Filtration and separation journal

Leading the world of filtration

October 2008

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Also:• What is nanofiltration?• A look at depth filtration • Pharma industry overview

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Battling bacteriaUsing membranes in pharma applications

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Filtration+Separation is covered in the Current Contents®/Engineering, Computing & Technology (CC®/EC&T) online database and in the Research Alert® current awareness service.

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Editorial 1Filtration+Separation October 2008

Filtration+Separation – our environmental policy

We are committed to reducing our environmental impact wherever possible, by limiting resource use and efficiently employing sustainable materials and technologies. This magazine is printed on a type of paper known as Apollo Gloss, which is manufactured from ECF pulp (bleached without using elemental chlorine) produced from renewable forest resources. The cover is produced using a water-based laminate. for further information about our environmental policies, please visit www.reedelsevier.com .

EditorNova Dudley-GoughTel: +31 20 485 2145E-mail: [email protected]

Assistant EditorHolly WinmanTel: +44 (0)1865 843642E-mail: [email protected]

Key Accounts ManagerBart CrabbéTel: +44 (0) 207 424 43 62E-mail: [email protected]

Sales Manager Sally Pye(France, Italy, Spain, S. America, Switzerland, Benelux, ROW):Tel: +44 (0) 1865 843081 E-mail: [email protected]

Sales ManagerPeter Morgan (Austria, Germany, Eastern Europe, UK/Ireland, Scandinavia, USA/Canada): Tel: +44 (0) 1865 843646 E-mail: [email protected]

Advertising copyTel: +44 (0) 1865 843819E-mail: [email protected]

Commercial Director & PublisherLaurence Zipson

Tel: +44 (0) 1865 843685E-mail: [email protected]

Production/Design ControllerRussell Purdy

Editorial 1

Adapting the basics

While the main theme of this issue is biotechnology and pharmaceutical filtration and its applications, we also devote part of the issue to look at the basics behind nanofiltration and depth filtration – only to find that they are not so basic after all, despite (or perhaps because of?) their prevalence in the industry.

While depth filtration is commonly associated with clarifying drinking and process water, the technology behind it is continuing to be adapted and developed to other sections of the industry. Although its usage in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets is limited at the moment, it will be interesting to see how it is adopted as processes continue to be refined in this area. After all, another technology associated with water – membranes – is now being adopted in several other industries. Indeed, our cover story this month looks at the efficiencies and practicalities behind using membranes as a sterile form of filter media. The pharma theme continues with a look at the industry overall, with a general view of the industry, the products used and thoughts for the future.

Elsewhere in the issue we feature a preview of WEFTEC, one of the largest water focussed events in the world, which is being held in Chicago in mid-October. As usual, the amount of new products to be launched at the event is impressive, and we spoke to some of the exhibitors about what they will be demonstrating at the show. The Filtration+Separation team will also be attending WEFTEC, so do look out for us.

We are also launching something of our own – from the beginning of October our new online Buyers’ Guide will be available via www.filtsep.com, our regularly updated website, which also features articles and events listings. The Buyers’ Guide will be a fully searchable and user friendly way to find out who can provide you with the equipment and expertise you need. Like membrane technology and depth filtration, we’re taking something that was used in a traditional way – in this case the information contained in the printed guide – and seeing how it can adapt in a different application. We think you’ll like the results.

Enjoy the issue,

Nova

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Contents• Editorial 1Adapting the basics

• Industry news 4• Technology news 10• Cover story 18Membranes and filtration: Membrane filtration in the

biopharm industryMandar Dixit of Sartorius Stedim Biotech explains the usage and importance of membranes as a sterile form of filter media in the biopharmaceutical industries.

• Features Filtration industry overview: World pharmaceutical and

biopharmaceutical market 2008 22Karen Vacura of McIlvaine Company looks at the 2008 market data for the pharmaceutical filtration market, including the spread of technologies used in the industry.

Filtration overview: A closer look at depth filtration 25Ken Sutherland looks at the characteristics of depth filtration, at the range of equipment used to implement it, and how it is used.

Biopharmaceutical technology: Cell harvesting –

getting cultural 29The harvesting of mammalian cells is one of the growth areas in biopharm production. Peter Rose of Alfa Laval looks at the role a centrifuge plays in the process.


A closer look at depth filtration

Using membranes as a sterile filter medium in pharma applications

The latest industry news18-214-10

25-27

Filtration+Separation October 2008

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Filtration+Separation November 2006

Dates to remember

What is nanofiltration?

29-31

14

Filtration+Separation October 2008

Dates to remember• 30 September – 3 OctoberAquatech, Amsterdam, Netherlands

• 7-8 OctoberFiltrex, Cologne, Germany

• 18-22 OctoberWEFTEC 2008, Chicago, USA

• 28 OctoberFilter Testing and Standards, Chester, UK

42-43

Sieving metal powders

Getting cultural – cell harvesting with a centrifuge

Contents 3

Decontaminatingwastewater

32-35

40-41

Developments in filtration: What is nanofiltration? 32A relatively new development in membrane processes, this article takes a look at the rapidly expanding field of nanofiltration, its characteristics and its applications.

• Show preview 36WEFTEC 2008: ChicagoFiltration+Separation magazine looks at the forthcoming WEFTEC event in Chicago, and speaks to some of the exhibitors about their products. What new products will be launched at the event?

• Applications Sieving metal powders: Using ultrasonic deblinding to sieve powders 40Looking to remove contaminants and reduce particle sizes through

sieving, a producer of materials for the chemical and medical industries turned to ultrasonic deblinding.

Decontaminating wastewater: Improving decontamination in wastewater 42A Mexican power plant was in need of a system that would effectively and efficiently treat its secondary wastewater stream. What would be the solution?

• Diary dates 48

• Product Finder 44

• Advertisers’ Index 48

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Industry news4Filtration+Separation October 2008

In briefSweco has appointed David M. Sorter as the new company president. Sorter will lead the industrial businesses of Sweco and United Wire, as well as the ES manufacturing operations.

Sorter joined Sweco in June 1993 as manager of manufacturing engineering. His most recent position was director of global manufacturing operations.

www.sweco.com

Thermo Fisher Scientific has acquired AquaSensors, LLC. AquaSensors will be integrated into Thermo Fisher’s Water Analysis Instruments business (WAI), part of the Environmental Instruments division.

AquaSensors will complement Thermo Fisher’s existing capabilities in water markets for laboratory electrodes and online analysers.

www.aquasensors.com

Impax Group plc, the specialist environmental investment company, and global index company, FTSE Group have teamed up to launch the FTSE Environmental Opportunities All-Share Index.

This new index, made up of 450 constituents, will cover water treatment and pollution control, waste technologies, and alternative energy and energy efficiency. It is one of a series of environmental indices that Impax and FTSE are currently developing together. Selected constituents must demonstrate that a minimum of 20% of their business comes from environmental markets or technologies. The index will include these companies and offers a broader environmental exposure opportunity to investors.

www.impax.co.uk

Dow teams up with universities to develop RO membranes

Dow Water Solutions has agreed to a multi-year joint development partnership with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and University of Texas (UT), Austin, USA. Dow will collaborate with Virginia Tech and UT on the research and development of oxidation-resistant reverse osmosis (RO) membranes.

This joint partnership will tackle one of the toughest technical challenges in the water desalination industry, developing oxidation-resistant, or chlorine-resistant, RO membranes that will simplify the water treatment process and convert highly-contaminated waters into potable water sources.

David Klanecky, global director of research and development, Dow Water Solutions, commented:

“Over the past five years, we’ve invested significantly in innovation to provide sustainable water in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. This joint partnership is yet another example of how we strategically collaborate and combine our expertise with that of innovative leaders to drive growth and bring solutions to our customers around the world.”

www.dow.com

University of Texas campus, Austin, USA.

MBR-Network draws European research projects to a conclusionThe two European research projects ‘Amedeus’ and ‘Eurombra’ of the coalition ‘MBR-Network’ will be concluded in 2009 after more than three years of intensive activity. The most prominent of these projects, which are dedicated to progress and advances of the MBR technology for municipal wastewater treatment, will be

presented in a two-day workshop endorsed by the International Water Association.

Results of fundamental and applied research, as well as technological breakthroughs achieved by the project partners in the field of the MBR technology, will be unveiled during presentations. A dedicated poster session

will also be included in the workshop programme.

The final MBR-Network workshop will take place on 31 March-1 April next year, during international conference and exhibition Wasser Berlin. Held in Berlin, Germany, this event concentrates on water and wastewater treatment.

www.mbr-network.eu

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Submerged MBR

Operators of a submerged MBR system could be facing the

following working conditions on a regular basis:

• Direct physical contact with sludge

• Inhalation of aerosols or toxic fumes

• Working inside sludge tanks

• Frequent manual removal of hair and lint

Norit AirliftTM MBROperators of a Norit AirliftTM MBR system are enjoying the

following working conditions:

• No direct contact with sludge

• Controlled air conditions

• Clean working environment

• Automatic removal of hair and lint

No doubts. Norit. Just proof. www.xfl ow.com

CHOOSEyour working environment!

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Chinese nuclear power plant uses inge ultrafiltration modules Inge watertechnologies AG, has won a contract to equip the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant with ultrafiltration modules. The plant is currently under construction in the Liaoning province about 100 km from the port of Dalian, China.

Hongyanhe is one of six plants currently under construction in China, aiming to help meet the country’s surging demand for

energy, in addition to the existing eleven power plants currently feeding the grid.

Inge will supply Hongyanhe with its dizzer 5000plus modules, each rated for a treatment output of up to 5.0 m3/h. It is planned to install several hundred modules to be used in combination with reverse osmosis for seawater desalination. Up to 26,000 m3 of seawater will be desalinated every

day and treated to attain the quality required for cooling water purposes in the power plant.

Inge watertechnologies recently outfitted Beijing International Airport with its ultrafiltration technology for wastewater treatment, ensuring this was in place in time for the Beijing Olympics.

www.inge.ag

GE busy at Beijing Olympic games

GE exceeded its sales goal for the Beijing Olympics, after winning 400 infrastructure projects in and around Beijing, estimated to generate US$700 million in revenues, making the Beijing Games the most successful in GE’s history. GE managed projects in all 37 competition venues and also 168 commercial buildings in and around Beijing. Several projects featured technological firsts for China, including filtration

technology for safe drinking water and rainwater recycling at the National Stadium.

In addition to providing two different water treatment technologies to the National Stadium, GE has been providing reverse osmosis membrane technologies for the Tangshan Nanpu Wastewater Reclamation Project, located east of Beijing in the North China Plain. The plant will produce more than 93,000

tons/day of treated water, enough to fill 37 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and the water will support industrial operations of the Tangshan Nanbao economic development zone. GE water filtration technologies were also in place at the Qinghe wastewater recycling project to process 80,000 m3/day of wastewater to be recycled for landscaping purposes during the Beijing games.

www.ge.com

GE’s filtration technology was in use at the Beijing National Stadium.

Peerlesssubsidiaries win two contracts for separation equipmentPeerless Europe Limited and Burgess-Manning Europe Ltd, both subsidiaries of Peerless Mfg Co, have been awarded contracts worth US$8 million to design and supply filtration and separation, and industrial silencing equipment.

Peerless Europe Ltd was awarded a US$2 million contract to supply gas/liquid separation equipment for application in the cryogenic liquefaction cycle of an LNG plant in Algeria. Burgess-Manning Europe Ltd was awarded a US$3.6 million contract to design and supply separation systems for a gas pipeline extension project in Algeria. Burgess-Manning Europe has also been awarded a contract valued at approximately US$2.3 million for pressure relief and start-up vent valve silencers for a gas to liquids project in Qatar.

www.peerlessmfg.com

US cityinstalls second SiemensSCADA system Siemens Water Technologies will provide Meriden, Connecticut, USA, with a second Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, valued at US$1.3 million. The city’s latest system, to be installed as part of an upgrade at its 11.6 mgd water pollution control facility, will be compatible with the SCADA system supplied by Siemens to Meriden’s water division facilities back in 2002. Once the new SCADA system comes online in early 2010, Siemens says it will allow the city to control and monitor 1,550 process-related database points, and make informed decisions regarding the operation of the pollution control facility, therefore improving the facility’s effluent.

www.water.siemens.com

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LyPore® ClarityBinderless Microglass Media

Trust a partner with along history of supplying

high-quality fi lter media for demanding applications. Design

your diagnostic and laboratory tests on high-performance components. Get Clarity.

Pure. Consistent. Reliable.

Demand Quality. Demand Superior Filtration. Demand LyPore.®

Creating New Definitions of Performance.

www.lydallfi ltration.com

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Alfa Laval acquires separation company Alfa Laval Group has acquired Hutchison Hayes Separation, a provider of separation equipment, parts and services, mainly to the US energy related industries.

In acquiring Hutchison Hayes, Alfa Laval Group is adding a new sales

channel for centrifugal separation equipment and service. Hutchison Hayes will operate as a separate organisation and be consolidated in the Alfa Laval Group.

In other company news, Alfa Laval has received an order for

plate heat exchangers from a company based in Russia.

The order value is worth approximately SEK50 million and delivery is scheduled for 2009.

www.alfalaval.com

Ahlstrom acquires remaining share of joint venture in Brazil

Ahlstrom will acquire the remaining 40% of the joint venture formed with Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP) in September 2007. The production facility located in Jacarei, Brazil, manufactures specialty papers, and Ahlstrom now owns 100% of the shares. The acquisition is in line with Ahlstrom’s strategy to expand its operations in the fast-growing markets in Brazil, Russia,

India and China. The price for the acquisition is �28 million.

The assets in the joint venture comprise a paper machine, and offline coater and extensive finishing equipment at the Jacarei plant, close to São Paolo. The annual net sales are approximately �100 million.

www.ahlstrom.com

São Paolo, Brazil, near to the Jacarei facility now owned by Ahlstrom.

