- Email: [email protected]
Sidney Loeb collection
Journal of Membrane Science 339 (2009) 1–4
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Membrane Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/memsci
Letters to the Editor Sidney Loeb collection
The Journal of Membrane Science publishes “Letters to the Editor” infrequently—the journal has always focused on archival publication of scientific and technical advances in the field of membrane science and technology. The current issue of the journal has seven letters that were submitted in response to my invitation to the community to offer their personal perspectives on Sidney Loeb who recently passed away. These Letters are well worth your reading. Sidney Loeb was truly one of the “fathers of membrane science”—these letters provide a wonderful reminiscence and fascinating insights into Sidney’s life and wide-ranging contributions. Andrew Zydney Editor-in-Chief I first met Sid Loeb in the fall of 1960. Earlier that year, the group he was working with in the Chemical Engineering Department at UCLA had published an interim report, UCLA 60-60, describing some work they had carried out in the then new field of reverse osmosis. They had achieved some very promising results using a new RO membrane that Sid and his co-worker Srinavasa Sourirajan had invented. Using simulated seawater in an RO unit they had devised and built, they achieved water fluxes of 10 gallons per square foot of membrane area per day, with salt rejections of over 98%. That report found its way to the director of research at the company where I was employed at the time, General Atomic Co. in San Diego, CA. The report was passed around our lab and it elicited enough interest in my boss at the time, Ulrich Merten, that he suggested that we go to UCLA and check it out. And so it was that my co-worker, Bob Riley, and I drove up to Los Angeles to visit Sid and his lab. We were total strangers but Sid was more than gracious, and he demonstrated for us how he made the
0376-7388/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2009.05.001
great new membrane, and how he tested it in his RO apparatus. He also initiated what turned into a lifelong friendship. Sid was then a 43-year-old graduate student in chemical engineering. He knew he had a breakthrough on his hands—there was even talk in the Los Angeles newspapers of “making the deserts bloom” with RO. While that still has not happened, RO has become a huge industry, and the breakthrough in membrane technology has spawned an entirely new membrane industry, reaching into all aspects of membrane technology. My friend, Tony Fane, recently retired from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, has shared with me some marketing data that he has assembled. The combined membrane industry market worldwide now totals some $8.3 billion (U.S.) annually, with $3.0 billion coming from the water treatment industry, $3.5 billion from biomedical applications, and more than $1 billion from other applications. What the world found out later was that the Loeb team had made a kind of composite membrane, with an extremely thin skin and a micro-porous substructure. That invention led to numerous related inventions, including John Cadotte’s interfacially polymerized thin film composite membrane. It is no exaggeration to say that Sid is the father of modern membrane technology. Sid remained active in the membrane field for the rest of his life, even well beyond “retirement.” When I started the Journal of Membrane Science in 1975, Sid was an original member of the editorial board, and he remained on the board throughout my tenure as editor. He even contributed two papers to Volume 1 of the Journal. But Sid also became a good and trusted friend. I knew him to be a gentle and even humble man, in spite of his accomplishments and awards. He always believed in the importance of shared knowledge for the advancement of science and technology. While he and Sourirajan received a U.S. Patent (No. 3,133,132) for their invention in 1964, I do not believe that either of them (nor their university) ever received a cent in royalties. Sid emigrated to Israel in 1967, married his wife, Mickey, and settled in Omer, near Beersheva. I once visited them there and they insisted on putting me up for the night. Our phone conversations have gone on for decades. And whenever he and Mickey visited the West coast, we made it a point to share a meal, usually with old friends Ulrich Merten, Bob Riley, and their wives. One time, when we asked Sid to consult for us at Bend Research, the company I co-founded in Oregon, we posed a tough technical question to him. Never a pontificator, Sid responded, “I’ll tell you what I think, but you should understand that some competent people disagree with me.” I will miss his candor, his humility, and his friendship. Sid’s friends will be comforted to know that he died peacefully in his sleep at age 91. Harry Lonsdale Founding Editor, Journal of Membrane Science Sisters, Oregon
