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Profile - Zenon Environmental Inc
Feature
Profile- Zenon Environmental Inc From small beginnings offering engineering expertise to solve environmental problems, Zenon Environmental Inc, of Ontario, Canada, has grown to become, in the company's own words - the only company in Canada to specialise in development of membrane technology for water treatment and other environmental applications based on ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis. The growing versatility of membrane separation technology has enabled the company to become a powerful force in effluent clean-up, introducing systems which are not only effective but also cost effective. Some years ago Zenon Environmental Inc, Burlington, Ontario, had been called in to provide process engineering and laboratory services to develop a process to eliminate PCBs from the effluent of a steel mill belonging to Stelpipe, a unit of Stelco Inc, formerly Steel Company of Canada. Following the successful completion of this project, Zenon were then asked to develop a system to treat oily wastewater at one of the company's tube mills. After pilot studies, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis were identified as the optimum solution, and the rest, as they say, is history. Zenon now claims to be the only company in Canada specialising in membrane based liquid waste clean-up, with substantial manufacturing and R & D facilities at the Burlington headquarters. To develop its current range of expertise it has formed partnerships in R & D with Lyonnaise des Eaux in France and Danisco in Denmark. In addition, Zenon has entered distribution partnerships with Corning and Betz in the USA and with Kurita in Japan. The group has established long term service agreements with Ontario Waste Management Corp and with the government of British Columbia in water purification. The company's view of the future is that membrane technology is advancing more rapidly than any other separation technology and its growing
Membrane Technology
versatility offers greatest potential for solving water management problems in the 1990s and beyond. Through the subsidiary Zenon Water Systems, the company has established itself as a leader in the field of water technology, combining membrane processes with ion exchange, physical adsorption and biodegradation to achieve virtually any standards required for elimination of contamination. Membrane based systems are relatively cheap, involve no added chemicals and, in conjunction with other proven technologies, need produce no sludge and can guarantee effluent quality totally. Among the company's current
portfolio of successful projects are included a treatment system for oily wastes for General Motors, recovery of organic solvents for IBM, and the production of ultrapure water for hospitals, medical centres and pharmaceutical laboratories. The company says it has installed thousands of systems in North America, and also in Europe and the Far East. The latest treatment system for oily wastes at Stelpipe's Welland tube mill involves ultrafiltration with secondary reverse osmosis for polishing. Effluent from the treatment unit meets new standards for sewage discharge, and therefore a substantial portion of the treated wastewater can be disposed into the Niagara Regional sanitary sewer system, minimising the cost of further treatment and/or waste haulage. The General Motors plant at Oshawa, Ontario, has had Zenon systems installed since the 1970s for treatment of a variety of oily wastes. Four separate systems are installed, to deal with various types of waste, which have substantially reduced the volumes of wastewater which would have been discharged. Now, a joint development project with engineers at General Motors in the US has resulted in an integrated system using
Capacities of Zenon's RO, UF and MF Series
Reverse Osmosis
gal./min,
litres/min.
WM
0.5
2 - 15
Series
- 4
SF Series
1 - 8
4 - 32
MF Series
8 - 62
30 - 236
LF Series
60 - 250
228 - 950
UFSF Series
0.2 - 2
0.8 - 8
UFMF
2 - 8
8 - 30
8 - 30
30 - 114
Ultrafiltrstion
Series
UFLF Series
Microfiltration MFSF
Series
0.8 - 8
3 - 30
MFMF
Series
8 - 200
30 - 762
11
Feature
membranes and biological treatment, to produce a treated effluent suitable for recycle and reducing sludge by 90%. In another liquid, but essentially non-aqueous, application, the system developed for IBM recovers powerful organic solvents used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards. Ultra filtration removes microcontaminants from the solvent, thus purifying it for recycle. Zenon's reputation in ultrapure water goes back to the early 1980s at a large hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. The original water system serving the dialysis unit and twenty research laboratories was completely removed and a Zenon membrane based purification loop installed in its place. The company's support services enabled a guarantee of water quality to be made for the entire life of the plant. Although the company supplies reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration membrane systems for small scale applications, industrial applications are catered for with large scale modules. For example the Zeno/ RO MF series is capable of outputs up to 62 gal/min (90,000 gal/day), with removal of 95% of dissolved solids. A double-pass, spiral wound arrangement is available up to 30 gal/min (43,000 gal/day) where highest water purity is required. The Zeno/UR
Comparative costs, North American conditions - source: Zenon Ultrafiltration vs. Oily Waste Disposal $25. =~ .8 "6 $20.
