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Virtual supercomputer helps scientists to improve water quality
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System dehydrates EALs to ppm levels of water in marine applications
I
ndustrial separations company Compact Membrane Systems (CMS), based in Newport, Delaware, USA, has developed a system to dehydrate environmentally acceptable lubricants (EALs) to ppm levels of water, increasing their lifetime and operating properties. In 2013, the EPA began requiring the use of EALs for all sea-to-water interfaces in vessels operating in US waters. Whilst these lubricants are non-sheen forming and break down in water, they also absorb water more rapidly. This has damaging effects on the lubricant and equipment, which means that the lubricant needs to be replaced frequently. CMS says that its system can extend the life of marine lubricants significantly, resulting in a potential annual saving of thousands of dollars. Its system has been tested on the most widely used EALs, including esters and poly alkyl glycols (PAGs) and has been shown to remove water and lower the total acid number (TAN) (in the case of esters) without depleting performance additives. The system is designed for in-line use whilst at sea, eliminating the need for dry docking. It fits through a ship hatch and releases the water as vapour, eliminating the need for disposal of water whilst at sea. It requires only a 120 V, or 220 V, connection and is easily hooked up to an oil reservoir. The dehydration system is currently operating on several marine vessels and has greatly improved lubricant life and operation for those vessels, says CMS. According to the company, early users have been overwhelmingly positive. One user said: ‘I used to have to buy expensive filters weekly to manage the water in my system. The CMS system has eliminated that cost completely. The US Coast Guard, which has also purchased the system for its own use, says that dehydration is necessary for EALs and this type of portable system is the only way to do that. Contact: Compact Membrane Systems, 335 Water Street, Newport, DE 19804. Tel: +1 302 999 7996, http://compactmembrane.com
6
Membrane Technology
Virtual supercomputer helps scientists to improve water quality
Contacts: Professor Quanshui Zheng, Center for Nano and Micro Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Room 307, Yejing building, East Gate of Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Tel: +86 10 6278 2700, http://cnmm.tsinghua.edu.cn
A
World Community Grid, IBM Corp, www.worldcommunitygrid.org, www.softlayer.com
ccording to a paper published in a recent issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, scientists have discovered a phenomenon in which the use of carbon nanotubes, under specific conditions, could potentially lead to a more efficient way of filtering water that is cost-effective and is less damaging to the environment. The researchers’ study of nanotubes was enabled by a virtual supercomputer created by IBM, in which volunteers channel the surplus processing power of their computing devices to scientists for use in conducting simulations. Carbon nanotubes are so small that they may filter out impurities from water flowing through them. The scientific community initially expected that their narrow diameters would slow the water’s flow. Surprisingly, early experiments hinted that water is not impeded in the expected way as it passes through nanotubes. To understand why, a team of international researchers led by scientists at Tsinghua University in China undertook an unprecedented, massive computational simulation study powered by IBM’s World Community Grid, to find out what was behind this surprise. Prior simulations performed by the scientific community were unable to study the process at realistic water flow-rates because that would have required considerably more costly computing power than typically available. The new simulations were conducted using the massive computing power of IBM’s crowdsourced World Community Grid, which revealed that under certain conditions, the natural, random thermal vibrations of atoms in nanotubes could have a significant effect on water moving through them. The researchers discovered that these vibrations, called phonons, can actually enhance the rate of water diffusion – a kind of flow – by more than 300%, as a result of reduced friction. With this new-found understanding of the phenomenon, researchers now hope to optimise the nanotubes and apply them to improve water filtration and sea-water desalination. (Further details covering this research can be found in the paper entitled ‘Water transport inside carbon nanotubes mediated by phonon-induced oscillating friction’, Nature Nanotechnology 10, 692–695, 2015)
OriginClear forms joint venture with ceramic materials company in China
U
S water treatment technology company OriginClear Inc reports that its master licensee for China, OriginClear Hong Kong (OCHK), has recently signed an agreement to launch a sales jointventure in China with partner Ming Xu, an inventor and owner of a ceramic materials factory in mainland China. Under the binding memorandum of understanding (MOU), Xu has committed to payments totalling $1 million over two months to purchase the rights to the joint venture. The MOU will see Xu and OCHK forming a joint venture in China, intended to be a licensee of OCHK. It will sell equipment using OriginClear technology to various markets in the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan. The partners intend to name the company OriginClear (China) and the MOU calls for Xu to transfer 25% of its ownership and profit share to OCHK, in addition to meeting a royalty schedule. Finally, the concern will continue the development of manufacturing capabilities in China. ‘I am happy with the speed of commercialisation in China. Mr Xu’s commitment to our joint venture as well as his strict timeline to launch the manufacturing plant, demonstrate to us that the technology is really in demand,’ said Riggs Eckelberry, CEO, OriginClear. Jean-Louis Kindler, President, OriginClear Technologies, and Managing Director, OriginClear (Hong Kong), added: ‘Whilst we continue to set up the manufacturing operation, we are demonstrating Electro Water Separation throughout China for speciality wastewater treatment and algae harvesting.’