2
Letters to the Editor / Journal of Membrane Science 339 (2009) 1–4
Most if not all readers of the JMS are familiar with the LoebSourirajan Reverse Osmosis membrane and certainly with the term Reverse Osmosis itself. For the younger readers Loeb-Sourirajan may designate a membrane, not two people, and RO a well known technical term and not a rather odd combination of words coined as a consequence of a series of exciting and successful experiments. For me these always were very real people. In Prof. Sidney Loeb’s spirit, this is a moment to wish Prof. Sourirajan all the best for many years to come. Sid often talked about his colleagues and never allowed anyone to mention his achievements in RO without adding “with Sourirajan”. Sid came to Israel about 40 years ago on a UNESCO mission and with his usual energy he started immediately to build a RO desalination unit in kibbutz Yotveta, the second ever, following the Coalinga plant. The casting of the asymmetric cellulose acetate membranes was carried out in his lab and the 200 m3 of desalted water produced per day were received with amazement, joy, and caution, but we all know what happened since. Sid decided to stay in Israel, teaching and working at the Ben Gurion University in Beer-Sheva, with his laboratory in the Institute for Desert Research, where desalination already was an important R&D topic. For some time the improvement of the cellulose acetate membranes and ways for scaling-up the technology were his main concern, but once he realized that industry was taking over and new membranes were appearing he started to look for innovative applications and initiated PRO, Power Retarded Osmosis. We have to invest energy in order to separate salt from water, and hence should be able to extract work from the mixing of salt and water. First estimates showed that whenever large volumes of highly concentrated solutions are available, valuable energy could be extracted: the Dead Sea would be an interesting example. As always it turned out that there are very real difficulties: concentration polarization in membranes built for RO and not PRO, the bringing together and handling of the solutions, etc. Nevertheless Sid persisted, following his conviction, and he saw considerable progress in the process, though not on Dead Sea water with his local colleagues. He remained in touch with some of the pilot projects being pursued around the world. Discussing his success Sid once told me that he was most innovative in periods after changing jobs. As more moderate advice he felt that any change helps to see new directions. In addition to his devotion to work and the total concentration on any topic he was working on, Sid had broad interests in history and in literature and managed to find time for both. In spite of living and working in Israel for about 40 years and getting involved in the society, for him, like many immigrants, English remained the natural language; he found other English speaking people and led a book club for many years. The vast impact of his work did not change his lifestyle or his general approach. To the people around him, Sid was a kind and generous friend and a stimulating partner in discussions on widely ranging subjects of engineering, of society, and of literature. For us at the Ben Gurion University it was a great honor to have him with us as a colleague. His memory will remain an inspiration. Ora Kedem Weizmann Institute of Science
I have known Sidney Loeb as a friend and colleague for more than 45 years. His seminal contribution to modern desalination technology will indeed live on. I often wonder if worldwide membrane desalination would be in place today had it not been for the incredible breakthrough at UCLA in the early-1960s. Sid was indeed a “key player” in the development of this remarkably innovative new technology.