~
................
~ ]
Disposal
$15,
.c_ o $10.
~ m
E $5.
¢0 o
U
$0. 7.5
15 30 45 Monthly Disposal Volume in thousands of gallons I month
ReverseOsmosisvs. Ion Exchange $600. I
Reverse Osmosis
5500.
4
8 "5 $400.
~ $300.
2 - $200.
8 $~oo. ~-
$o. Year 1
Year2 Year3 Year4 Year 5 Five year operatingand capitalcost comparisonon a 100 GPM (US) System.
range of ultrafiltration modules is available up to 1,000 gal/min. The company produces its own membranes, specified to operate up to 80°C and beyond, from a range of synthetic polymers. The operational benefits of membrane systems are well known - no moving parts and
little maintenance, unlike most filtration systems - and Zenon says that the low energy consumption means that systems usually pay out in less than 2 years, compared to other competing processes, based on North American economic parameters. B
Summary of ultrapure water standards - source: Zenon
ASTM Type I Type II T y p e III T y p e IV CAP Type I T y p e II T y p e III NCCLS Type I T y p e II T y p e III USP XXl Purified Water or WFI*
Resistivity
Total
Matter
Megohm-cm
mg/I
(max)
Silica p,g/I (max)
(minimum) 16.67 1.0 1.0 0.2 10.0 2.0 0.1 10.0 2.0 O. 1
0.1 O. 1 1.0 2.0 -------
ND ND 10 -50 1 O0 1000 50 1 O0 1000
--
1.0
--
KMN04 Retention
pH
Time
(minutes)
Culture/
Particle
Colony Count
Filter
(cfu/ml)
(Micron)
60
--
--
--
60
--
--
--
10
6.2 - 7.5 5.0 - 8.0
-__
~ __
10
-
10
--
5.0
- 8.0
10 4 --
---
-__
-__
-10
- 8.0
--
--
5,0 - 7.0
--
0.45
5,0
lO 103
-
0.2
0.2 --
*Must also be free of c o p p e r a n d ammonia less t h a n 0.3 mg/l.
12
Membrane Technology
Profile- Zenon Environmental Inc From small beginnings offering engineering expertise to solve environmental problems, Zenon Environmental Inc, of Ontario, Canada, has grown to become, in the company's own words - the only company in Canada to specialise in development of membrane technology for water treatment and other environmental applications based on ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis. The growing versatility of membrane separation technology has enabled the company to become a powerful force in effluent clean-up, introducing systems which are not only effective but also cost effective. Some years ago Zenon Environmental Inc, Burlington, Ontario, had been called in to provide process engineering and laboratory services to develop a process to eliminate PCBs from the effluent of a steel mill belonging to Stelpipe, a unit of Stelco Inc, formerly Steel Company of Canada. Following the successful completion of this project, Zenon were then asked to develop a system to treat oily wastewater at one of the company's tube mills. After pilot studies, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis were identified as the optimum solution, and the rest, as they say, is history. Zenon now claims to be the only company in Canada specialising in membrane based liquid waste clean-up, with substantial manufacturing and R & D facilities at the Burlington headquarters. To develop its current range of expertise it has formed partnerships in R & D with Lyonnaise des Eaux in France and Danisco in Denmark. In addition, Zenon has entered distribution partnerships with Corning and Betz in the USA and with Kurita in Japan. The group has established long term service agreements with Ontario Waste Management Corp and with the government of British Columbia in water purification. The company's view of the future is that membrane technology is advancing more rapidly than any other separation technology and its growing
Membrane Technology
versatility offers greatest potential for solving water management problems in the 1990s and beyond. Through the subsidiary Zenon Water Systems, the company has established itself as a leader in the field of water technology, combining membrane processes with ion exchange, physical adsorption and biodegradation to achieve virtually any standards required for elimination of contamination. Membrane based systems are relatively cheap, involve no added chemicals and, in conjunction with other proven technologies, need produce no sludge and can guarantee effluent quality totally. Among the company's current
portfolio of successful projects are included a treatment system for oily wastes for General Motors, recovery of organic solvents for IBM, and the production of ultrapure water for hospitals, medical centres and pharmaceutical laboratories. The company says it has installed thousands of systems in North America, and also in Europe and the Far East. The latest treatment system for oily wastes at Stelpipe's Welland tube mill involves ultrafiltration with secondary reverse osmosis for polishing. Effluent from the treatment unit meets new standards for sewage discharge, and therefore a substantial portion of the treated wastewater can be disposed into the Niagara Regional sanitary sewer system, minimising the cost of further treatment and/or waste haulage. The General Motors plant at Oshawa, Ontario, has had Zenon systems installed since the 1970s for treatment of a variety of oily wastes. Four separate systems are installed, to deal with various types of waste, which have substantially reduced the volumes of wastewater which would have been discharged. Now, a joint development project with engineers at General Motors in the US has resulted in an integrated system using
Capacities of Zenon's RO, UF and MF Series
Reverse Osmosis
gal./min,
litres/min.