Financial results and new company branding for PolymerPolymer Group Inc (PGI) has announced results from operations for the second quarter. The company highlighted that sales continued to reach record levels during the quarter, up 7.3% to US$290.9 million over the second quarter of 2007 and up 4.9% for the first six months compared to the same period of the prior year. Gross profit improved 6.9% over the first quarter of 2008 and 3.6% over the prior year period to US$45.9 million for the quarter. Net income for the second quarter improved to US$2.4 million versus the 2007 amount of US$1.2 million.

In other company news, PGI has launched a new logo and revamped its website. On of the news features on the company website is the Innovation Lab, an interactive tool for customers to match the best PGI solution to their needs. The company is also rebranding itself as PGI.

www.polymergroupinc.com

IWA announcesProject InnovationAward winnersThe International Water Association (IWA) has announced the winners of the Project Innovation Award Programme (PIA) 2008. Established to recognise excellence and innovation in water engineering projects throughout the world, the programme’s goal is in keeping with the IWA’s mission of “connecting water professionals worldwide to lead the development of effective and sustainable approaches to water management.”

The awards consist of five categories, which are applied research, planning, design, operations/management, and small projects.

The winners were presented with their awards during the IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition held in Vienna in September, and among them were Brown and Caldwell, in the applied research category, for its biosolids treatment process, and Joe Brown and Mark Sobsey, University of North Carolina, were recognised in the small project category, for their easy household-scale filtration for Cambodia.

The awards are sponsored by Black & Veatch.

www.iwa2008vienna.org

Boschlaunchesfiltration business unitThe Bosch Group has formed Filtration Americas, a new regional business unit to be led by David Sholtis as vice president and regional business unit leader. Sholtis comes to Bosch from Honeywell International where he served for 13 years.

Sholtis will be responsible for the filtration business in both North America and Latin America, including strategy formulation, support coordination, and coordination of the Bosch Group and MANN+HUMMEL joint venture – Purolator Filters NA LLC.

www.bosch.com

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Pall acquires French biotechnologycompanyPall Corporation has purchased GeneSystems, a privately held French biotechnology company that has developed a cost-effective molecular diagnostics platform.

The acquisition of GeneSystems, with its approach to rapid microbiological detection equipment and disposables, expands Pall’s Total Fluid ManagementSM (TFM) capabilities in the biopharmaceuticals process monitoring market. The acquisition also presents Pall with new opportunities in environmental, food and beverage and water markets.

Process monitoring includes the analytical tests required during biopharmaceuticals manufacturing for environmental monitoring, in-process control testing and finished product release testing. These tests often receive regulatory scrutiny and support under initiatives such as Process Analytical Technology (PAT). Founded in 2000 in Bruz, France, GeneSystems quickly gained market recognition for its quantitative Legionella diagnostic platform. Since its first product arrived on the market in 2004, GeneSystems has developed systems for the rapid and precise diagnosis of a range of pathogens, including food safety testing focused on E. coli.

Eric Krasnoff, Pall Corporation chairman and CEO commented: “We are excited by this acquisition and the increased opportunities it presents for our pharmaceutical, biotechnology, environmental monitoring, quality control and diagnostics programs. Customers seek better tools for rapid testing and process monitoring. GeneSystems expands our ability to provide Total Fluid Management to meet customer’s raw materials, production, testing and environmental requirements.”

www.pall.com

EPA prepares for awards and sets new standards to reduce emissionsThe US Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC) are preparing for the 9th Annual Clean Air Excellence Awards Programme.

Winners will be honoured for their outstanding accomplishments in projects or technologies that reduce air pollution emissions. Applicants will be judged in a number of categories, including clean air technology, community development/redevelopment,education/outreach, regulatory/

policy innovations, and transportation efficiency innovations.

In addition, winners will be recognised in two special award categories. The Gregg Cooke Visionary Program Award is given to the air quality project or program that successfully blends two or more of the five existing awards categories. The Thomas W. Zosel Outstanding Individual Achievement Award recognises one individual for his or her outstanding achievement, leadership, and commitment to

promote clean air and achieve better air quality. The awards will be announced in spring 2009.

In other news, EPA has set strict new standards for gas-powered lawn equipment and marine engines, hoping to reduce the amount of gas fumes, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and smog-forming pollutants emitted from a wide range of engines.

The regulations will take effect between 2010 and 2011.

www.epa.gov

MANN+HUMMEL establishes new filtration company in ChinaMANN+HUMMEL is set to establish a new company in China. Located in Jiading, a district of Shanghai with one of the largest automotive parts parks in Asia, the new company and production facility will cover an area of 60,000 m2. The new company, which will mainly manufacture filter systems and filters for the automotive OEM and aftermarket, is expected to break ground in January 2009 while the production facility will be in place by January 2010. It will also be MANN+HUMMEL’s China headquarters and the base of its Asian research and development centre.

“China has become the second largest car-producing nation in the world. As a leader in the automotive and industrial filtration industry, we are committed to serving the local market with our industry-leading technology and products,” said Patrick Cudmore, managing director of MANN+HUMMEL China. “We choose Jiading because it has a strong focus on the automotive parts industry and this new company will be our base for future research and development as well as for future business development.”

www.mann-hummel.com

Shanghai, China, where MANN+HUMMEL will set up its new company.

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A constant flow of fresh ideas.

With Ahlstrom's help, water is cleaner, air is clearer, and engines are unpolluted.Our latest investment is the DISRUPTOR™ nanolumina filter technology, which hasbeen proven to remove a wide range of contaminants from water. Other technologiesinclude microglass, carded chemical bond, fine fiber, needlepunch, composites,spunlace, spunbond, wetlaid and TRINITEX®. A world of innovations in filtration.

Small fibers. Big difference.

www.ahlstrom.com Email: [email protected]

©2008

Ahls

trom

Corp

ora

tion

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Technology news12Filtration+Separation October 2008

Crossflow filtration systemfor process developmentSartorius Stedim Biotech has developed Sartoflow® Alpha plus, a flexible modular benchtop crossflow filtration system.

The Sartoflow® Alpha plus provides semi-automatic micro, ultra and diafiltration and is especially suited for process development, clinical testing and smaller production processes. The system can be adapted quickly and easily to the changing production demands of downstream processing due to a choice of options.

According to Sartorius the consistent modularity and wide range of accessories such as conductivity sensors, pH electrodes, peristaltic pumps and 21 CFR part 11 compliant software, means the Sartoflow®

Alpha plus is adaptable to many processes.

The SIP (steaming-in-place) module for thermal sterilisation gives users the option to run all crossflow processes aseptically and for such applications, heat-resistant Sartocon® filter cassettes are available along with custom-built valves and sterile connectors. This makes in situ sterilisation of the entire system possible.

The filter holder takes up to five Sartocon® slice cassettes, each of which has a filter surface of 0.1 m2 and hydrodynamic properties which can be transferred to larger cassettes in the Sartocon® family. All available Sartoflow® Alpha plus modules are designed for a minimum recirculation volume of 300 ml.

www.sartorius.com

The Sartoflow® Alpha plus, a flexible modular benchtop crossflow filtration system.

Backwashing filter with valve actuator technologyCross Manufacturing has introduced the Cross Phoenix IQT, an in-line automatic backwashing filter which incorporates valve actuation technologies.

The Cross Phoenix IQT combines the mechanical benefits of the Phoenix automatic water filter with the advantages of the Rotork IQT intelligent electric valve actuator, providing self-contained local and remote electrical control, indication and diagnostics within a double-sealed IP68 watertight submersible enclosure.

The Phoenix IQT features secure, non-intrusive point and shoot commissioning and interrogation by means of a hand held setting tool. A menu display facilitates filter settings and commissioning and the integral actuator data logger records all settings and any historical data, including torque profiles. Using the hand held tool, this data can be downloaded for diagnosis on a PC running Rotork’s IQ Insight software, and therefore

minimises the requirement for routine maintenance.

The filter can be specified for three-phase, single-phase or DC electrical power supplies to suit existing site control systems. Digital bus connectivity options encompass

Profibus, Foundation Fieldbus, DeviceNet, Modbus and Pakscan.

Automatic backwashing is programmed with an adjustable pressure differential switch and achieved with the minimum consumption of backwash water.

It is possible for many existing Phoenix filter installations to be retrofitted with the IQT actuator upgrade. An onsite survey can determine if this is an option.

www.crossmanufacturing.com

The Cross Phoenix IQT combines the mechanical benefits of the Phoenix automatic water filter with the advantages of the Rotork IQT intelligent electric valve actuator.

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Technology news 13Filtration+Separation October 2008

PFD-042-080808-01

Tubular MembraneModule™ Radial Cartridge Filter™ MacroFlow™

PTFE Cartridge

At Porex Filtration, we’ve found a multitude of answers to the difficult challenges of solid/liquid separations. Using patented and patent-pending technologies like the abrasion-resistant Tubular Membrane Module, the backwashable Radial Cartridge Filter and the easily-installed Macroflow PTFE Cartridge, our structural filtration media is not only superior in design but also easily suits your application with a wide range of pore sizes and filter configurations.

For more information go to www.porexfiltration.com or email us at [email protected].

Superior Strength. Superior Filtration. Optimal Performance.

Please visit us at:Aquatech Amsterdam: Stand 3.305 Hall 3Weftec 2008: Booth 13069 Hall C

500 Bohannon Rd., Fairburn, GA 30213 USA | T. +1 770.515.7700 | F. +1 770.515.7799

Faster flow rates for sterile filtrationMillipore Corp has announced the expansion of its 33 mm Sterile Millex family of syringe filters, which it says includes the fastest filters on the market. Sterile syringe filters are used universally for sterilising or clarifying solutions, and are frequently used for sterile cell culture and clinical pharmaceutical applications.

The 33 mm Millex syringe filters are available in 0.22 μm (GP) and 0.45 μm (HP) pore sizes and deliver faster filtration rates with low protein-binding properties. With 20% more surface area than standard 25 mm devices, the company says the Sterile Millex family of filters offer a higher process volume of 200 ml and a greater burst strength (150 psig), allowing for high operating pressure. Researchers often face filters bursting or clogging, however without this risk, researchers do not need to use multiple filters per sample or worry about incomplete filtration.

In addition to improving filtration throughput, the new Millex filters also increase experimental reproducibility. Because 33 mm filters have a low hold-up volume (less than 100 μL), there is minimal sample loss during filtration.

www.millipore.com

Further investment in catalytic filters researchMemPro Ceramics Corp has been awarded a US$500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue development of a new class of catalytic filters for pollution control.

Initial research began in 1996 at the University of Akron, Ohio, USA, however MemPro began product research in January 2007 and by February 2008 the company became the university’s exclusive licensee of the pollution control technology. The university has

carried out tests and optimisation of production techniques to make ceramic nanofibres that hold tiny particles of catalysts.

Catalysts are used to convert hazardous gases from engine exhaust into harmless components of air – primarily oxygen and nitrogen. They are also used by the power generation industry to reduce pollutants and to satisfy air quality standards. MemPro researchers realised that the small amount of catalyst required in

the ceramic nanofibre format could lead to lower cost catalytic converters, potentially replacing those now used in the automotive industry. The company is currently working with small scale engineers in the outdoor power equipment industry and large power plants in the electric power generation industry, to develop new products for these industries. The US$500,000 grant will fund research costs until June 2010.

www.mempro.comAlumina nanofibres holding platinum nanoparticles.

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New York Blood Centre chooses Pall filtration technology Technology from Pall Life Sciences will support New York Blood Centre’s (NYBC) transition to a new filtration system which aims to improve efficiency when removing white blood cells from donated blood.

The Pall, Leukotrap® RC system with RC2D filter, incorporates leukoreduction, a process that provides a blood product with fewer white blood cells. NYBC determined that Pall’s new in-line filtration process will help

the centre effectively deliver leukoreduced red blood cells to meet increased hospital demand. Blood collected by the Pall Leukotrap RC System with RC2D Filter can be stored up to 72 hours at 1°C-6°C before filtration, permitting greater flexibility for staff scheduling. The Pall RC2D filter design increases the filtration surface area by 50% over single-sided filters. It provides consistent performance across a broad range of processing

conditions, resulting in lower white blood cell residuals with greater consistency and reduced filter plugging. “The Pall RC2D Filter is integral to the blood collection system,” said Allan Ross, president, medical business, Pall Life Sciences. “We developed this system to help our customers collect, process and deliver the highest quality blood products utilising the safest, quickest and most efficient processes.”

www.pall.com

Filter tackles longwall contamination in mines

Schroeder Industries has introduced the LW60 filter for longwall contamination control. Developed to overcome problems caused by higher pump flows and extend the pilot element’s service life, the LW60 is beneficial for the large longwall systems.

The LW60 consists of a single filter housing aligned horizontally with the fluid supply. By allowing

straight-through flow, Schroeder says the design maximises efficiency and minimises pressure drop, and can clear any vertical restrictions commonly associated in mines.

This filter features ExcellementMD™, a new propriety synthetic media designed specifically for the mining industry, and is offered in Beta200 >3 μm, 5 μm, 10 μm, and 15 μm absolute

efficiency options. This level of filtration is required to protect the valves at the shields and is not achievable using alternative wire mesh elements because of their lack of absolute ratings. The filter is supplied with 2 inch BSPP ports, easily adaptable to Super Stecko fittings commonly used underground.

www.schroederindustries.com

The LW60 filter for longwall contamination control filtration.

Controlling dust on cullet returnsDonaldson has launched Donaldson Torit, a dust collector that can be inserted into existing systems. Traditionally, two design approaches have been commonly used for dust collection in glass plants, namely centralised and decentralised. Centralised systems usually have several hoods and duct runs connected to a single dust collector. Though they offer a flexible installation process, there is a risk of complete system failure if the dust collection system is not regularly maintained.