I remember Sid as a tireless worker with an open mind for new approaches to “the problem at hand.” Optimization of the first successful cellulose acetate casting solution was indeed a remarkable achievement, which enabled the preparation of a practical reverse osmosis membrane. This was followed by development of tubular casting and construction of a successful demonstration of sea water desalination at La Jolla, California. Among the many “chapters” in Sid Loeb’s remarkable career, perhaps the most outstanding achievement was his vision of the first commercial reverse osmosis plant at Coalinga, California. Sid was the group leader in design, construction, and operation of this facility which provided potable water for a small community in California. This was indeed the beginning of practical membrane desalination as we know it today. Long-term operation of this plant stands out as an incredible success. Sid’s distinguished career in teaching and research continued at Ben Gurion University where, among his many contributions, he published a paper on “Forward Osmosis.” I feel that this remarkable concept will ultimately provide energy in many parts of the world where a large salinity gradient exists. I have also known Sid on a personal level—enjoying a game of tennis, driving his canvas topped convertible car, or enjoying a good joke. I have also known Sid as a man with extraordinary courage in facing a personal tragedy. Sid’s passing will indeed be a loss to the desalination community and to all of us who have had the privilege of knowing this remarkable man. Julius (Bud) Glater UCLA
Sid was a great man of unusual modesty, always positive, kind and seeing the good side of things. His appreciation of the achievement of others knew no bounds. A staunch friend, he was always there to share. I first met him when I launched the Journal Desalination in 1966. He was one of the first authors and members of the editorial board. His article on the Coalinga desalination plant appeared in Volume 1, No. 1. I met him in Israel when he was invited on behalf of UNESCO to build a desalination plant at Yotvata, and then we met in Athens at the Conference on Fresh Water from the Sea. Ever since he and his devoted wife Mickey and I have shared thoughts and experiences. I was touched especially when he wrote on a recent reprint of the paper he published in Vol. 1 of Desalination “You are part of my life”, and Sid was indeed a part of my life. The desalination plant in Coalinga was Sid’s pride and joy. It produced drinkable water for thirsty people. He made his breakthrough whilst doing his M.Sc. thesis at UCLA with S. Sourirajan with his development of an anisotropic (asymmetric) cellulose acetate membrane. In casting it he found that it worked half the time – then eureka – the rough side had to face the brine. He loved the Coalinga plant since it not only proved his invention but also had a positive impact on humanity. The sign on that plant hung in his room, and he took it with him whenever he was asked to speak or receive an award. On the back he wrote “First RO Plant effectively delivering fresh water to thirsty people” (June 4, 1965). Sid was always quick to give credit to anyone who was involved in his work, particularly of course Sourirajan, and others who initiated works on RO such as Yuster and Reid. The RO industry he pioneered has become a multibillion dollar business. Although Sid foresaw none of this, but he thrived in knowing he had started it and had done something good for mankind. Sid went on to think about osmosis. Whereas he had helped spawn the now dominant water industry, now he was on to energy. In 1973, he invented an osmotic power process, pressure retarded
Letters to the Editor / Journal of Membrane Science 339 (2009) 1–4
osmosis (PRO). He proposed methods for the utilization of osmotic pressure in power generation using membranes. He maintained that a large quantity of electric power could be produced by application of PRO to the osmotic pair—river water/sea water. This idea might have been inspired by his proximity to the Dead Sea and Jordan River. Other pairs were the Mississippi/Gulf of Mexico and Great Salt Lake/Jordan and Weber. Again basic in his motivation was intensive scientific thought and work and his inner drive to do good for mankind. PRO is now being developed in Norway aspiring to become an important renewable energy source. Prototype membranes are being developed and there are plants for prototype systems and demonstration plants. The European Desalination Society has established the Sidney Loeb Award which has been presented twice. We will continue to present this award for innovation every 2 years. Shortly before his passing, Sid gave me all his papers, notes, letters, and reprints, with the aim of publishing and archiving his selected works. From the many annotations on his published papers we can see that he continued to seek improvement and accuracy. We plan to publish these papers as well as chapters by colleagues touching on various aspects of Sid’s work. It is also planned to archive these papers in a library at the Department of Desalination and Water Treatment at Ben Gurion University where his second RO Desalination Unit built in Kibbutz Yotvata in 1966 still stands. Miriam Balaban Editor, Desalination