WM
0.5
2 - 15
Series
- 4
SF Series
1 - 8
4 - 32
MF Series
8 - 62
30 - 236
LF Series
60 - 250
228 - 950
UFSF Series
0.2 - 2
0.8 - 8
UFMF
2 - 8
8 - 30
8 - 30
30 - 114
Ultrafiltrstion
Series
UFLF Series
Microfiltration MFSF
Series
0.8 - 8
3 - 30
MFMF
Series
8 - 200
30 - 762
11
Feature
membranes and biological treatment, to produce a treated effluent suitable for recycle and reducing sludge by 90%. In another liquid, but essentially non-aqueous, application, the system developed for IBM recovers powerful organic solvents used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards. Ultra filtration removes microcontaminants from the solvent, thus purifying it for recycle. Zenon's reputation in ultrapure water goes back to the early 1980s at a large hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. The original water system serving the dialysis unit and twenty research laboratories was completely removed and a Zenon membrane based purification loop installed in its place. The company's support services enabled a guarantee of water quality to be made for the entire life of the plant. Although the company supplies reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration membrane systems for small scale applications, industrial applications are catered for with large scale modules. For example the Zeno/ RO MF series is capable of outputs up to 62 gal/min (90,000 gal/day), with removal of 95% of dissolved solids. A double-pass, spiral wound arrangement is available up to 30 gal/min (43,000 gal/day) where highest water purity is required. The Zeno/UR
Comparative costs, North American conditions - source: Zenon Ultrafiltration vs. Oily Waste Disposal $25. =~ .8 "6 $20.
~
................
~ ]
Disposal
$15,
.c_ o $10.
~ m
E $5.
¢0 o
U
$0. 7.5
15 30 45 Monthly Disposal Volume in thousands of gallons I month
ReverseOsmosisvs. Ion Exchange $600. I
Reverse Osmosis
5500.
4
8 "5 $400.
~ $300.
2 - $200.
8 $~oo. ~-
$o. Year 1
Year2 Year3 Year4 Year 5 Five year operatingand capitalcost comparisonon a 100 GPM (US) System.
range of ultrafiltration modules is available up to 1,000 gal/min. The company produces its own membranes, specified to operate up to 80°C and beyond, from a range of synthetic polymers. The operational benefits of membrane systems are well known - no moving parts and
little maintenance, unlike most filtration systems - and Zenon says that the low energy consumption means that systems usually pay out in less than 2 years, compared to other competing processes, based on North American economic parameters. B
Summary of ultrapure water standards - source: Zenon
ASTM Type I Type II T y p e III T y p e IV CAP Type I T y p e II T y p e III NCCLS Type I T y p e II T y p e III USP XXl Purified Water or WFI*
Resistivity
Total
Matter
Megohm-cm
mg/I
(max)
Silica p,g/I (max)
(minimum) 16.67 1.0 1.0 0.2 10.0 2.0 0.1 10.0 2.0 O. 1
0.1 O. 1 1.0 2.0 -------
ND ND 10 -50 1 O0 1000 50 1 O0 1000
--
1.0
--
KMN04 Retention
pH
Time
(minutes)
Culture/
Particle
Colony Count
Filter
(cfu/ml)
(Micron)
60
--
--
--
60
--
--
--
10
6.2 - 7.5 5.0 - 8.0
-__
~ __
10
-
10
--
5.0
- 8.0
10 4 --
---
-__
-__
-10
- 8.0
--
--
5,0 - 7.0
--
0.45
5,0
lO 103
-
0.2
0.2 --
*Must also be free of c o p p e r a n d ammonia less t h a n 0.3 mg/l.
12
Membrane Technology