Decentralised systems involve point-of-use dust collectors, allowing discharge of nuisance dust material back into the system. While there is significantly less ductwork to maintain, there are more dust collectors and dust discharge systems to service.

Donaldson Torit have followed distributed approach, by directly integrating the dust collector into an existing batch house or cullet tunnel. Dust collection is then decentralised, with the advantage of less ductwork, while dust discharge is centralised for more efficient handling.

The first key to this approach is the company’s Dalamatic DLMV dust collector, which is a collector without a housing of its own. The components – filter media, cleaning mechanism and a fan – can be integrated, either horizontally or vertically, within the existing process equipment or hoods.

With the Donaldson Torit decentralised approach, dust collectors can be shut down individually for service, meaning production is not interrupted. Space is often an issue in glass plants and finding enough vertical space for a traditional style bag collectors can be challenging.The Dalamatic DLMV is a bag-style collector that functions horizontal, vertical or at an angle, demanding less space and able to fit into odd places.

www.donaldson.com

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Probiotic starter cultures, vaccines, hormones, enzymes – without industrially cultivated bacteria, proper health care for the world‘s increasing population would be impossible.

So, to help these tiny soldiers fi ght the battle against disease, our steam-sterilizable separators are especially gentle on them during separation. The result is effi ciency, optimum separation, high yields, high concentrations and economy.

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Bacteria aretough customers.We are tougher.Filtering process

water at a lower costIndustrial Purification Systems (IPS), has introduced CrossFlowMF1.0, a new technology which the company says bridges the gap between water filter systems and advanced membrane technology, or ultrafiltration, but at a lower cost. IPS says the CrossFlowMF1.0 has been developed to filter below 1.0 micron reliably, achieving down to 0.45 micron to ensure cleaner process water, therefore helping a business reduce its carbon footprint.

This filter system utilises a patented vortex bed stabiliser which maintains flat bed filtration with high surface turbulence. This ensures that no bio-fouling can be seeded whilst holding filtered contamination

in suspension above the media bed. IPS claims this also provides lower pressure drops, longer filtration and shorter backwash cycles making direct savings on operational costs. The high interstitial void volume of the media allows for greater dirt holding capacity and contamination interaction for the Zeta potential of the media to remove the finer particulates down to 0.45 micron.

By reducing the load on the filter the cycle between cleaning is increased and the amount of times the process has to stop for the membranes to be cleaned is reduced. The company also adds, that the need for chemical filtration is decreased, reducing the impact on the environment.

www.industrial-purification.co.uk

Filter for analysing and controlling emissions Munktell has introduced the Glass and Quartz filter range ideal for use in air pollution control, exhaust emission testing, analysis of acidic gases, and the retention of particulate dusts.

Manufactured from borosilicate glass and bound by synthetic binders, glass fibre filters can provide high efficiency rates down to submicronic levels combined with high direct holding capacity and effective air permeability. This filter media is compatible with a large number of inorganic and organic solutions and is physically and biologically

inert. Micro-glass fibre filters with binders, can resist temperatures up to 180°C and, according to distributors Anachem, the cylindrical glass fibre thimbles are the perfect solution when condensation, water or oils have to be separated from compressed air, gases or exhaust air for analytical or technical purposes.

The filters are available as circular filters, sheets, reels or thimbles in a variety of sizes. The Glass and Quartz filter range is now available in the UK and Ireland from Anachem.

www.anachem.co.uk

Compact liquid dosing systemBronkhorst has introduced a series of fully integrated liquid dosing systems, covering a flow range from a few nanolitres to 1000 kg/h. Factory assembled and tested, the company says the systems are delivered are easy-to-use, and compact systems, capable of accuracy and virtually pulsation-free flow patterns.

Each liquid dosing system consists of a mass flowmeter from either Bronkhorst’s thermal mass Liqui-flow or Coriolis-type Cori-flow series, with onboard controlling function, a liquid filter of the correct mesh type and size, and a check valve to avoid backflow.

www.bronkhorst.co.uk

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Vent filter for laboratory and research applications Meissner has expanded its family of Ultradyne® 50 PTFE vent filters with the addition of the Steridyne® 50 filter. This 50 mm, PVDF, 0.2 μm-rated vent filter has a stepped hose barb inlet/outlet and is suited for low volume venting, gas and solvent filtration. Although solely designed to be used as a vent filter, it can also be used to filter up to one litre of solvent or solvent-based liquids, and when pre-wet with alcohol, it can be used to filter aqueous liquids.

Steridyne® 50 filters are designed for use in laboratory and research applications and can be gamma irradiated. Meissner says the Steridyne® 50 filters are ideal for venting TepoFlex™ biocontainers.

www.meissner.com

Meissner has expanded its family of Ultradyne® 50 PTFE vent filters.

Eppendorf has introduced the Centrifuge 5430, which spins at up to 30,130 x g and accommodates virtually any tube or plate in eight different rotors.

According to Eppendorf, the Centrifuge 5430 is the world’s first microcentrifuge offering the option to use a swing-bucket rotor for spinning MTP and PCR plates.

The company says the aerosol-tight standard rotor improves safety, while rotor options cover tubes from 0.2 ml up to 50 ml, including CryoTubes® and Falcon® tubes, microtest plates, deepwell plates (200 or 500 μl) and slides, and a kit rotor for open spin columns. The Centrifuge 5430 is most ideal for laboratories using both tubes and plates.

www.eppendorf.com

Centrifuge for laboratories using tubes and plates

The Centrifuge 5430 from Eppendorf.

Dowultrafiltrationmembranesapproved

Dow Water Solutions has announced the approval of its ultrafiltration membrane modules for drinking water applications.The modules are now certified as an alternative filtration technology for treating drinking water and can be used as the core of a filtration system for converting surface waters into safe drinking water.

Dow UF has been tested and certified under the California Surface Water Treatment Rule, as well as the federal Long Term 1 and Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rules.

Testing demonstrated the effectiveness of modules in removing harmful pathogens from water and the operational integrity of the modules.

www.dow.com

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Solid phase extraction range expanded Agilent Technologies has announced the availability of Agilent SampliQ SPE, a solid phase extraction (SPE) product line for the purification of extracts that improves the accuracy and reproducibility of analytical results. A new line of polymer SPE products complement the silica and other sorbents such as carbon and Florisil PR.

The SampliQ SPE product line expands upon the previous AccuBONDII SPE product line. Formats ranging from the most popular cartridge sizes to 96-well plates are available to meet a range of solid phase extraction needs.

According to Agilent, solid phase extraction is a cornerstone technique in the analytical workflow of complex samples because it reduces the number and amount of potential interferences that can jeopardise a separation, detection and quantification. Researchers in the food safety,

pharmaceutical, environmental, and forensic industries use solid phase extractions and

the growing importance of food safety presents a need for effective solid phase extraction

to help with food safety analysis.

www.agilent.com

The SampliQ SPE product line, which expands the previous AccuBONDII SPE line.

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Feature18Filtration+Separation October 2008

Feature1818 Feature18

Membranes and filtration:

Membranefiltration in the biopharm industry

andar Dixit of Sartorius Stedim explains the usage and importance of membranes as a sterile form of filter media in the biopharmaceutical industries, with an overview of the general process and a look at recent developments in this sector of the filtration industry.

Introduction

Normal flow or dead-end filters using micro-porous membranes of synthetic polymers are used extensively in a wide variety of biopharmaceutical liquid filtration applications. A typical bioprocess consists of various unit operations beginning with media preparation and sterile media addition into a bioreactor or a fermenter followed by several stages of clarification of cell harvest post-fermentation, followed by three to four stages of purification using a series of chromatography columns and ultrafiltration/diafiltration (UF/DF) steps for concentration and buffer exchange, prior to formulation, fill and finish. The processing steps prior to the first chromatography column in the purification suite are generally referred to as “upstream” processes, whereas the

unit operations thereafter are termed as “downstream” processes. See Figure 1 for a generic block diagram of the process for better appreciation of the various stages in upstream and downstream processing.

Media filtration typically involves membranes with retention ratings ranging from 0.45-μm for prefilters and 0.2-μm and 0.1-μm as final filters. The membrane filters are also used in cell harvest clarification post-cellulosic DE clarification filters. The primary goal of these filters is to reduce bioburden in the filtrate, thereby reducing the chance of bacterial contamination in the product. In downstream processing, sterilising grade 0.2-μm rated membrane filters are commonly used for reducing bioburden as well as maintaining sterility of pooled downstream purified intermediates. A sterilising grade 0.2/0.22-μm

rated filter is also used to sterilise the final purified bulk drug substance into vials.

For a filter to qualify as sterilising grade, it needs to provide a “sterile” filtrate when challenged with Brevundimonas Diminutabacteria at a minimum challenge level of 1 x107 CFU/cm2 of filter area. This Bacterial Challenge Testing (BCT) has to be performed in strict accordance with ASTM F838-05 standard. Most major filter manufactures perform this testing in-house and correlate the BCT to a non-destructive Integrity Test with limit values of diffusive flow and bubble point reported, within which the membrane filter can be construed as “integral” for bacterial retention. These Integrity Test values are reported in the validation literature of the filter manufacturer and the customers routinely use these non-destructive Integrity

M

Figure 1: Typical bioprocess block diagram showing various stages of upstream and downstream processes.

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Feature 19Feature 19Feature 19Feature 19Filtration+Separation October 2008

Tests to ensure filter integrity pre- and post-use. Automated Integrity Testers are used to carry out diffusive flow and bubble point tests.

Membrane filtration is also routinely used in traditional pharmaceutical applications such as blood fractionation, processing of sera and Large Volume Parenterals (LVP). The goal here is the same as in biopharmaceutical processes, i.e. reduce the potential of bacterial contamination of the product as well as provide a method for cold sterilisation. A right choice of the prefilter and final membrane filter combination strikes an optimum balance between flow rates, filtration time and overall filtration costs.

Important membrane filter characteristics

Since the primary goal for membrane filtration is to reduce bacterial contamination in the filtrate and provide “sterile” filtrate for 0.2-μm rated filters; they are evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Effective retention of bacteria to significantly reduce bacterial contamination risk;

• High total throughput performance resulting in the low filtration area and hence reduced filtration costs;

• Acceptable flow rate range to ensure that the entire batch is filtered in a reasonable time-frame;

• Low degree of absorption/adsorption of target protein, especially as one moves

downstream and the concentration of target protein increases.

Typical comparison charts of various membrane materials in terms of flow rate, total throughput and adsorption/yield loss are seen in Figures 2, 3 and 4, which highlight significant differences between various membranes in performance including the same membrane material composites (PESU and PVDF) from different manufacturers.

A variety of tests are usually conducted with the fluid of interest on a bench scale using small-scale 47 mm disc filters to determine what type and grade of membrane filters work well for flow rate and throughput performance. If the flow rate and throughput for the membrane filters yield reasonable sizes for the full-scale, only a membrane filter is specified in the process. If the throughput is not high enough from different grades of membrane composites selected; a range of prefilters are tested for throughputs as well as their ability to protect the final filter If the final filter throughput is also in an acceptable range; such a combination is recommended for further larger scale testing. The flat disc trials only provide an indication of filter train performance. It is absolutely essential to verify the filter train selection by running trials on a larger scale using pleated capsules. Sometimes, a confirmation filterability trial is also conducted using all the filters in a train at the full, process scale. Such a test provides a definitive assurance of sizing of each filter in the train.

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The goal of membrane filtration is to reduce the potential of bacterial contamination of the product as well as provide a method for cold sterilisation.

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Most of the membrane filters are offered in a variety of sizes beginning with 150 cm2 effective filtration area (EFA) through 18,000 cm2 EFA. Availability of such a wide range of pleated devices is critical, especially with the recent move to completely disposable bag plus filter assemblies becoming quite common in small-to-

medium scale applications. The filter capsules are designed such that they can be sterilised using Gamma Irradiation. These capsules are assembled with tubing on to the inlet ports of the bags with the filter capsule attached and the entire assembly is then subjected to Gamma Irradiation. This “sterilised” assembly is then

ready-to-use by the customer. It is critical to choose a membrane as well as all other filter capsule components that are compatible with Gamma Irradiation.

Types of membrane filters

A variety of polymers are used by different manufacturers for casting membranes. Cellulose Acetate, Polyethersulfone (PES/PESU), Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) and Nylon are some of the common polymers used in manufacturing pleated membrane filters for liquid service. These membranes are typically 100-150-μm thick and consist of a highly porous structure with a narrow particle size distribution. The retention of particles and microorganisms is mainly achieved on the “surface” of the filter matrix by sieve retention. Particles and microorganisms larger than the actual pore size of the membrane are effectively removed. Membrane filters are predominantly used in the final filtration step because they ensure the most reliable retention of particles and specific microorganisms, sacrificing throughput capability for most applications.

The main advantage of these filters is their high degree of bacterial retention. There are also more open (> 0.2 μm) membranes available, which are used as an in-built prefilter layer, providing enhanced throughput performance. Many of the commercially available membrane filter devices are generally pleated from two heterogeneous membrane layers. The upstream membrane layer is coarser for larger particulate removal, whereas the downstream membrane is finer to reduce colloidal content and bioburden. Such 0.45- μm rated membrane Prefilters are usually used as chromatography column protection filters or as a bioburden reduction step in downstream processing. Many manufacturers also pleat together the micro-glass fibre fleece as the upstream layer in combination with a membrane as the downstream layer. The Micro-GF provides depth filtration as well as high clarification capabilities, while the membrane provides finer particulate removal and higher bacterial retention. Such micro-glass(GF)/membrane combination filters are popular in serum-containing media filtration, small-scale cell harvest and diagnostic solutions.