Time erodes our memory. Today, there are only a few people who know that the development of the cellulose acetate membrane for seawater desalination started from the Gibbs Adsorption Isotherm which predicts the presence of a thin pure water layer at the surface of seawater. The attempt by S. Yuster to skim the pure water layer mechanically failed. Later, S. Sourirajan’s experiments to let the thin pure water layer at the seawater/membrane interface flow through the sub-nanometer pores under pressure led to successful recovery of drinking water from seawater. However, it took several more years for S. Loeb and S. Sourirajan to fabricate membranes of sufficiently high fluxes by the phase inversion method, the success of which opened up the membrane separation industry that we know now. After my joining Dr. Sourirajan’s laboratory at the National Research Council of Canada in 1969, the laboratory staff had a coffee break every morning and it was the most enjoyable moment for us to listen to the story of how the cellulose acetate membrane was developed. The name of Dr. Loeb often emerged in the story telling and became very familiar to me. Especially, it was very encouraging for me to hear that Dr. Loeb came to UCLA as a graduate student when he was about 40 years old, which eventually led to the great discovery. I met Dr. Loeb for the first time at the 1980 ACS Meeting in Las Vegas, in which a session was held to honor Loeb and Sourirajan by commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the reverse osmosis membrane. I had then an opportunity to find both Drs. Loeb and Sourirajan at the same podium in 1996 when the NAMS Conference was held at the University of Ottawa. I met Dr. Loeb for the last time in 2004 at the Engineering Conference at Kloster Irsee, Germany. In each occasion, Dr. Loeb, who was much senior to me, treated me as a scientist of equal level. If I am allowed to add another giant in the Membrane Science and Technology, it would be J. Cadotte who developed the thin film composite membrane by in situ polymerization. Unfor-
3
tunately, I was informed during the 2008 ICOM that J. Cadotte passed away shortly before the ICOM. There is one common thing among these three membrane giants. It is modesty and humility. They were always attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible among the fellow scientists, which I believe is one of the most important human virtues even in this highly competitive society. Several attempts have been made to nominate Loeb and Sourirajan for the Nobel Prize. Alas, Dr. Loeb did not survive until he could receive the Prize. But their achievement is far beyond the Prize. Their names will be recorded in human history among the saviors of mankind. Takeshi Matsuura University of Ottawa
Sidney Loeb (with S. Sourirajan) developed the first asymmetric polymer filtration membrane and tested it at UCLA and later at Coalinga, CA in the 1960s. This work enabled synthetic membrane processes to be commercially competitive. This development is seminal to the success of synthetic membrane filtration, and Loeb and Sourirajan will be remembered as the founding fathers of a technology that has brought water to arid populations, drugs for heath-care, and food and beverages to us all. I have known Sidney for about 35 years and first met him in Beersheva, Israel during my 5 years at the Hebrew University. I believe the first presentation I heard of his was at a EuRO workshop in the Netherlands in the early-1970s. He was an idea man who was selfeffacing and gentle with others. His contribution to society may even be larger than that mentioned above, since he first proposed the use of osmotic driving force to recover energy via membranes more than 10 years ago. The Norwegians are now building a pilot plant to test his ideas on osmotic energy recovery. Sidney had unbelievable stamina and persistence. Late in life one could see him and his beloved wife attend membrane meetings and even deliver oral presentations. His passion was membranes and it showed. A few years ago, in Southern Germany, I assisted him as the overhead slide projectionist during a presentation on the discovery of the asymmetric membrane. I realized that this was a historic moment that should be enjoyed to the fullest. Judson King and I only recently discussed the possibility of nominating Loeb and Sourirajan for a major award. The membrane community will miss Sidney and especially his creative ideas on filtration and energy recovery. Georges Belfort Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
I remember hearing about Sidney’s patent on PRO (Pressure Retarded Osmosis). It was at GSRI (New Orleans) in 1978 where I was invited by Elias Klein and Israel Cabasso for a sabbatical year. The same year, I remember also discussions with Harry Lonsdale and Rich Baker at Bend on how to improve RO membranes to obtain good performance in PRO. Twenty-five years later, I met Sidney with Nouhad Abidine from Aquasource. Sidney asked us to develop appropriate membranes for PRO. We were impressed by his enthusiasm and pugnacity and his commitment to his “old” innovation not yet in application. I am sure that Sidney was happy to hear from Statkraft in Norway that an osmotic power plant prototype is now being built based directly on Sidney’s pioneering work in PRO. Sidney, thank you for your contributions to the founding of membrane science.
