a paper (with R. Ghosh and Z.F. Cui) at the
‘International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes’ (ICOM-2002) in Toulouse, France. Vasan told Membrane Technology: “Potential applications of this test cell range from growing tissues under uniform shear to studying the aeration effects in membrane bioreactors (MBR) for wastewater treatment.” “The uniform shear test cell will be crucial for understanding the fundamentals of fouling, and will play a key role in the MBR study that has recently started as a collaboration with the School of Water Sciences at Cranfield University and others,” said Oxford’s Robert Field, who recently co-convened a workshop on ‘Membranes and the Environment’ at Oxford, to honour renowned membranologists Roger Ben Aim, Tony Fane and John Howell. A similar ‘Critical Flux Sympsoium’ will be held at Oxford on 15–16 September 2003 (see Events Calendar, page 15). Contact: The Oxford University Press Office, Oxford University, University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD, UK. Tel: +44 1865 280531.
ISSN 0958-2118 /03/$30.00 © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved This journal and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by Elsevier Ltd, and the following terms and conditions apply to their use: Photocopying Single photocopies of single articles may be made for personal use as allowed by national copyright laws. Permission of the publisher and payment of a fee is required for all other photocopying, including multiple or systematic copying, copying for advertising or promotional purposes, resale, and all forms of document delivery. Special rates are available for educational institutions that wish to make photocopies for non-profit educational classroom use.
USFilter initiates patent lawsuit USFilter has initiated a lawsuit to correct a patent covering membrane-based technology. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the patent (US 5925255) erroneously names defendant Debasish Mukhopadhyay as its sole inventor when, in fact, USFilter employee Steven Hawkins also made substantial contributions to the claimed invention and is entitled to recognition as a co-inventor. The patent, ‘Method and apparatus for high efficiency reverse osmosis operation,’ relates to a membrane-based water purification technology. Among other relief, the complaint seeks a judicial order adding Hawkins as a named inventor of the patent and USFilter as an assignee. Contact: Karole Colangelo, USFilter, 1501 E. Woodfield Road, Suite 200 West, Schaumburg, IL 60173, USA. Tel: +1 847 706 6947, Fax: +1 847 706 6933, Email: [email protected].
Contents News
1–4
Feature: Application of novel extractants for actinide(III)/ lanthanide(III) separation in hollow-fibre modules
5–7
Feature: Extraction and separation of nickel and cobalt by electrostatic pseudo liquid membrane
8–11
Patents 11–14 Featured Patent: • Sub-sea membrane separation system with temperature control 13–14 Research Trends
14–16
Events Calendar
15
H2O Innovation signs agreement with Inge AG Canadian company H2O Innovation (2000) Inc has signed an agreement with Inge AG, a German developer and manufacturer of ultrafiltration hollow-fibre membrane technology for drinking water, wastewater and industrial processes. H2O Innovation says that this move will enable it to acquire knowledge and additional expertise in the development of treatment processes for the Canadian territory. The terms and conditions of the transaction will also see the company becoming an exclusive distributor in the Canadian water treatment market place for a two-year period. “The expertise acquired by Inge AG in the development of a new multi-bore hollow-fibre membrane will enhance H 2O Innovation’s ability to market products that will reduce ser-
vicing costs and the need to replace membranes, and increase operational reliability of water treatment systems through the use of virtually unbreakable fibres,” said Frédéric Dugré, executive vice-president of H 2O Innovation. Inge says that it has decided to work exclusively with the Canadian company based on its previous pilot studies in Canada. Contacts: H2O Innovation (2000) Inc, 420 Boul. Charest Est, Suite 240, Québec, QC G1K 8M4, Canada. Tel: +1 418 688 0170, Fax: +1 418 688 9259. Inge AG, Flurstrasse 17, D-86926 Greifenberg, Germany. Tel: +49 8192 997 700, Fax: +49 8192 997 999, Email: [email protected].
Oxford develops uniform shear filtration test cell In the UK, membrane technologists at Oxford University have produced what they claim is a next-generation filtration test cell that has uniform surface shear on the membrane surface. Several microfiltration and ultrafiltration studies have shown that changing the magnitude and/or direction of shear on the membrane surface can result in the reduction of concentration polarization, and an improvement in permeate flux. But shear changes are usually uncontrolled and abrupt, as in the case of gas sparging. Besides, all existing filtration devices have nonuniform shear on the membrane surface, which makes it difficult to directly link shear with permeate flux. The uniform shear test cell overcomes this problem, say the researchers. It enables fundamental research to be done on transient shear and shear reversal effects, according to an article in the European Membrane Society’s Membrane News (No. 60, December 2002, pp. 43–46). The work was presented during 2002 by S.S. Vasan, a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, in a paper (with R. Ghosh and Z.F. Cui) at the
‘International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes’ (ICOM-2002) in Toulouse, France. Vasan told Membrane Technology: “Potential applications of this test cell range from growing tissues under uniform shear to studying the aeration effects in membrane bioreactors (MBR) for wastewater treatment.” “The uniform shear test cell will be crucial for understanding the fundamentals of fouling, and will play a key role in the MBR study that has recently started as a collaboration with the School of Water Sciences at Cranfield University and others,” said Oxford’s Robert Field, who recently co-convened a workshop on ‘Membranes and the Environment’ at Oxford, to honour renowned membranologists Roger Ben Aim, Tony Fane and John Howell. A similar ‘Critical Flux Sympsoium’ will be held at Oxford on 15–16 September 2003 (see Events Calendar, page 15). Contact: The Oxford University Press Office, Oxford University, University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD, UK. Tel: +44 1865 280531.
ISSN 0958-2118 /03/$30.00 © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved This journal and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by Elsevier Ltd, and the following terms and conditions apply to their use: Photocopying Single photocopies of single articles may be made for personal use as allowed by national copyright laws. Permission of the publisher and payment of a fee is required for all other photocopying, including multiple or systematic copying, copying for advertising or promotional purposes, resale, and all forms of document delivery. Special rates are available for educational institutions that wish to make photocopies for non-profit educational classroom use.
USFilter initiates patent lawsuit USFilter has initiated a lawsuit to correct a patent covering membrane-based technology. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the patent (US 5925255) erroneously names defendant Debasish Mukhopadhyay as its sole inventor when, in fact, USFilter employee Steven Hawkins also made substantial contributions to the claimed invention and is entitled to recognition as a co-inventor. The patent, ‘Method and apparatus for high efficiency reverse osmosis operation,’ relates to a membrane-based water purification technology. Among other relief, the complaint seeks a judicial order adding Hawkins as a named inventor of the patent and USFilter as an assignee. Contact: Karole Colangelo, USFilter, 1501 E. Woodfield Road, Suite 200 West, Schaumburg, IL 60173, USA. Tel: +1 847 706 6947, Fax: +1 847 706 6933, Email: [email protected].
Contents News
1–4
Feature: Application of novel extractants for actinide(III)/ lanthanide(III) separation in hollow-fibre modules
5–7
Feature: Extraction and separation of nickel and cobalt by electrostatic pseudo liquid membrane
8–11
Patents 11–14 Featured Patent: • Sub-sea membrane separation system with temperature control 13–14 Research Trends
14–16
Events Calendar
15