Chemical compatibility of membranes is another important aspect that needs to be considered for some applications. Most of the biologic solutions are aqueous-based and are at near-neutral pH conditions. However, caustics as well as acid solutions are routinely used during Cleaning-in-Place (CIP) processes. The filters thus get exposed to a very wide pH range from 1 to 14. Polypropylene works best for such applications, which is why it is widely used for manufacturing all accessories of the cartridge or capsule filters including core, cage, adapters and support and drainage layers. In terms of membrane materials themselves,

Figure 2: Flow rate comparison for various membranes per 10” element at 15 psig ΔP.

Figure 3: Total throughput comparison per 10” element at 15 psig ΔP constant pressure.

Figure 4: IgG unspecific adsorption comparison (mg./10” element).

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Feature 21Filtration+Separation October 2008

Feature 21Feature 21Feature 21

except PES which is good over the entire pH range, all other liquid-service membranes have pH limitation. As an example, cellulose acetate can be used in the pH range of 4-8, while PVDF is not recommended for solutions with very high pH values.

Sterilisation is also commonly performed in biotech applications with saturated steam with temperatures reaching as high as 134 °C for 30 minutes minimum. Complete filter cartridge construction (outer cage, inner core, and adapter) needs to withstand these harsh process conditions for short time intervals. Once again, polypropylene is an optimal choice for the materials of construction. Filter manufacturers also have to test a filter’s ability to withstand multiple steaming cycles.

There are also new, innovative application specific approaches in membrane filtration like the Sartopore® 2 XLG 0.8/0.2 and Sartopore® 2 XLI 0.35/0.2 PES filters from Sartorius Stedim Biotech. Both of these filters have different prefilter membrane retention ratings designed for specific particle size distribution characteristics in fluids commonly encountered in biotech as well as pharmaceutical industries. The Prefilter layers in XLG and XLI are effective in different applications, achieving very high throughputs combined with optimised pleat pack construction, resulting in 30% higher effective filtration area per 10”

element. The 0.2-μm final filter layer is the same as the current Sartopore 2 0.45/0.2 combination, providing highly reliable bacterial retention. This new development promises a quantum leap in membrane filtration compared to the current commercially available double layer membrane filters. These filters have reduced total membrane filters surface area by more than half in some large-scale applications while eliminating the need for prefilters.

Summary

Dead-end nembrane filtration has wide use in bioprocessing and they are primarily relied upon for reducing bacterial contamination as well as ensuring sterility of the process fluids. An optimally designed membrane filter has to provide excellent balance in all of the following criteria:

• Highest total throughput performance, directly resulting in lower filtration costs;

• High Flow rate;

• High degree of bacterial retention;

• Low unspecific adsorption of target protein.

A wide range of membrane materials are available from all the major suppliers.

Some of the widely used polymers are: Cellulose Acetate, PES, PVDF and Nylon.

Most of these filters have heterogeneous double layer construction with an in-built more open membrane prefilter layer. Each membrane material has its strengths and is selected appropriately for a certain stage in a bioprocess.

Membrane filtration is absolutely necessary in many biopharmaceutical applications for bioburden reduction as well as a method for cold sterilisation. Some of the latest developments in membrane filters include application-specific filter composites manufactured out of asymmetric PES membranes exhibiting very high flow rates and total throughputs, coupled with optimised pleat pack designs. •Contact:Mandar Dixit is the Product Manager for Sterilising Grade Filters at Sartorius Stedim North America Inc. located in Edgewood, NY. He has over 14 years of experience in filtration and separation technologies. He currently supports the North American Biopharmaceutical market for Filtration Technologies with special focus on Sterilising Grade Filters and Prefilters. He is a member of PDA and ISPE. Mr. Dixit has co-authored papers in trade journals on Prefiltration as well as Filter Optimisation and Scale-up studies. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT-Bombay in India and his Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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Filtration industry overview:

World pharma and biotechnologymarket 2008

his article addresses the markets, technologies and processes surrounding filtration methods in these two important industries, focusing on fluid and water filtration.

Cleanliness and avoidance of contamination are critically important factors in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries because many of the products are eventually consumed by humans.

The US EPA recognises four distinct subcategories within the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry: Subcategory A (Fermentation); Subcategory B (Extraction); Subcategory C (Chemical Synthesis); and Subcategory D (Mixing, Compounding, and Formulating). By the nature of the manufacturing operations, it is to be expected that the majority of the pollutants discharged are non-toxic in the amounts discharged. For Subcategory D operations, the use of food grade (or FDA approved) materials is emphasised, which implies limited toxicity of the potential waste products. However, the industry is still required to meet conventional wastewater treatment limits, which may have little relationship to the chemistry of its individual wastewater components.

Filtration applications include water for injection (WFI), container washing, processing including drying and separation to formulate tablets or broth, and wastewater treatment.

There are several levels of severity in the water requirements for pharmaceutical and biotech applications. First, there is purified water in its general form. It must meet requirements for chemical and bacteriological purity, but is not intended for parenteral use. Water for injection (WFI) has to meet more stringent requirements. It must meet all of the above requirements but does not necessarily need to be sterile, however, it must

not contain pyrogens. Because of its low ion content, WFI must be made isotonic before injection. Isotonic solutions are those that have the same salt concentration as blood. Sterile water for injection meets all of the above requirements but must also be free of any microbial agent or any chemical additive and must be produced so that it is sterile.

In order to achieve the various levels of required cleanliness, different technologies are used. Reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, cartridges, and macro filtration processes such as filter presses, sedimentation and centrifugation are all utilised. The market size and brief summary of each method will be described.

Reverse Osmosis/ Ultrafiltration/ Microfiltration

Reverse Osmosis, Ultrafiltration, and Microfiltration (RO, UF, and MF) technologies are cross flow membrane systems

used in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry to purify the water used in the processes and also wastewater, either for discharge to waterways or for reclamation. One of the largest uses of crossflow membrane technology in this segment is in process separations. Purification of water for injection into patients (WFI) is another major application. The complete range of RO, UF, and MF systems are employed.

Microfiltration (MF) is a membrane filtration process allowing molecules of the size of salts, sugars, and proteins to pass through the membrane pores, while molecules of the size of bacteria are rejected. MF is commonly used to sterilise liquid reagents such as cell culture media. Microfiltration can also be used as pretreatment to reverse osmosis.

The MF equipment and membrane markets hold the largest market share of the three processes, at over $300 million and $123 million respectively for 2008.

T

Figure 1: The 2008 market share for reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration and microfiltration.

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Reverse osmosis produces the finest level of filtration of all the membrane processes. Application of RO most often is to provide water which is almost free of solids, salts, organics and colloids to subsequent final polishing processes, such as ion exchange.

The reverse osmosis equipment market for 2008 is close to $135 million, with the RO membrane market at almost $73 million.

The ultrafiltration process typically rejects organics over 1,000 molecular weight (MW) while passing ions and small organics. In the pharmaceutical industry, it is being used as a final filter in some pharmaceutical water purification systems. In 2008, the ultrafiltration equipment market is $241 million, and the membrane market is over $105 million.

RO, MF and UF will see continued growth at about 9 percent per year for the next few years.

Figure 1 shows the market share of each process for 2008.

Cartridge filters

Cartridge filtration is the technology most in use in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, holding a total market size of over $2 billion for these industries.

Cartridge filters are normally used for fluid polishing, with particle size to be separated smaller than about 50 microns. Surface filtration takes place in pleated filters while depth filtration is the mechanism in string wound, resin impregnated and molded cartridges. Depth filters have traditionally had a lower cost than surface filters. Cartridge filters are typically installed prior to the RO units. Cartridge filter types include membrane, nonwoven, carbon, string wound and metal.

Membrane cartridge filters are ideal for the critical filtration needed in pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing, hence having the largest market share at over $1 billion for 2008. Membrane filter materials include nylon, polypropylene, and PTFE.

Cartridge filtration is the widest used technology in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, followed by reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration and microfiltration systems. The next largest market segment is for nonwoven cartridges, at $769 million. Nonwoven cartridges are used as a support layer for membranes, as well as on their own for less critical filtration applications.

Carbon filters, used to achieve organic purity, hold a market share of $137 million. Metal and string wound segments are smaller, at $77 million and almost $48 million respectively.

Figure 2 shows the market share by cartridge type for 2008.

Macro filtration

Macro filtration, also known as liquid filtration, is characterised by particle removal between l and 100 micrometers in diameter. This segment includes leaf filters, bag filters and filter presses.

A filter press is used for solid-liquid separation of pharmaceutical solutions. The solution to be filtered is made to pass through a thin membrane until the solid material is split from the liquid.

Figure 2: The 2008 market share for each type of cartridge filter.

Figure 3: The 2008 market share of macro filtration products.

Figure 4: The market share for sedimentation and centrifugation.

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These specialised equipments are also used to remove suspended particles from a solution and process water and wastewater treatment.

Automatic pressure filters are designed for foods, pharmaceuticals and solvent-wetted products. Some features allow double-sided filtration for multiple cake washing and cake drying options. Automatic pressure filters can be seen in penicillin production to help increase recovery of the penicillin-active ingredient. The process involves making a fermentation, which contains the penicillin, and solid mycelia waste. The solids and the liquids are separated, and the liquid is extracted with solvents to remove the penicillin. The manufacturer can separate the solids and liquids in rotary drum vacuum filters, and dispose of the mycelia in the wastewater, but the vacuum filters can produce a fairly wet cake containing a significant amount of penicillin, which is lost. Replacing the vacuum filters with automatic pressure filters will give it a drier filter cake and clearer filtrate, as well as lower penicillin loss.

Leaf filters employ a nest of filter discs spaced on a common shaft and fully enclosed within a pressure-resistant casing. Overall configuration may be vertical or horizontal. The filter nest is normally static for filtration, the suspension being passed through the nest under positive or negative (vacuum) pressure. Filtrate is withdrawn separately, with solids remaining on the filter disks as cake. Leaf design varies widely, from simple to complex mesh forms, with or without filter cloths fitted, and for use with or without precoat. A precoat is normally employed where fine filtering is required. Particular advantages of vertical leaf filters are good cake consistency with freedom from cracking or channeling

because the filter cake is not affected by pressure variations.

Bag filters are widely used for the capture of solids and purification of liquids. The solid retaining capacity gives them advantages over cartridges. A wide variety of media can be selected for bag filter applications including rayon viscose, polypropylene, polyester and nylon. Bag filter vessels can be furnished in a variety of corrosion resistant alloys as well as carbon, steel and FRP.

Cartridge filtration is the technology most in use in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, holding a total market size of over $2 billion for these industries.Leaf, tubular and belt filtration holds a large market share of the macro filtration systems for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. New equipment for these devices is near $108 million, with the media used at almost $44 million. The next largest segment in 2008 is bag filters, at $52 million for new equipment and $53 million for the bags. The 2008 market for macro filtration products is shown in Figure 3.

Sedimentation and centrifugation

Separators used in the production and processing of, for example, human blood, vaccines, bacteria, algae and pigments, must meet stringent requirements. In certain situations, the process must run under sterile conditions, be fully automated and ensure economy and efficiency.

Designs include a suspended bowl concept, completely segregated process and drive areas, and fully automatic operation to provide the sterile treatment of the product with highest possible efficiency.

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the smaller segments, but it is the highest growth segment. This is in part due to the critical role that disk separators play in the production of biotechnology products. The total world market in the pharmaceutical/ biotech industry for sedimentation & centrifugation products in 2008 is $325 million.

Figure 4 shows the disk separators market for 2008 is the largest segment, at $115 million, followed by basket centrifuges at almost $108 million.

Ultrapure Water Systems

New applications, new technology and new ways to operate are providing dynamic change to the ultrapure water industry. Power plants were early users of the technology. The semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries have been the biggest recent investors.

The pharmaceutical purchases of ultrapure water systems (UPW) continue to grow at a steady rate of 6 percent to 7 percent per year and will exceed $267 million worldwide in 2008 and $345 million per year by 2012. Within this sector, biotech is growing much faster than the total pharmaceutical UPW market, with strong growth especially in India.

A summary of the market shares by technology are illustrated in Figure 5. Cartridge filtration is the widest used technology in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, followed by RO/UF/MF systems.

Disposable process equipment – a growing trend

Disposable process equipment is a fast growing industry trend, as drug manufacturers adopt single-use systems to reduce cleaning, sterilisation and their associated validation costs. According to single use system manufacturer Pall, disposables are in use over 90 percent of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies’ manufacturing processes. Pall states that the systems reduce possibilities for FDA non-compliance, and also enable faster, more cost effective product changeovers.

However, some drug makers who haven’t made the switch to disposables are concerned about the plastic materials leaching into product or contaminating solvent, and want to avoid getting locked into one source of the materials. To address these concerns, single use manufacturers have created The Bio-Process Systems Alliance (BPSA), an industry organisation to promote single-use technology worldwide through education, industry guides, and support of standards development. •Contact:Karen VacuraEmail: [email protected] Company

Figure 5: 2008 market shares by filtration type.

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Filtration overview:

A closer look at depth filtration

en Sutherland looks at the characteristics of depth filtration, at the range of equipment used to implement it, and at how it is used, with a special look at biotechnological applications.

Depth filtration, as its name implies, involves the separation of a suspended particle or liquid droplet from its carrying fluid within the depth (thickness) of the filter medium. Elsevier’s Handbook of Filter Media1 describes four different mechanisms of filtration:

• surface straining;

• depth straining;

• depth filtration; and

• cake filtration (which is a development of surface filtration);

according to the way in which the suspended material is trapped by the filter medium. (To these there should now, of course, be added cross-flow filtration, in which the separating medium endeavours to hold no suspended material at all.)