4
Letters to the Editor / Journal of Membrane Science 339 (2009) 1–4
Philippe Aptel Laboratoire de Génie Chimique Université Paul Sabatier
∗ Tel.:
+1 814 863 7113; fax: +1 814 865 7846. E-mail address: [email protected]
Available online 9 May 2009 Andrew Zydney ∗ The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Chemical Engineering, University Park, PA 16802, United States
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Membrane Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/memsci
Letters to the Editor Sidney Loeb collection
The Journal of Membrane Science publishes “Letters to the Editor” infrequently—the journal has always focused on archival publication of scientific and technical advances in the field of membrane science and technology. The current issue of the journal has seven letters that were submitted in response to my invitation to the community to offer their personal perspectives on Sidney Loeb who recently passed away. These Letters are well worth your reading. Sidney Loeb was truly one of the “fathers of membrane science”—these letters provide a wonderful reminiscence and fascinating insights into Sidney’s life and wide-ranging contributions. Andrew Zydney Editor-in-Chief I first met Sid Loeb in the fall of 1960. Earlier that year, the group he was working with in the Chemical Engineering Department at UCLA had published an interim report, UCLA 60-60, describing some work they had carried out in the then new field of reverse osmosis. They had achieved some very promising results using a new RO membrane that Sid and his co-worker Srinavasa Sourirajan had invented. Using simulated seawater in an RO unit they had devised and built, they achieved water fluxes of 10 gallons per square foot of membrane area per day, with salt rejections of over 98%. That report found its way to the director of research at the company where I was employed at the time, General Atomic Co. in San Diego, CA. The report was passed around our lab and it elicited enough interest in my boss at the time, Ulrich Merten, that he suggested that we go to UCLA and check it out. And so it was that my co-worker, Bob Riley, and I drove up to Los Angeles to visit Sid and his lab. We were total strangers but Sid was more than gracious, and he demonstrated for us how he made the
0376-7388/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2009.05.001
great new membrane, and how he tested it in his RO apparatus. He also initiated what turned into a lifelong friendship. Sid was then a 43-year-old graduate student in chemical engineering. He knew he had a breakthrough on his hands—there was even talk in the Los Angeles newspapers of “making the deserts bloom” with RO. While that still has not happened, RO has become a huge industry, and the breakthrough in membrane technology has spawned an entirely new membrane industry, reaching into all aspects of membrane technology. My friend, Tony Fane, recently retired from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, has shared with me some marketing data that he has assembled. The combined membrane industry market worldwide now totals some $8.3 billion (U.S.) annually, with $3.0 billion coming from the water treatment industry, $3.5 billion from biomedical applications, and more than $1 billion from other applications. What the world found out later was that the Loeb team had made a kind of composite membrane, with an extremely thin skin and a micro-porous substructure. That invention led to numerous related inventions, including John Cadotte’s interfacially polymerized thin film composite membrane. It is no exaggeration to say that Sid is the father of modern membrane technology. Sid remained active in the membrane field for the rest of his life, even well beyond “retirement.” When I started the Journal of Membrane Science in 1975, Sid was an original member of the editorial board, and he remained on the board throughout my tenure as editor. He even contributed two papers to Volume 1 of the Journal. But Sid also became a good and trusted friend. I knew him to be a gentle and even humble man, in spite of his accomplishments and awards. He always believed in the importance of shared knowledge for the advancement of science and technology. While he and Sourirajan received a U.S. Patent (No. 3,133,132) for their invention in 1964, I do not believe that either of them (nor their university) ever received a cent in royalties. Sid emigrated to Israel in 1967, married his wife, Mickey, and settled in Omer, near Beersheva. I once visited them there and they insisted on putting