Contacts: OriginClear Inc, 5645 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90016, USA. Tel: +1 323 939 6645, www.originclear.com
March 2016
System dehydrates EALs to ppm levels of water in marine applications
I
ndustrial separations company Compact Membrane Systems (CMS), based in Newport, Delaware, USA, has developed a system to dehydrate environmentally acceptable lubricants (EALs) to ppm levels of water, increasing their lifetime and operating properties. In 2013, the EPA began requiring the use of EALs for all sea-to-water interfaces in vessels operating in US waters. Whilst these lubricants are non-sheen forming and break down in water, they also absorb water more rapidly. This has damaging effects on the lubricant and equipment, which means that the lubricant needs to be replaced frequently. CMS says that its system can extend the life of marine lubricants significantly, resulting in a potential annual saving of thousands of dollars. Its system has been tested on the most widely used EALs, including esters and poly alkyl glycols (PAGs) and has been shown to remove water and lower the total acid number (TAN) (in the case of esters) without depleting performance additives. The system is designed for in-line use whilst at sea, eliminating the need for dry docking. It fits through a ship hatch and releases the water as vapour, eliminating the need for disposal of water whilst at sea. It requires only a 120 V, or 220 V, connection and is easily hooked up to an oil reservoir. The dehydration system is currently operating on several marine vessels and has greatly improved lubricant life and operation for those vessels, says CMS. According to the company, early users have been overwhelmingly positive. One user said: ‘I used to have to buy expensive filters weekly to manage the water in my system. The CMS system has eliminated that cost completely. The US Coast Guard, which has also purchased the system for its own use, says that dehydration is necessary for EALs and this type of portable system is the only way to do that. Contact: Compact Membrane Systems, 335 Water Street, Newport, DE 19804. Tel: +1 302 999 7996, http://compactmembrane.com
6
Membrane Technology
Virtual supercomputer helps scientists to improve water quality
Contacts: Professor Quanshui Zheng, Center for Nano and Micro Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Room 307, Yejing building, East Gate of Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Tel: +86 10 6278 2700, http://cnmm.tsinghua.edu.cn
A
World Community Grid, IBM Corp, www.worldcommunitygrid.org, www.softlayer.com
ccording to a paper published in a recent issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, scientists have discovered a phenomenon in which the use of carbon nanotubes, under specific conditions, could potentially lead to a more efficient way of filtering water that is cost-effective and is less damaging to the environment. The researchers’ study of nanotubes was enabled by a virtual supercomputer created by IBM, in which volunteers channel the surplus processing power of their computing devices to scientists for use in conducting simulations. Carbon nanotubes are so small that they may filter out impurities from water flowing through them. The scientific community initially expected that their narrow diameters would slow the water’s flow. Surprisingly, early experiments hinted that water is not impeded in the expected way as it passes through nanotubes. To understand why, a team of international researchers led by scientists at Tsinghua University in China undertook an unprecedented, massive computational simulation study powered by IBM’s World Community Grid, to find out what was behind this surprise. Prior simulations performed by the scientific community were unable to study the process at realistic water flow-rates because that would have required considerably more costly computing power than typically available. The new simulations were conducted using the massive computing power of IBM’s crowdsourced World Community Grid, which revealed that under certain conditions, the natural, random thermal vibrations of atoms in nanotubes could have a significant effect on water moving through them. The researchers discovered that these vibrations, called phonons, can actually enhance the rate of water diffusion – a kind of flow – by more than 300%, as a result of reduced friction. With this new-found understanding of the phenomenon, researchers now hope to optimise the nanotubes and apply them to improve water filtration and sea-water desalination. (Further details covering this research can be found in the paper entitled ‘Water transport inside carbon nanotubes mediated by phonon-induced oscillating friction’, Nature Nanotechnology 10, 692–695, 2015)
OriginClear forms joint venture with ceramic materials company in China
U
S water treatment technology company OriginClear Inc reports that its master licensee for China, OriginClear Hong Kong (OCHK), has recently signed an agreement to launch a sales jointventure in China with partner Ming Xu, an inventor and owner of a ceramic materials factory in mainland China. Under the binding memorandum of understanding (MOU), Xu has committed to payments totalling $1 million over two months to purchase the rights to the joint venture. The MOU will see Xu and OCHK forming a joint venture in China, intended to be a licensee of OCHK. It will sell equipment using OriginClear technology to various markets in the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan. The partners intend to name the company OriginClear (China) and the MOU calls for Xu to transfer 25% of its ownership and profit share to OCHK, in addition to meeting a royalty schedule. Finally, the concern will continue the development of manufacturing capabilities in China. ‘I am happy with the speed of commercialisation in China. Mr Xu’s commitment to our joint venture as well as his strict timeline to launch the manufacturing plant, demonstrate to us that the technology is really in demand,’ said Riggs Eckelberry, CEO, OriginClear. Jean-Louis Kindler, President, OriginClear Technologies, and Managing Director, OriginClear (Hong Kong), added: ‘Whilst we continue to set up the manufacturing operation, we are demonstrating Electro Water Separation throughout China for speciality wastewater treatment and algae harvesting.’
Contacts: OriginClear Inc, 5645 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90016, USA. Tel: +1 323 939 6645, www.originclear.com
March 2016