In surface straining any particle that is larger in size than the pores of the medium deposits on the surface, and stays there until it is removed. Particles that are smaller in size than the pores pass quickly through the medium. This is the main operating mechanism for bar screens, and plain woven monofilament plastic or wire mesh.

Depth straining is also entirely governed by particle size or shape. For filter media that are relatively thick by comparison with their pore diameters, particles will travel along the pore until they reach a point where the pore narrows down to a size too small for the particle to go any further, so that it becomes trapped. Strictly speaking, depth straining is to be differentiated from depth filtration, which also occurs somewhere along the length of a pore. Now, however, the particle becomes trapped in the depth of the medium, even though it is smaller in diameter, and possibly much smaller, than the pore at that point. Such behaviour involves a complex mixture of physical mechanisms.

KMoving bed filters are also coming into use for the treatment of hot, dust-laden exhaust gases.

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Particles are first brought into contact with the pore wall (or very close to it), by inertial or hydraulic forces, or by Brownian (molecular) motion. They then become attached to the pore wall, or to another particle already held, by means of van der Waals and other surface forces. The magnitude and efficacy of these forces may be affected by changes in factors such as the concentration and species of ions in an aqueous solution, or the humidity of a gas. This mechanism is important for most media, but especially for high efficiency air filters and in deep bed (sand) filters.

The process that is to be cake filtration begins with the formation of a layer of particles on the surface of the filter medium, with larger pores bridged by a group of smaller particles. On this layer, a cake of particles accumulates to act as the filter medium for subsequent filtration.

These definitions emphasise that the mechanisms of filtration may result in the trapping of far smaller particles than might be expected from the size of the pores in the medium. The actual mechanism or combination of mechanisms pertaining in any specific instance is dependent on the characteristics both of the medium and of the suspension being filtered.

If the filter medium is thick, with respect to the diameters of the fibres or particles of which it is comprised, then the separation of the suspended particles from the fluid will occur by both depth straining and depth filtration, and it will not be possible to distinguish between them. Accordingly, the term “depth filtration” is applied to the combined mechanism, and is the sense in which it is used in this article.

Clarification

There are two prime purposes for filtration: either to recover the solids suspended in the fluid being filtered, in as concentrated a form as possible, or to remove any suspended solid from a fluid, as completely as possible (although it is frequently desirable to combine both purposes). The recovery process usually deals with fairly concentrated feed suspensions, and proceeds by means of cake filtration. The clarification process, on the other hand, usually involves the removal of contaminants from the feed liquid, with the suspended solids in fairly low concentrations.

It is clarification that is the main function of depth filtration, for which its mechanism is well suited, with its ability to remove particles considerably smaller than the average pore diameter in the filter medium. An important feature of clarification filters is their ability to hold a significant quantity of trapped solids before they become blocked and must be cleaned or replaced. With the very common flat sheet filter media this aim is achieved by pleating the sheet, or arranging in some other way, that the largest possible area of medium can be packed into the volume of the filter housing.

Depth filters, by contrast, achieve their dirt-holding capability by means of the thickness of their media, frequently with pore sizes that are graded to be smaller in the direction of fluid flow, so that coarser particles are trapped first. This is achieved in two very different types of depth filter: the deep bed (or sand) filter, and the thick medium filter. Any clarification filter (other than the self-cleaning types) will eventually become full of trapped solid,

at which point the filter must be cleaned, by backwashing or chemically – or replaced.

Depth filtration equipment

There are the two types of depth filter just mentioned, which are very different in construction, and hence in application, and in means of cleaning.

Deep bed filter

The deep bed filter, as its name implies, involves filtration vertically through a packed bed of granular or fibrous material, whose height is considerably greater than even the thickest of continuous filter media. It is typified by the conventional sand filter, which clarifies water by depth filtration mechanisms as it flows through a bed of graded sand that may be up to one metre in depth.

Many different granular and crushed materials have been used to form the deep beds employed in the large gravity and pressure filters common to the water purification and sewage treatment industries. In addition to sand, which is the classic and most common material, others used include garnet, ilmenite, alumina, magnetite, anthracite and quartz; coke and pumice have also been used but, because of their porosity, they are troublesome to clean and consequently give rise to the danger of uncontrolled breeding of bacteria.

Conventionally, there are two main types that operate with gravity flow downwards through a 0.6-1.0m deep bed – the “slow” and “rapid” sand filters. Slow sand filters operate with a velocity of 0.1-0.2m/h down through the bed. They actually function largely by straining through a biological layer that forms on the surface of the bed. They

Deep bed filters are used in the polishing of waste waters before discharge, both in municipal treatment works, and on industrial sites.

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are cleaned occasionally by the reasonably complete removal of this layer, without disturbing the rest of the bed.

Rapid sand filters utilise a velocity of 5-15m/h and function by depth filtration within the bed. They are cleaned frequently by cessation of process flow, followed by a reverse upward flow of wash water at such a rate that the bed expands and releases the trapped dirt particles; this cleaning flow may be augmented by some form of agitation, such as injecting compressed air below the bed or hydraulic jets impinging on the surface. This cleaning process has an important secondary effect, which is to reclassify the granules of the bed based on the combined influence of their size and their density, so that the washed bed is graded from finest at the top to coarsest at the bottom.

A variety of other types of filter has been developed from the rapid sand filter, including pressurised versions, and the use of upward flow so that the incoming raw water encounters the coarsest granules first and the finest last. These beds are also washed by an expanding upward flow, with the dirty effluent withdrawn separately.

Multi-layer filters with conventional downward filtration achieve the same results by means of beds comprising two or more materials of different densities so that the hydraulic classification resulting from cleaning

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In biochemical manufacturing processes, larger fragments are removed by centrifugation. There is a vital clarification task to be performed, on extremely costly suspensions. Depth filters are proving adept at this.

places the finer, denser particles on top of the coarser, less dense particles.

The most modern version of the rapid sand filter is that which uses a moving bed of sand, whereby both filtration and cleaning proceed continuously and simultaneously. Recent evidence (from the US EPA) suggests that such filters can be as effective as membrane

filtration plants in the removal of such pathogens as Cryptosporidia and Giardia from water intended for drinking.

The deep bed filter is mainly used for large flows of contaminated water, but moving bed filters are also coming into use for the treatment of hot, dust-laden exhaust gases, for which purpose they are a strong competitor to ceramic candle filters.

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Thick media filters

The alternative form of depth filter is predominately composed of a replacement filter cartridge, in a generally cylindrical shape (to fit in to a cylindrical containment vessel). This cartridge may either be an actual, self-supporting cylinder of thick porous material, or a similar shape created by the laying down of a thick layer of porous material on a cylindrical core, or the quite different format created by clamping together a set of lenticular discs, each made from two circular layers of thick material, bonded together at their outside edge.

The substance from which such cartridges may be made includes a very wide range of materials, both natural and synthetic. These may be natural or artificial fibres or filaments, self-bonded as in a felt, thermally bonded as in a nonwoven fleece, or resin bonded into a moulded cylinder. The basic fibre may be metallic, glass or ceramic as well as organic, and all of these materials may be used as granules before thermal bonding (sintering) or resin bonding. Increasingly the important modern varieties of nonwoven materials made from extruded thermoplastics are being applied directly from the extrusion process onto a take-up core, to make a layer of any desired thickness.

The cartridge may also be made from a continuous multi-filament yarn wound at an angle around a core, to give a spirally wound medium. Alternatively, thick sheets of material, woven, nonwoven or bonded, may be cut, wrapped around a core and joined at the long edge.

However the depth filter medium is made, there is considerable scope for building in to the resultant filter element the required filtration efficiency, flow resistance and dirt-holding capacity, by the proper choice of basic fibre or granule size and shape.

Applications

As has already been implied, the job of the depth filter is very largely that of the removal of small quantities of unwanted suspended material from a fluid flow – where that fluid may be the product of a process, or a feed to a process, or a waste stream that must be cleaned before it may be discharged into the environment. It is rare that the separated solid is anything other than a waste material (whose quantity has hopefully been minimised before arrival at the depth filter), so that any cleaning process for the filter element will be designed to restore its original filtration characteristics as far as possible, rather than to retrieve the accumulated solids.

In the case of the deep bed filters, the application is almost all in the clarification of drinking and process water, where they are very widely used, and in the polishing of waste waters before discharge, both in municipal treatment works, and on industrial sites. The potentially important use for cleaning hot exhaust gases is well worthy of note, but is nowhere at the scale of deep bed use for water.

Thick media filters are used in almost every industrial process, mainly, but by no means entirely, in the cleaning of liquids. They are used for maintaining the integrity of hydraulic and pneumatic systems, and for cleaning machine tool coolant. In a vastly numerous range of individual applications, thick media filters provide the required liquid clarity as feed to membrane processes, as products in the food and beverage, and fine chemicals and toiletries sectors.

Biotechnology

In the majority of biochemical manufacturing processes, a fermentation process either produces a valuable product secreted from the

cell during the reaction, or retained in the cell after the reaction. When the larger fragments are removed, usually by centrifugation, before or after the cell wall is broken, there is a vital clarification task to be performed, on extremely costly suspensions. Depth filters are proving adept at this task2,3, enabling the fermentation products to be prepared quickly, cleanly and with high production rates. They are also important in the provision of the various feed media for bioreactors, the range of depth filters used as prefilters being very wide.

An important development in this sector is the move towards single-use filters, to avoid any risk of cross-contamination. This greatly helps with process validation costs, as it ensures that sterile filters are used every time. The economics of biotechnology are such that the costs of using disposable filters are small compared with the process savings. •Contact:Ken SutherlandTel: +44 (0)1737 218868 Email: [email protected] Sutherland has managed Northdoe Limited, his process engineering and marketing consultancy, for over 30 years. Northdoe is largely concerned with filtration and related separation processes. He has written numerous articles for Filtration+Separation and four books on separation processes, most recently an A to Z of Filtration and the fifth edition of the Filters& Filtration Handbook, both for Elsevier.

References

1. Derek B Purchas & Ken Sutherland (2002), Handbook of Filter Media, Elsevier Advanced Technology, 2nd Edition.

2. Mahesh Prashad & Klaus Tarrach (2006), Filtration+Separation, 43, September, 28-30.

3. Mandar Dixit & Ulrich Bräutigam (2007), Filtration+Separation, 44, July/August, 24-6.

In the case of deep bed filters, the application is almost all in the clarification of drinking and process water.

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Biopharmaceutical technology:

Cell harvesting – getting cultural

eter Rose of Alfa Laval takes a look at one of the growth areas of biopharmaceutical filtration and separation: the harvesting of mammalian cells to produce new drugs and medicines. The article examines the origines of the technology used in this sector of the industry, and considers recent developments.

We – mammals that is – are composed of cells. The reflection that faces you in a mirror may look solid enough but what you are really seeing are approximately 10 trillion cells split into about 200 different types. These cell groups are quite specialised: livers are made of liver cells, muscles of specialist muscle cells and so on.

Growing and harvesting mammalian cells outside of the body and in the laboratory or factory to produce new drugs and medicines is one of the most exciting arms of the modern life science industry. Yet, far-fetched as it may seem, these enormous advances in medical science can be traced back to a chicken which was dissected some time late in the 19th Century; 1885 to be precise. That was when Wilhelm Roux managed to maintain the medullary plate of the said embryonic chicken in a warm saline solution for a number of days and thus first established the principle of tissue culture.

His work was taken on several stages further by scientists at John Hopkins Medical School and Yale University during the first decade of the 20th Century. In the 1940s and 1950s viruses grown in cell cultures were used in the manufacture of vaccines. The polio vaccines that finally eliminated the threat of the disease were grown in cell cultures from monkey kidneys.

These days, of course, drug production based on cell culture is one of the fastest-growing areas of biotechnology. Its rapid success owes much to the parallel development of technologies for the three key stages in cell culture growth: fermentation, harvesting and purification.

Harvesting is performed by separating the cell culture from the growing medium and several techniques are used to perform this delicate operation; centrifugation, microfiltration, depth

filtration and filtration through absolute pore size membranes. Of the different techniques, centrifugation is the one most commonly scaled up from laboratory to factory production levels.

Centrifugation uses the density difference between solids and the surrounding fluid and accelerates the settling that would normally occur during sedimentation. Most industrial applications use disk stack centrifuges to remove cells and cell debris from the nutrient broth. Disk stack centrifuges offer continuous operation, making their throughput consistent with the desire to limit the time for harvest operations.

Naturally, it is not quite as simple as it appears. Mammalian cells are very fragile organisms so, although a disc stack centrifuge makes the job of separation relatively easy, the trick is to do so with minimal damage to the product. Acceleration of the protein rich feed material takes a fraction of a second. But although speed is of the essence, it must not be at expense of destroying the highly shear-sensitive cell wall membrane which would release undesirable, intracellular proteins into the broth – a process known as lysis.

P

Alfa Laval’s Culterfuge 100 cell separation system.

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By preventing additional lysis during acceleration it is possible to increase the separator’s capacity while still achieving the required separation result. Downstream purification of target proteins is also simplified and can be carried out using more compact equipment, thus generating significant savings in the process. The challenge, then, is to achieve maximum separation efficiency with minimal product disruption.

Just as cell culture has developed from relatively humble origins so has the equipment used to harvest it. In fact, from the earliest stages of cell culture science when Alfa Laval worked with industry leaders in the development of large scale cell culture fermentations, it soon became obvious that cell culture characteristics called for extremely gentle separator designs. What they turned to was the hollow spindle which owed its origins to concepts originally developed for the dairy industry where the gentle touch was used to prevent fat particles in milk from shearing apart during acceleration. Decades later, the same technology is a corner stone in modern cell culture processing.

Like many innovations, the initial impetus had little to do with the eventual outcome. When Alfa Laval engineers originally decided to study the feasibility of a separator which provided liquid discharge under pressure, it was beer, not milk, which they had in mind. The target was to purify beer by separating it without air ingress and under sufficient pressure to prevent the loss of carbon dioxide.