me up for the night. Our phone conversations have gone on for decades. And whenever he and Mickey visited the West coast, we made it a point to share a meal, usually with old friends Ulrich Merten, Bob Riley, and their wives. One time, when we asked Sid to consult for us at Bend Research, the company I co-founded in Oregon, we posed a tough technical question to him. Never a pontificator, Sid responded, “I’ll tell you what I think, but you should understand that some competent people disagree with me.” I will miss his candor, his humility, and his friendship. Sid’s friends will be comforted to know that he died peacefully in his sleep at age 91. Harry Lonsdale Founding Editor, Journal of Membrane Science Sisters, Oregon
2
Letters to the Editor / Journal of Membrane Science 339 (2009) 1–4
Most if not all readers of the JMS are familiar with the LoebSourirajan Reverse Osmosis membrane and certainly with the term Reverse Osmosis itself. For the younger readers Loeb-Sourirajan may designate a membrane, not two people, and RO a well known technical term and not a rather odd combination of words coined as a consequence of a series of exciting and successful experiments. For me these always were very real people. In Prof. Sidney Loeb’s spirit, this is a moment to wish Prof. Sourirajan all the best for many years to come. Sid often talked about his colleagues and never allowed anyone to mention his achievements in RO without adding “with Sourirajan”. Sid came to Israel about 40 years ago on a UNESCO mission and with his usual energy he started immediately to build a RO desalination unit in kibbutz Yotveta, the second ever, following the Coalinga plant. The casting of the asymmetric cellulose acetate membranes was carried out in his lab and the 200 m3 of desalted water produced per day were received with amazement, joy, and caution, but we all know what happened since. Sid decided to stay in Israel, teaching and working at the Ben Gurion University in Beer-Sheva, with his laboratory in the Institute for Desert Research, where desalination already was an important R&D topic. For some time the improvement of the cellulose acetate membranes and ways for scaling-up the technology were his main concern, but once he realized that industry was taking over and new membranes were appearing he started to look for innovative applications and initiated PRO, Power Retarded Osmosis. We have to invest energy in order to separate salt from water, and hence should be able to extract work from the mixing of salt and water. First estimates showed that whenever large volumes of highly concentrated solutions are available, valuable energy could be extracted: the Dead Sea would be an interesting example. As always it turned out that there are very real difficulties: concentration polarization in membranes built for RO and not PRO, the bringing together and handling of the solutions, etc. Nevertheless Sid persisted, following his conviction, and he saw considerable progress in the process, though not on Dead Sea water with his local colleagues. He remained in touch with some of the pilot projects being pursued around the world. Discussing his success Sid once told me that he was most innovative in periods after changing jobs. As more moderate advice he felt that any change helps to see new directions. In addition to his devotion to work and the total concentration on any topic he was working on, Sid had broad interests in history and in literature and managed to find time for both. In spite of living and working in Israel for about 40 years and getting involved in the society, for him, like many immigrants, English remained the natural language; he found other English speaking people and led a book club for many years. The vast impact of his work did not change his lifestyle or his general approach. To the people around him, Sid was a kind and generous friend and a stimulating partner in discussions on widely ranging subjects of engineering, of society, and of literature. For us at the Ben Gurion University it was a great honor to have him with us as a colleague. His memory will remain an inspiration. Ora Kedem Weizmann Institute of Science
I have known Sidney Loeb as a friend and colleague for more than 45 years. His seminal contribution to modern desalination technology will indeed live on. I often wonder if worldwide membrane desalination would be in place today had it not been for the incredible breakthrough at UCLA in the early-1960s. Sid was indeed a “key player” in the development of this remarkably innovative new technology.
