Pure water enhances oil production
Elga are supplying BP with a Duo Rapide 5 Plus triple-bed deioniser for water purification at its oilfield on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, UK - reportedly the largest onshore oilfield in Western Europe Water is needed for injection into the engine of on-site 4.5W generators to reduce the production of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by lowering the temperature, and to boost output. But highly pure water is required to prevent corrosion and scaling of the turbine blades. Elga reports that the deioniser supplied to BP is a rapid-regeneration, counter-flow unit which features an additional cation-exchange column. As a result, the deioniser is able to produce high-purity water of “mixedbed” quality - typically with a resistivity of IO M&cm while avoiding the high costs and operational complexity of a mixed-bed plant. According to Elga, unlike conventional mixed-bed units, regeneration of the ion-exchange resins is determined by the volume of water passing through the plant rather than a drop in the purified water quality. The operational cycle is governed by a programmable logic controller which initiates regeneration before the resins are fully exhausted. As a consequence, Elga says a highly regenerated zone of resin is always maintained within the bed, and there is no leakage of silica into the purified water, which occurs when a mixed-bed unit starts to exhaust. In addition to producing purified water that meets BP’s specifications, the Elga plant is environmentally acceptable. It has a small footprint and delivers product water at higher flowrates than conventional deionisers. Regeneration takes just 35 mins so a duplex plant is normally unnecessary; careful sizing of the purified water tank ensures that the flow of deionised water is continuous. Furthermore, as reactivation of the cation and anion beds is simultaneous, the effluent streams are largely self-neutralising, minimising waste disposal costs and environmental impact. Elga Ltd, High Street Lane End, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP14 3JH, UK. Tel: +44 1494 887 785; Fax: +44 1494 887 824.
US Filter files lawsuit against lonics United States Filter Corp., has commenced legal proceedings against lonics Inc., for alleged patent infringement of its electrodeionisation technology. US Filter’s lawsuit, filed with the US District Court in Boston, MA, alleges that lonics’ electrodeionization (“EDI”) device infringes United States Reissue Patent No. Re 35,741, entitled a “Process for Purifying Water,” that it claims is exclusively licensed to US Filter. lonics said it was “surprised by US Filter’s filing of this patent action”, and noted that the development of the EDI process was pioneered by lonics over 30 years ago and is a variation on lonics’ basic, long-established electrodialysis technology for water desalination, purification and wastewater treatment.
lonics stated it currently has seven patents, including a basic “omnibus” patent, involving the EDI process. President and CEO of US Filter, Richard J. Heckmann said, “We have invested significant financial personnel and resources to develop our water purification technology and we intend to defend our rights in that technology vigorously against any infringers.” Arthur L. Goldstein responded, “We intend to vigorously defend our technology and patent position in the rapidly expanding marketplace for EDI products”. For further information contact: United States Filter Corp., 40-004 Cook Street, Palm Desert, CA 92211, USA. Tel: t 1 760 340 0098; Fax: + I 760 34 1 9368.
Kuss says tests show superior results Kuss Filtration, a Ohiobased manufacturer of automotive fuel filters, says it has completed tests that proves its proprietary StrataPore gradient density depth filtration material is superior to comparable intank fuel filters. Kuss reports that the filter testing included monitoring dirt capacity, efficiency, and Frazier Airflow. These tests were performed on three types of filters made from different nylon media: 70 urn nylon cloth, Kuss’ proprietary 31 urn nylon depth medium and the newest proprietary 31 urn nylon StrataPore GD. According to Kuss, filters made of nylon cloth or the proprietary 31 urn nylon depth medium, which features the media in a sandwich configuration with multiple layers of differing densities, are used in most fuels systems
of current auto models. Kuss maintains that in comparison with 70 urn nylon cloth, the newest media have a 94 % higher dirt capacity. In addition, the progressive filtration of the StrataPore GD provides a 22% higher dirt capacity with the same efficiency rating compared to the other Kuss depth medium. The goal of increasing the capacity while maintaining the same filtration efficiency resulted from a QFD survey of in-tank filter specifiers. It is also possible to improve the filtration efficiency while maintaining the dirt capacity and restriction of other media. Kuss Filtration, 133 1 Broad Avenue, Findlay, OH 45840-2695, USA. Tel: +I 419 425 7217; Fax: +7 419 425 7200.