The only rational way in which to achieve a closed system was to feed the liquid to the bowl from underneath, through a tubular bowl spindle, and discharge it at the bowl neck. An experimental machine for clarifying beer was built but also tested on milk as it was felt that the machine might solve the milk froth problem: Which it did.

The milk process then seemed to be the more commercially viable. The engineers modified the original machine to provide two outlets so that it could also be used as a cream separator. Trials in a Swedish dairy proved so successful

that Alfa Laval then produced a number of the new separators for display at the 1933 Deutche Landwirt-schaftlische Gesellschaft exhibition in Berlin. This first hermetic separator radically changed dairy and brewery technology from that point onwards.

As befitted a radically different piece of equipment, the hollow spindle hermetic separator looked totally different to earlier centrifuges. The frame was designed so that the inlets for whole milk at the bottom of the machine were readily accessible.

Neither the traditional two-piece bowl spindle nor the newer Baltic type spindle could be used. Consequently, the hermetic separator had to incorporate an entirely new spindle design. The solution was to adapt the spindle from the largest Alfa Laval yeast separator at the time, the OVK 5.

At the top end of the spindle, just beneath the bowl, the flexible top bearing – a radial ball bearing – supported the weight of the bowl, and at the bottom end, a spherical ball bearing allowed for the precision movement of the spindle. Whole milk was fed under pressure through the spindle into the bottom of the bowl. The seal between the stationary inlet pipe and the rotating spindle consisted of a U-shaped rubber gasket reinforced with fabric. Milk entered the bowl via the central chamber at its bottom, from where it was distributed in the disc stack in the usual way.

Since it did not have a hole through its centre its diameter was considerably reduced when compared to machines with top feed. As a result

of the overall design, the entire free space in the bowl was filled with liquid.

Besides achieving the main objective – cream and skim milk free from foam – the hermetic separator provided several other advantages; the most important of which was its clean skimming capability which was better than any other separator. Two factors contributed to this improved level of performance. Firstly, the milk was accelerated very gently in the long hollow spindle, minimising the splitting of fat globules. Secondly, the Alfa-discs were given a smaller inner radius, increasing the separation area available in a given bowl volume.

The same hollow spindle hermetic design is central to Culturefuge which was the world’s first fully hermetic purpose-built cell culture centrifuge, developed principally for applications involving mammalian cell cultures and precipitated protein. Its use was intended to provide the gentlest acceleration possible in a centrifugal disc stack separator designed specifically for cell culture harvesting.

The smooth acceleration imposes minimal shear strains on the cells. As importantly, the hollow spindle creates a truly hermetic design that completely eliminates air-liquid interfaces within the centrifuge and thus also eliminates the foaming, a major cause of protein degradation.

As a bonus, the design also allows centrate discharge at small radius which reduces both power consumption and keeps temperature pick up to a minimum during separation.

During the development of large scale cell culture fermentations, it soon became obvious that cell culture characteristics called for extremely gentle separator designs

The Culterfuge cell harvesting module.

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In a mathematical model for feed zone breakage of shear sensitive particles in centrifugal separators, the breakage was found to be independent of flow-rate. A study by Boychyn et al. simulated the flow-field in the acceleration zone of a traditional centrifuge, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In this study two cases were compared, one classic with air present in the feed zone, and one gently liquid filled, i.e. with no air present.

This modelling technique confirmed that, during acceleration with air present, the maximum energy dissipation rate is up to two times higher than in air free acceleration.

Higher energy dissipation leads to a considerably higher particle breakage in the protein precipitate suspension and consequently less successful clarification. A later study by Boychyn, used a similar CFD tool to model the acceleration forces in the acceleration zone of a multi-chamber bowl. In this study, the group was able to make accurate predictions of centrifuge performance.

Finally, there is a comparative study by the same research group on Cell Culture processed in two small production/pilot scale disc stack centrifuges. One separator had a classic non-filled acceleration zone and the other a hollow spindle hermetic inlet for gently accelerating the feed. In every other important aspect (equivalent area, rpm etc), the machines were

identical. The group found a hollow spindle type centrifuge provided a 2.5-fold increase in throughput for the same clarification performance when compared to the other separator.

The modern Culturefuge system

Translated into a modern cell culture harvesting system such as the Culturefuge, this hollow spindle technology made it possible to provide a method of continuous cell harvesting, under hermetic conditions. The skid-mounted Culturefuge consists of a disk-stack, high-speed separator with piping for service liquids and process liquids. It includes an integrated electrical system with starter, PLC control and pneumatic unit. A motor with an integrated VFD is standard. As an option the system can also include a steam-sterilisable pump for transport of the solids phase. Culturefuge’s design is in accordance with most major Pressure Vessel specifications including ASME and PED.

All product contact parts are made of high-grade stainless steel. Various grades of surface finish are available 1.2 μm Ra, 0.8 μm Ra or 0.5 μm Ra with electro-polish. The skid-mounted modular design can be delivered for open operation, contained running, steam sterilisable aseptic operation or steam decontamination-only operation.

How it works

Feed material enters the Culturefuge 100 through a hollow spindle feed inlet and accelerates gradually as it moves upwards, thereby minimising the shear forces on the liquids and preventing cell lysis. To prevent the risk of it mixing with air, the feed zone is completely filled with rotating liquid. The provision of this completely hermetic outlet eliminates the possibility of materials coming into contact with the air or the external environment; thus avoiding foaming and denaturisation of the product.

During normal production the operating water keeps the sliding bowl bottom closed against the bowl hood. During discharge the sliding bowl bottom drops for a short time (less than a second) and the solids are ejected through the discharge ports. The high velocity of the ejected solids is reduced in the cyclone.

Harvesting cells to develop new vaccines and medicines has moved from the realm of science fiction to fact, partly thanks to a slice of chicken and a separator that started life skimming milk from cream, and now helps harvest the most precious commodity of all, good health. •Contact:Peter Rose, Alfa LavalEmail: [email protected]

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Developments in filtration:

What is nanofiltration?

relatively recent development in membrane processes, Ken Sutherland looks at the rapidly expanding field of nanofiltration, its characteristics and its applications.

The background to nanofiltration

The burst of filtration and filtration-related activity that followed the development of the phase-inversion process for the manufacture of polymeric membranes, in the early 1960s, led to the establishment of three membrane separation processes: reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration and, more recently, microfiltration. These processes took the separation spectrum from the traditional cut point limit of standard filtration of around 0.01 mm (10 μm) to the very finest distinct solids, a few nanometres in size, and enabled the separation of large molecules from solution. The actual size ranges vary somewhat from source to source, but there is general agreement that microfiltration covers the range 10 μm down to 0.1 μm, while ultrafiltration covered 0.1 μm down to 0.005 μm (5 nm) in terms of discrete particles or Molecular Weight Cut-Off (MWCO) figures of 300,000 down to around 300 Daltons for dissolved materials. Reverse osmosis, of course, was designed to retain the very small sodium chloride molecule, which meant passing nothing else but water.

These intended size ranges actually still left a gap in their coverage at the lower end of that for ultrafiltration (at around 100 to 300 Daltons). Membrane development was fairly rapid during the 1970s and 1980s, leading to a “loose RO” membrane process, which was given the name “nanofiltration” at the end of the 1980s.

In this sense, then, nanofiltration is a fairly recent development in the range of membrane separation processes, which takes in the upper end (in separation size terms) of reverse osmosis, and the lower end of ultrafiltration, covering MWCO values of 100 to 1000 Daltons. It deals with

materials that are dissolved in a liquid, and not with distinct particles suspended in the liquid. The separation between solute and solvent occurs by diffusion of the molecules of the solvent through the mass of the membrane material, driven mainly by a high transmembrane pressure, and not through any physical hole (pore) in the membrane. Some of the solute molecules may also diffuse through the membrane, either by the process designer’s intent, or because the solute has a finite (although very small) diffusion coefficient in the membrane material.

The key difference between nanofiltration and reverse osmosis is that the latter retains monovalent salts (such as sodium chloride), whereas nanofiltration allows them to pass, and then retains divalent salts such as sodium

sulphate. Robert Peterson, in his Foreword to Elsevier’s Nanofiltration – principles and applications(1), describes reverse osmosis (especially in the water treatment business) as the main course, the steak perhaps, of a meal, whereas nanofiltration “is like the wine menu ... an opportunity for creativity and exploration”.

How nanofiltration has developed

The preceding paragraphs have described the origins and nature of the generally accepted process called nanofiltration, which is a liquid-phase separation removing dissolved solids, carried out by means of membranes, with a relatively high transmembrane pressure. However, the progress of much of the filtration business is being driven by demands for finer and finer

A

The paper pulp industry is striving to reduce the amount of water it uses, mainly by “closing the water cycle” – a system in which the purification properties of NF have a major role.

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cutpoints, in both liquid and gas filtration, and these demands are now being met by the use of correspondingly finer fibres to make the filter media. Increasingly, these fibres have diameters of significantly less than one micrometre, and are therefore measured in nanometres, and are becoming commonly known as nanofibres. These are used to make composite filter media, with a web of nanofibres supported on a coarser substrate.

The very fine filtration that can be achieved with these nanoweb media is taking the separation process that is effectively microfiltration to much lower cutpoints. The materials are also being referred to as membranes, even though they are very different in format from the semipermeable plastic sheet still most commonly thought of when membranes are mentioned. It is worthy of note that, at the 10th World Filtration Congress (in 2007), out of a total of almost 250 separate papers and 85 poster presentations, there were 12 that featured nanofiltration, and 14 concerning nanofibres as filter media.

Whilst it is hoped that the two systems – nanofiltration and filtration with nanofibres – are sufficiently different so as to avoid their confusion, both are covered in the rest of this article.

It is worth noting that the term “nanotechnology” is now very widely used, referring to a whole range of scientific, engineering and manufacturing activities involving very small things. Unfortunately the term has entered the public consciousness with a component of “fear of the unknown” attached to it. This does not concern nanofiltration, since the media involved in it are mostly continuous and indistinguishable from RO or UF membranes. It does concern nanofibre production and use, however, and the makers and users of nanofibres will have to take care not to magnify the concern.

Nanofiltration

The membrane separation process known as nanofiltration is essentially a liquid phase one, because it separates a range of inorganic and organic substances from solution in a liquid – mainly, but by no means entirely, water. This is done by diffusion through a membrane, under pressure differentials that are considerable less than those for reverse osmosis, but still significantly greater than those for ultrafiltration. It was the development of a thin film composite membrane that gave the real impetus to nanofiltration as a recognised process, and its remarkable growth since then is largely because of its unique ability to separate and fractionate ionic and relatively low molecular weight organic species.

The membranes are key to the performance of nanofiltration systems. They are produced in plate and frame form, spiral wound, tubular,

An SEM view of Ahlstrom’s Disruptor nanofiltration membrane. Contact: Promosalons (UK) Ltd Tel: 020 8216 3100Email: [email protected]

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capillary and hollow fibre formats, from a range of materials, including cellulose derivatives and synthetic polymers, from inorganic materials, ceramics especially, and from organic/inorganic hybrids.

Recent developments of membranes for NF have greatly extended their capabilities in very high or low pH environments, and in their application to non-aqueous liquids. The plastic media are highly cross-linked, to give long-term stability and a practical lifetime in more aggressive environments. NF membranes tend to have a slightly charged surface, with a negative charge at neutral pH. This surface charge plays an important role in the transportation mechanism and separation properties of the membrane.

As with any other membrane process, nanofiltration is susceptible to fouling, and so nanofiltration systems must be designed to minimise its likelihood – with proper pretreatment, with the right membrane material, with adequate cross-flow velocities to scour the membrane surface clear of accumulated slime, and by use of rotating or vibrating membrane holders.

Applications

Industrial applications of nanofiltration are quite common in the food and dairy sector, in chemical processing, in the pulp and paper industry, and in textiles, although the chief application continues to be in the treatment of fresh, process and waste waters.

In the treatment of water, NF finds use in the polishing at the end of conventional processes. It cannot be used for water desalination, but it is an effective means of water softening, as the main hardness chemicals are divalent. At first sight, NF would not seem to have much place in MBR processes, because the higher transmembrane pressure differentials needed for NF are not available in most bioreactor systems, but

there are some specialised uses for MBRs in which NF is finding a place. Smith’s review(2)

covers the whole field of nanotechnology well, including reference to Argonide’s NanoCeram fibres of 2 nm alumina, used for the filtration of 99.9999% of bacteria, viruses and protozoan cysts (now available as Ahlstrom’s Disruptor technology).

NF membranes are also used for the removal of natural organic matter from water, especially tastes, odours and colours, and in the removal of trace herbicides from large water flows. They can also be used for the removal of residual quantities of disinfectants in drinking water.

Food industry applications are quite numerous. In the dairy sector, NF is used to concentrate whey, and permeates from other whey treatments, and in the recycle of clean-in-place solutions. In the processing of sugar, dextrose syrup and thin sugar juice are concentrated by NF, while ion exchange brines are demineralised. NF is used for degumming of solutions in the edible oil processing sector, for continuous cheese production, and in the production of alternative sweeteners.

There are probably as many different applications in the whole chemical sector (including petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals) as in the rest of industry put together. Many more are still at the conceptual stage than are in plant use, but NF is a valuable contributor to the totality of the chemicals industry. The production of salt from natural brines uses NF as a purification process, while most chemical processes produce quite vicious wastes, from which valuable chemicals can usually be recovered by processes including NF. The high value of many of the products of the pharmaceutical and biotechnical sectors allows the use of NF in their purification processes.

The paper pulp industry uses a very great quantity of water in its production processes, a

quantity that the industry is striving to reduce, mainly by “closing the water cycle” – a system in which the purification properties of NF have a major role.