I remember Sid as a tireless worker with an open mind for new approaches to “the problem at hand.” Optimization of the first successful cellulose acetate casting solution was indeed a remarkable achievement, which enabled the preparation of a practical reverse osmosis membrane. This was followed by development of tubular casting and construction of a successful demonstration of sea water desalination at La Jolla, California. Among the many “chapters” in Sid Loeb’s remarkable career, perhaps the most outstanding achievement was his vision of the first commercial reverse osmosis plant at Coalinga, California. Sid was the group leader in design, construction, and operation of this facility which provided potable water for a small community in California. This was indeed the beginning of practical membrane desalination as we know it today. Long-term operation of this plant stands out as an incredible success. Sid’s distinguished career in teaching and research continued at Ben Gurion University where, among his many contributions, he published a paper on “Forward Osmosis.” I feel that this remarkable concept will ultimately provide energy in many parts of the world where a large salinity gradient exists. I have also known Sid on a personal level—enjoying a game of tennis, driving his canvas topped convertible car, or enjoying a good joke. I have also known Sid as a man with extraordinary courage in facing a personal tragedy. Sid’s passing will indeed be a loss to the desalination community and to all of us who have had the privilege of knowing this remarkable man. Julius (Bud) Glater UCLA
Sid was a great man of unusual modesty, always positive, kind and seeing the good side of things. His appreciation of the achievement of others knew no bounds. A staunch friend, he was always there to share. I first met him when I launched the Journal Desalination in 1966. He was one of the first authors and members of the editorial board. His article on the Coalinga desalination plant appeared in Volume 1, No. 1. I met him in Israel when he was invited on behalf of UNESCO to build a desalination plant at Yotvata, and then we met in Athens at the Conference on Fresh Water from the Sea. Ever since he and his devoted wife Mickey and I have shared thoughts and experiences. I was touched especially when he wrote on a recent reprint of the paper he published in Vol. 1 of Desalination “You are part of my life”, and Sid was indeed a part of my life. The desalination plant in Coalinga was Sid’s pride and joy. It produced drinkable water for thirsty people. He made his breakthrough whilst doing his M.Sc. thesis at UCLA with S. Sourirajan with his development of an anisotropic (asymmetric) cellulose acetate membrane. In casting it he found that it worked half the time – then eureka – the rough side had to face the brine. He loved the Coalinga plant since it not only proved his invention but also had a positive impact on humanity. The sign on that plant hung in his room, and he took it with him whenever he was asked to speak or receive an award. On the back he wrote “First RO Plant effectively delivering fresh water to thirsty people” (June 4, 1965). Sid was always quick to give credit to anyone who was involved in his work, particularly of course Sourirajan, and others who initiated works on RO such as Yuster and Reid. The RO industry he pioneered has become a multibillion dollar business. Although Sid foresaw none of this, but he thrived in knowing he had started it and had done something good for mankind. Sid went on to think about osmosis. Whereas he had helped spawn the now dominant water industry, now he was on to energy. In 1973, he invented an osmotic power process, pressure retarded
Letters to the Editor / Journal of Membrane Science 339 (2009) 1–4
osmosis (PRO). He proposed methods for the utilization of osmotic pressure in power generation using membranes. He maintained that a large quantity of electric power could be produced by application of PRO to the osmotic pair—river water/sea water. This idea might have been inspired by his proximity to the Dead Sea and Jordan River. Other pairs were the Mississippi/Gulf of Mexico and Great Salt Lake/Jordan and Weber. Again basic in his motivation was intensive scientific thought and work and his inner drive to do good for mankind. PRO is now being developed in Norway aspiring to become an important renewable energy source. Prototype membranes are being developed and there are plants for prototype systems and demonstration plants. The European Desalination Society has established the Sidney Loeb Award which has been presented twice. We will continue to present this award for innovation every 2 years. Shortly before his passing, Sid gave me all his papers, notes, letters, and reprints, with the aim of publishing and archiving his selected works. From the many annotations on his published papers we can see that he continued to seek improvement and accuracy. We plan to publish these papers as well as chapters by colleagues touching on various aspects of Sid’s work. It is also planned to archive these papers in a library at the Department of Desalination and Water Treatment at Ben Gurion University where his second RO Desalination Unit built in Kibbutz Yotvata in 1966 still stands. Miriam Balaban Editor, Desalination
Time erodes our memory. Today, there are only a few people who know that the development of the cellulose acetate membrane for seawater desalination started from the Gibbs Adsorption Isotherm which predicts the presence of a thin pure water layer at the surface of seawater. The attempt by S. Yuster to skim the pure water layer mechanically failed. Later, S. Sourirajan’s experiments to let the thin pure water layer at the seawater/membrane interface flow through the sub-nanometer pores under pressure led to successful recovery of drinking water from seawater. However, it took several more years for S. Loeb and S. Sourirajan to fabricate membranes of sufficiently high fluxes by the phase inversion method, the success of which opened up the membrane separation industry that we know now. After my joining Dr. Sourirajan’s laboratory at the National Research Council of Canada in 1969, the laboratory staff had a coffee break every morning and it was the most enjoyable moment for us to listen to the story of how the cellulose acetate membrane was developed. The name of Dr. Loeb often emerged in the story telling and became very familiar to me. Especially, it was very encouraging for me to hear that Dr. Loeb came to UCLA as a graduate student when he was about 40 years old, which eventually led to the great discovery. I met Dr. Loeb for the first time at the 1980 ACS Meeting in Las Vegas, in which a session was held to honor Loeb and Sourirajan by commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the reverse osmosis membrane. I had then an opportunity to find both Drs. Loeb and Sourirajan at the same podium in 1996 when the NAMS Conference was held at the University of Ottawa. I met Dr. Loeb for the last time in 2004 at the Engineering Conference at Kloster Irsee, Germany. In each occasion, Dr. Loeb, who was much senior to me, treated me as a scientist of equal level. If I am allowed to add another giant in the Membrane Science and Technology, it would be J. Cadotte who developed the thin film composite membrane by in situ polymerization. Unfor-
3
tunately, I was informed during the 2008 ICOM that J. Cadotte passed away shortly before the ICOM. There is one common thing among these three membrane giants. It is modesty and humility. They were always attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible among the fellow scientists, which I believe is one of the most important human virtues even in this highly competitive society. Several attempts have been made to nominate Loeb and Sourirajan for the Nobel Prize. Alas, Dr. Loeb did not survive until he could receive the Prize. But their achievement is far beyond the Prize. Their names will be recorded in human history among the saviors of mankind. Takeshi Matsuura University of Ottawa
Sidney Loeb (with S. Sourirajan) developed the first asymmetric polymer filtration membrane and tested it at UCLA and later at Coalinga, CA in the 1960s. This work enabled synthetic membrane processes to be commercially competitive. This development is seminal to the success of synthetic membrane filtration, and Loeb and Sourirajan will be remembered as the founding fathers of a technology that has brought water to arid populations, drugs for heath-care, and food and beverages to us all. I have known Sidney for about 35 years and first met him in Beersheva, Israel during my 5 years at the Hebrew University. I believe the first presentation I heard of his was at a EuRO workshop in the Netherlands in the early-1970s. He was an idea man who was selfeffacing and gentle with others. His contribution to society may even be larger than that mentioned above, since he first proposed the use of osmotic driving force to recover energy via membranes more than 10 years ago. The Norwegians are now building a pilot plant to test his ideas on osmotic energy recovery. Sidney had unbelievable stamina and persistence. Late in life one could see him and his beloved wife attend membrane meetings and even deliver oral presentations. His passion was membranes and it showed. A few years ago, in Southern Germany, I assisted him as the overhead slide projectionist during a presentation on the discovery of the asymmetric membrane. I realized that this was a historic moment that should be enjoyed to the fullest. Judson King and I only recently discussed the possibility of nominating Loeb and Sourirajan for a major award. The membrane community will miss Sidney and especially his creative ideas on filtration and energy recovery. Georges Belfort Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
I remember hearing about Sidney’s patent on PRO (Pressure Retarded Osmosis). It was at GSRI (New Orleans) in 1978 where I was invited by Elias Klein and Israel Cabasso for a sabbatical year. The same year, I remember also discussions with Harry Lonsdale and Rich Baker at Bend on how to improve RO membranes to obtain good performance in PRO. Twenty-five years later, I met Sidney with Nouhad Abidine from Aquasource. Sidney asked us to develop appropriate membranes for PRO. We were impressed by his enthusiasm and pugnacity and his commitment to his “old” innovation not yet in application. I am sure that Sidney was happy to hear from Statkraft in Norway that an osmotic power plant prototype is now being built based directly on Sidney’s pioneering work in PRO. Sidney, thank you for your contributions to the founding of membrane science.
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Letters to the Editor / Journal of Membrane Science 339 (2009) 1–4
Philippe Aptel Laboratoire de Génie Chimique Université Paul Sabatier
∗ Tel.:
+1 814 863 7113; fax: +1 814 865 7846. E-mail address: [email protected]
Available online 9 May 2009 Andrew Zydney ∗ The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Chemical Engineering, University Park, PA 16802, United States