All of these specifically mentioned applications have been water-based, but nanofiltration is not restricted to the treatment of aqueous suspensions. Indeed one of the largest NF plants was installed at a petroleum refinery for the dewaxing of oils. Boam and Nozari, in their review(3) of organic solvent nanofiltration, point out that many organic system separation processes are quite highly energy intensive, and that, by contrast, OSN can be quite an energy saving alternative (for example, by comparison with distillation).

In aqueous systems, nanofiltration uses hydrophilic polymeric materials, such as polyether-sulphone, polyamides and cellulose derivatives. These materials, in contact with organic solvents, quickly lose their stability. Special membranes have therefore been developed to provide the same kind of performance as in aqueous systems, and they are now used for solvent exchange, solvent recovery and separation, for catalyst recovery and for heavy metal removal.

Nanofibre media

The synthetic materials, both organic and inorganic, that are nowadays being spun from the molten state into ever finer fibres, are no different from the materials that have been used for decades for this purpose (except for the ever widening range of thermoplastic polymers that are available). What has changed has been the equipment downstream of the spinaret, which enables a wide range of fibre diameters to be produced. Starting over 40 years ago with spun bonded media, whose fibre diameter was 10 μm or more, the list runs through flash spun and melt blown (at just over 1 μm), to electrospun materials, which are approaching 100 nm in fibre diameter capability.

Nanofiltration membranes are also used for the removal of natural organic matter from water, especially tastes, odours and colours, and in the removal of trace herbicides from large water flows.

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Each of these materials can be produced as a random array of fibres as a web, which, in itself, makes a very good filter medium, so long as it is adequately supported on a stronger substrate. Tucker gives a good review(4) of these materials in introducing du Pont’s new HMT media for liquid or gas filtration. United Air Specialists has developed nanofibres for

dust removal, as has Donaldson with its Ultra-Web media.

The fine spinning techniques have proved amenable to the production of carbon and ceramic fibres, and are obviously going to result in a major segment of the filter media business, especially for air filtration. Because these media are capable of removing

contaminants to below 0.1 μm, they are going to be counted as membranes – and certainly known as nanomembranes. •Contact:Ken Sutherland Tel: +44 (0)1737 218868Email: [email protected] Sutherland has managed Northdoe Limited, his process engineering and marketing consultancy, for over 30 years. Northdoe is largely concerned with filtration and related separation processes. He has written numerous articles for Filtration & Separation and for FIA, and four books on separation processes, most recently an A to Z of Filtration and the fifth edition of the Filters & Filtration Handbook, both for Elsevier.

References

1. A I Schäfer, A G Fane, & T D Waite (Eds) (2005), Nanofiltration – Principles and Applications, Elsevier Advanced Technology

2. A Smith (2006), “Nanotech – the way forward for clean water?”, Filtration+Separation43, No 8, 32-3

3. A Boam & A Nozari (2006), “OSN – a lower energy alternative”, Filtration+Separation43, No 3, 46-8

4. T Norton (2007), “Hybrid membrane technology: A new nanofibre media platform”, Filtration+Separation 44, No 2, 28-30

Industrial applications of nanofiltration are quite common in the food and dairy sector.

PO Box 14, Longhill Industrial Estate (North), Hartlepool. TS25 1PR.Telephone: 01429 867 388 Fax: 01429 866 795 Email: [email protected]

Web: www.expandedmetalcompany.co.uk

We have learned that no two filter manufacturers are the same. However, one thing they all share is a need for flexible, forward thinking suppliers who can deliver value for money, quality components. We now offer an increased portfolio of filtration products and services. You can take advantage of our ability to form mesh into tubes, conical shapes and pleating meshes, in addition to mini mesh coils to decrease your costs. You can gain immediate cost savings when switching to our Experf range of meshes, compared like for like against perforated metals. Expect nothing less thanpremium quality, bespoke products and unrivalled customer care.

S H A P E T H E F U T U R E

Filtration Innovation

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Events36Filtration+Separation October 2008

Show preview:

WEFTEC 2008 eld in Chicago, USA from 18-22 October, the WEFTEC event is the largest water quality event in the world. Filtration+Separationspoke to the organisers and exhibitors to find out what to expect from the 81st technical exhibition and conference.

HThe conference

WEF’s 81st annual technical exhibition and conference offers the best water quality training and education available, and unparalleled access to the latest in water quality developments, research, regulations, solutions, and cutting-edge technologies.

Designed to address a diverse and comprehensive array of contemporary water and wastewater issues, this year’s technical program of 115 technical sessions, 31 workshops and 10 facility tours are categorised into more than 20 technical education focus areas ranging from collection systems and leading-edge research to sustainable water resources management and water reclamation and reuse. To keep attendees up-to-date on the most pressing water quality challenges and solutions, the program also includes several “hot topic” workshops and “featured” technical sessions throughout the five-day event.

The exhibition

In 2007, WEFTEC drew almost 20,000 attendees and showcased 1,017 exhibiting companies. 88% of WEFTEC attendees are the buyers and final decision makers and 55% plan to buy one or more products displayed in the next 12 months. Attendees spend an average of 9.4 hours visiting the exhibits. Filtration+Separation spoke to some of the exhibitors at the event to see what they have planned.

Alfa Laval – Stand 29017, Hall B

What is driving the water marketplace?

Today’s industry is extremely environmentally-conscious. Reducing the amount of energy used during wastewater and biosolids treatment processes has become a critical issue. Customers are looking for higher efficiency solutions that offer better performance, while reducing their overall environmental footprint.

What new developments are you working on?

Alfa Laval’s product technology solutions have become significantly more power efficient, offering the industry high efficiency solutions, while reducing overall power consumption. Alfa Laval’s technology solutions offer more throughput and better performance with less impact on the environment.

What products and services are you showcasing at WEFTEC?

Alfa Laval Spiral Heat Exchanger is for heating of sewage sludge in digesters. Its counter-current flow gives the most efficient heat transfer and makes the unit compact.

ALSYS is a plug-and-play centrifuge solution for reducing sludge volumes at municipal, industrial and potable water treatment plants. Its compact layout reduces floor space requirements and ensures easy maintenance.

ALDRUM is an efficient, cost effective method of thickening sludge. Its design enables an extremely gentle sludge handling, resulting in an extremely high recovery for most sludge types.

OCTOPUS is our autopilot for decanter centrifuges in sludge dewatering. We will also highlight our Parts and Service offerings, including equipment audits and upgrades to training classes and around the clock service support, also known as Nonstop Performance.

What applications are these suitable for?

Biosolids handling and treatment.

What makes these products more suited to applications than past products?

Our solutions are more efficient and require less energy. In response to the global energy-related issues, we have invested in Research and Development to develop innovative, power-conscious solutions for the industry. We are committed to contributing to a better future.

What does the future hold for Alfa Laval?

Alfa Laval is a market leader and will continue to develop innovative product solutions that address the industry’s demands and needs.

What are you looking forward to at WEFTEC?

We are looking forward to promoting our message: A Global Call for Water Recovery and reinforce the benefits of our product technology solutions to the end user and the market. We want to continue to set the bar as the market leader in the biosolids handling process marketplace.

Amiad – Stand 28163, Hall BWhat is driving the water marketplace?

We are seeing a tremendous amount of interest in membrane technologies, which require pre-filtration. Our automatic self-cleaning screen and microfibre thread filters are playing key roles in pre-filtration before membranes around the world.

Another trend we are seeing is increasing awareness of what we’re calling a system’s “environmental footprint.” That takes into account carbon footprint – basically, the energy demand of the system – water footprint, chemical use, and even its physical footprint,

ITT Goulds Pumps will exhibit its new line of double-

suction, base-mounted pumps.

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Events 37Filtration+Separation October 2008

which impacts the amount of structural resources needed to house and maintain the system. We’re focusing on technologies that demand little power, require less water for back-wash, reduce or eliminate the need for chemicals and cartridge disposal, and fit in compact spaces.

The two trends tie together where we examine environmental footprint. Pre-filtration equipment with a smaller environmental footprint can help membrane technology be more efficient and more cost-effective, as well as more environmentally friendly.


Our Automatic Microfibre (AMF) filtration systems are especially exciting right now. We’re seeing interest in them to pre-treat water for RO systems as well as for fine filtration – down to 2 microns – before injecting produced water into buried deposits such as oil production wells and brine disposal wells.

What products are you showcasing?

We will have an Automatic Microfibre (AMF) filtration system in our booth, as well as examples of our automatic self-cleaning ABF and EBS screen filtration systems.


Amiad filters have been used for decades in a wide variety of applications, from filtration of irrigation water to filtration for drinking water, wastewater treatment, and treating industrial water – both before and after use.


We have continually improved our automatic self-cleaning screen filters in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and capacity. For instance, our largest EBS system has a filtration area of 6200 square inches and can accommodate a maximum flow rate of 23,350 gpm. We are also seeing more use of our systems in oil and gas production – which requires specific materials and customised control/electrical designs.

As far as our AMF systems go, they have allowed us to offer automatic self-cleaning filtration down to 2 microns – a tremendous accomplishment. The automatic self-cleaning functionality means that there is very minimal maintenance required, and no replacement or disposal of consumables such as cartridges, bags or filter aids.

What does the future hold for you?

These are very exciting times for all of us in the filtration and separation industry. Amiad is prepared to grow and innovate, helping water treatment professionals deliver clean water with clean technology.


It’s always exciting to see the new innovations across the industry, to run into old friends and colleagues, and to gain some insight on how we can work to provide tools that fit into today’s systems – and tomorrow’s.

ITT – Stand 24121, Hall B


ITT Goulds Pumps has introduced a new line of double-suction, base-mounted pumps for municipal and industrial water service. The new Model 3408A pumps are available in 2’’ through 10’’ sizes, up to 300 HP. Capacities range to 6500 GPM with heads to 400 feet. These pumps are cast iron, bronze-fitted construction with a maximum working pressure of 175 psig.


The 3408A features internally self-flushing mechanical seals for maximum lubrication, debris removal and heat dissipation. Up to 25% of the total pump flow continuously flushes the seal faces. The internally flushed seals also allow for a shorter shaft reducing deflection thereby extending seal life. Closed-end steel baseplates with full seam welds are used for strength. An open top allows easy grouting. The pump bearings and mechanical seals can be serviced without disturbing the upper casing half, piping connections or electrical motor connections. An ANSI-OSHA-compliant coupling guard shields the flexible coupler.

Microdyn-Nadir – Stand 22208, Hall B

What is driving the water and filtration marketplace currently?

As the population continues to grow, less people have access to quality drinking water. People are becoming more aware of environmental problems, with many governments worldwide starting programs to strengthen the efforts in drinking water treatment and waste water treatment. Membrane technology requiring low energy demand, is one of the key technologies in

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Alfa Laval will showcase ALSYS, a centrifuge solution for reducing sludge volumes at municipal, industrial and

potable water treatment plants.

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Events38Filtration+Separation October 2008

that market. With these new technologies the bacteria and viruses found in water can be treated to a high and consistent quality.


To address the future potential for submerged modules, we have developed the BIO-CEL Module. This is the first module in the world combining the advantages of all existing submerged modules, without their disadvantages. BIO-CEL is a module based on a self supporting flat membrane, providing an extremely high packing density, but with open channels for a perfect hydraulic behavior and back washable like a hollow fibre module.

This Module can be delivered in different sizes up to 400m² per module. It is easy to handle and install due to our unique cassette system.

What applications is this suitable for?

The module is developed for membrane bioreactors. It can be used for municipal or industrial waste water.

What makes these products innovative?

Installation and the maintenance of the new BIO-CEL module is much easier. For the first time the aeration and the frame support are independent of the membrane unit. This is an important advantage, especially for larger treatment plants, in that it makes exchanging portions of the membranes simple to perform.

The modules are rapidly being implemented worldwide. The unique advantage of the new module is the continuation of an open plate system to avoid braiding and sludge deposition. it is also possible to back flush the module, maintaining high throughput.

What does the future hold for your company?

Looking to the future, we will continue to focus on membranes and modules for liquid separations in the area of Micro, Ultra and Nanofiltration. Our goal is to become one of the leading membrane and module suppliers in our segment. We want to support our clients in being successful and we hope that the improvement our existing product portfolio and development

of new products will help make that happen. In the last two years we have invested more than �4 million to develop new products and build up new production equipment.


We always expect to be challenged at the WEFTEC with difficult questions from attendees and from competitors. Our newest MBR will have a large effect on the show and we look forward to the responses generated.

Porex – Stand 13069, Hall C


EPA and other standards continue to get more restrictive resulting in previously unfiltered materials now having to be filtered, or having to improve contamination removal from current discharges. These are generally higher solids applications for which there is no simple answer. Increasing costs of fuel, labour and materials pushes the need for cost management which result in the need for new technologies to offer a practical way to reduce these costs. Also, the “green” movement is forcing industries to begin looking at ways of reducing waste, further promoting reusable technologies.


While sintered porous plastic is not new to the market, utilising it in industrial filter configurations and as tubular membrane is somewhat unique. The three product lines will continue to be expanded into a variety of additional configurations to address the broad range of application requirements. Additional materials of construction and membranes will be developed to expand beyond current temperature and chemical limitations as well creating ultrafiltration membranes.


Porex will be exhibiting three product lines, the Tubular Membrane, the Radial Cartridge Filter and the MacroFlow PTFE Filter cartridge. All the products are based upon Porex’s core technology of sintered porous plastic. We will highlight the newest addition to the Tubular Membrane line which is a 37 tube stainless steel module.


All of our technologies are suited to high solids applications due in large part to the ability to backwash or backpulse the media during operation. Focusing in microfiltration, these products address a broad range of industrial and process water and wastewater applications including pre-treatment for difficult water sources, cooling water and wide range of manufacturing waste process streams. In addition, the technologies are used in a range of manufacturing applications in chemical, pharmaceutical and food & beverage markets.


Each product being exhibited offers a unique innovation for the targeted application. The Radial Cartridge is a backwashable/cleanable media in the range of 5 – 50 micron, bringing backwash technology down from the typical 25 – 50 micron low end range. The Tubular Membrane is also able to be backwashed/backpulsed during operation, making it relatively unique among tubular membranes. The MacroFlow PTFE product is a unique skived PTFE membrane in the range of 1 – 10 micron, which is above most conventional expanded PTFE membranes.

What does the future hold for Porex?

The Filtration group has had good growth rates since its inception in 2005 and this is forecasted to continue for the next few years. This will continue to fund our expansion and continues development of unique technologies based around sintered porous plastic.


Porex continues to develop and expand the product lines for key applications, and WEFTEC provides for an ideal opportunity to present these products to the industry. In addition, Porex Filtration is just starting to expand its market into Europe and Asia and since WEFTEC draws a global audience, this provides a good forum for developing distribution and OEM partnerships.

SPX Corporation – Stand 28211, Hall B


Infrastructure expansion, replacement ofequipment and new water quality regulations.


Enhanced products to provide higher levels of treatment more economically.


SPX/Marley Biomedia Treatment products.


Wastewater treatment including nutrient removal.


SPX/Marley has developed Biomedia with innovative design features which provide enhanced BOD and nutrient removal with reduced plugging of the media.

What does the future hold for SPX?

Sales for the SPX/Marley Biomedia continues to grow as we address the need for products to meet higher water quality standards in an economical manner.


Seeing our many satisfied customers and meeting potential new clients as well. •

Microdyn-Nadir will present BIO-CEL, a module based

on a self supporting flat membrane.

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Next-generation NANOWEB®: Performance you can see. H&V’s advanced nanofiber technology breathes new life into filtration media design. Use it as a high-

performance coating or stand-alone substrate. NANOWEB’s large number of microscopic pores deliver superior fi ne-particle fi ltration with appreciably increased effi ciency. Its innovative design and enhanced pulse cleanability provide up to 5 times longer fi lter life. And the durable NANOWEB layer can add up to 10 times more dust-holding capacity than standard cellulose materials, while again greatly increasing filtration efficiency. That’s why NANOWEB raises the bar on applications from heavy-duty air, gas turbine, and auto air to HVAC and liquid fi ltration.

www.hollingsworth-vose.com e-mail [email protected] 508-850-2000 Hollingsworth & Vose Company, 112 Washington Street, East Walpole, MA 02032 U.S.A. The H&V logo is a registered trademark of Hollingsworth & Vose Company.

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Application40Filtration+Separation October 2008

Sieving metal powders:

Using ultrasonic deblinding to sieve powdersB oth an international producer of materials for the chemistry and

metallurgy industry and a titanium and alloy powders supplier for the medical industry were in need of a system to sieve metal powders. Looking to remove contaminants and reduce particle sizes through sieving, they turned to filtration and separation specialists Russell Finex for the ultrasonic deblinding equipment to do this.

Treibacher Industrie AG, an international producer of materials for the chemistry and metallurgy industry, produces ingredients such as Tungsten, Tantal, Niobium, Titanium and mixed carbides, Ti-carbonitrides and special carbides for high wear-resistant tools and parts. Used across the world, these ingredients are needed for a diverse range of products such as car paint, dental fillings, steel and casting products, hard metals, functional ceramics, coatings, catalysts and detergents.

With so many ingredients being manufactured on a high scale, Treibacher is committed to attaining the highest quality standards. With ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accreditation, Treibacher aims to maintain the quality of its products, environment and staff.

Sieving fine powders

In order to ensure high product quality, Treibacher try to use the best processing methods available. One quality assurance step is sieving its powders. This enables the company to remove contaminants and supply particle sizes as specified by its end customers. However, as is common with many fine powders, Treibacher noticed that sieving at fine mesh sizes posed a challenge to supplying high volumes at repeatable qualities. Due to the nature and characteristics of the particulates of many powders, particles can often clog the mesh

frame, reducing sieving efficiency and damaging the equipment.

Continual development

Looking to find a solution to this, in 1989 Treibacher installed filtration and separation specialists, Russell Finex’s, ultrasonic deblinding technology on its sieving machines, and was one of the first companies to do so. Since then, this technology has proved indispensable in allowing Treibacher to manufacture its specialised metal powders. The company has upgraded Russell Finex’s ultrasonic equipment each time it has undergone considerable developments. One such development was the Vibrasonic® Deblinding System, ultrasonic vibration technology which ensures the sieve mesh stays free of clogging, even at the finest sizes. The result is consistently high throughput, enabling for finer and more precise sieving than many other deblinding methods currently available.

Treibacher has also successfully used Russell Finex sieves and separators for its high valued powders as they achieve the same level of quality. Russell machines and the Vibrasonic® Deblinding System can also adapt to different products, and therefore companies using a range of products range are able to use the technology. The latest Vibrasonic®

2000 Deblinding System, allows for the settings of the ultrasonics and base machine to be adjusted, and tuning the system can accommodate the characteristics of particular

Russell Finex Vibrasonic® Deblinding System.

The Finex Separator™ with Vibrasonic® Deblinding

System.

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Application 41Filtration+Separation October 2008

powders. With this feature Treibacher can maintain product quality for very fine particle sizes, essential for sieving materials such as nitrides used as coatings for cutting tools and medical technologies.

Treibacher have recently invested in the expansion of its production line manufacturing Tungsten Carbide, and operations manager Jürgen Eckhart, wanted to ensure the company selected Finex SeparatorsTM and Vibrasonic®

Deblinding Systems to help meet its new requirements.

In addition to providing technology to sieve metal powders, Russell Finex products have helped fine raw powder producers optimise particle size distribution, throughput and material recoverability.

Producing fine grade powders

As an aging population requires more hip, knee and teeth replacements, suppliers to the growing medical implant industry are noticing an increased demand for fine grade titanium. Whereas powders in the range of 150 μm/100 mesh are suitable for many industries, the medical field requires even finer material, and many suppliers, such as Reading Alloys, a provider of high purity titanium and specialty alloy powders, is responding to demand.

“Medical customers such as plasma spray coaters increasingly require unique particle size distributions (PSD) below 75 μm/above 200 mesh because they are looking to produce very fine coatings to help join bone to the implant surface,” explained Dr. Colin McCracken, development manager of powder products at Reading Alloys. “This is often the case for fine grade powders where laser PSD measurement is preferred.”

According to Dr. McCracken, different coating process equipment and process routes require, exceptionally narrow PSD for fine powder to correctly bond with the implant surface. Medical coating users often choose five or more PSD specifications depending on the medical device treated. To satisfy this need, Reading Alloys sought to ramp up its capacity to produce titanium and alloy powders from 300 μm/50 mesh to 45 μm/325 mesh. However, the company noticed its existing vibratory screeners were experiencing problems attaining the necessary particle size distributions,throughput, and material recoverability.

Achieving particle size

“It was difficult to prevent the screeners from blinding, especially at the finer mesh sizes,” said Charles Motchenbacher, technology manager for Reading Alloys. “We tried using a ball deck to agitate the bottom of the screens, but this contaminated the

undersized powder, so it could not be used.” Screening multiple times lengthened the company’s manufacturing process, which hindered its high production, 24 hour/ seven days a week operation.

In search of a solution, Reading Alloys decided to install an ultrasonic screening deblinding system from Russell Finex of Pineville, North Carolina, USA. The Vibrasonic 2000® system has been designed to enhance screening efficiency and is ATEX certified to operate within areas designated as zone 20, 21, 22, 0, 1 and 2. The system uses a combination of ultrasonics and conventional vibration and can be retrofitted onto any new or existing vibrating separator or screener.

By using an acoustically developed transducer, an ultrasonic frequency is applied directly to the screener mesh to break down surface tension, effectively rendering the stainless steel wires friction free. This eliminates mesh blinding and enables accurate separation down to 20μm on even difficult powders, while maintaining product consistency. Downtime is also reduced and screen life prolonged as the machine does not have to be stopped for operators to manually clean and handle the mesh.

“The Vibrasonic system has helped eliminate blinding at the fine mesh sizes/narrow particle size distributions required by the medical market, all the way to 45 μm/325 mesh,” said Motchenbacher. “It has enhanced our material throughput to the point where we can meet specified

requirements in virtually a single screening pass, while improving material recoverability.”

Motchenbacher highlights the ultrasonic screener deblinding system’s ease of operation and its ability to provide precise control over the production process. “By attuning the system’s controls to meet the different setups of our material and equipment, this has enabled us to match speed and feeding parameters to our processes,” commented Motchenbacher. “As a result, we have optimised production.”

“With the Vibrasonic system, we have been able to work with medical customers to achieve their specifications for fine powders and tight particle size distributions,” added Dr. McCracken. “Any manufacturing process requiring precise, efficient screening below 150 μm or above 100 mesh should consider such a system.”

After inventing ultrasonic deblinding of meshes over 30 years ago, Russell Finex’s Vibrasonic technology is now used in the processing of metal powders, pharmaceuticals, food, chemical powders, toner powders, electrostatic powder paints, ceramics and in a variety of industries. •Contact:Russell Finex LtdRussell HouseBrowells LaneFelthamMiddlesex, UKTW13 7EWE-mail: [email protected]

The Russell Vibrasonic® Deblinding System being used at the Reading Alloy plant, with one of the company’s existing screener.

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Application42Filtration+Separation October 2008

Decontaminating wastewater:

Improving decontaminationin wastewater A Mexican power plant was in need of a system that could

effectively and efficiently treat its secondary wastewater stream. The plant turned to a manufacturer of water purification and chemical recovery equipment for a new system which could find a more economical and efficient method of tertiary treatment, primary demineralisation, and polishing.

Recovery of wastewater for industrial use presents many challenges for the design and operation of water treatment equipment. Wastewater has high levels of dissolved solids, and higher metals content than in natural water sources and potentially high levels of organic matter, both natural and manmade. At a power plant in Mexico, the wastewater treatment system was fed with secondary water used in the production of boiler water makeup water. This is a gas-fired combined cycle plant with a generating capacity of 600 MW and has been in operation since 2002. The plant obtains its water from municipal primary treatment lagoons/settling ponds. The main source of water entering the lagoons is municipal sewage.

Secondary treatment of the water is provided at the power plant itself. The sewage treatment plant uses a biological treatment process to first oxidise organic matter and NH3 in an aerobic step and then remove nitrates, formed by NH3 oxidation, by bacterial action under anaerobic conditions. This eliminates biological contaminants and reduces other contaminants in the water. The water is then treated with lime, which raises the pH of the water, which causes the precipitation of dissolved minerals such as calcium and magnesium and reduces the overall dissolved solids content.

The water treatment plant originally consisted of sand filtration, cartridge filtration, two-pass reverse osmosis (RO) and electrodeionisation (EDI). The plant needed additional capacity and was also experiencing operational difficulties. RO units fouled rapidly and

required frequent cleanings and the EDI system was not consistently producing water of sufficient quality. After extensive evaluation, the system supplied by manufacturer of water purification and chemical recovery equipment Eco-Tec consisted of the following elements:

• Pretreatment using a single high efficiency micro media filter;

• Upgraded RO;

• Compressed short bed IX demineraliser.

Pretreatment

Secondary water sources cannot be used directly as feed to RO systems because they contain high levels of suspended solids, organics, colloids and biological material even after clarification. A tertiary treatment process is required to prevent fouling of the RO membranes. The original system consisted of two trains of two-stage media filters. Performance of this filtration system was poor and showed frequent spikes in the solids content of the filtrate. Cartridge filters following the media filters, were overtaxed, and solids leaked through to the RO having an adverse effect on performance, and increased the need for membrane cleaning.

The two-train system of primary and secondary media filters was been replaced with a single micro media’ dual-media filter, which differs from typical dual media designs. While the top media layer consists of coarse anthracite similar to that used in many conventional dual media filters, the lower ‘micro media’ layer is

a high density media, significantly finer than the fine media used in most designs which has an effective size of about 0.35 mm.

Since the lower layer removes the residual quantity of suspended solids not retained in the upper layer, it effectively defines the filtration efficiency. While the higher service flow and finer media result in larger initial pressure drops across the filter, the pressure drops are manageable. Due to the higher flow rate, the diameter of the filter vessel required to treat a given flow of water can be reduced. The single micro media vessel is 5.5 ft in diameter and has a design service flow rate of 15 gal/min/ft2.

To maximise the cleaning efficiency of the backwash, the micro media filter operates with a simultaneous air scour/backwash cleaning cycle. Water is drained to the top of the media. Air and water are then passed simultaneously up through the media bed. The water flow expands the media and allows the air to agitate the media much more violently and uniformly than with water alone. The vessel is then refilled with water, the air is turned off and a water backwash flushes dirt from the filter in the usual manner.

Comparing performance

A performance comparison was carried out between the existing sand filter trains and a pilot-scale micro media filter (6 inch diameter column). The feed to the system was the same as that to the sand filters, the feed stream being split after the point of coagulant addition.

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Application 43Filtration+Separation October 2008

Effluent turbidities over a short period and the inconsistent performance of the sand filters was apparent. The initial point of upset for the sand filters coincided roughly with the time when one filter was brought back into service after being backwashed. It is also important to note that the coagulant dosage was not at the point required for optimal performance, and this is most probably the reason for the filtrate turbidities never falling below 0.2 NTU.

Reverse osmosis

The existing RO system was configured into two trains, each including three stages and producing 14.2 m3/h. A sample of permeate from the RO taken just prior to the upgrade indicated a conductivity of 392 μS/cm. At the time of the analysis the RO membranes were approximately three years old. The poor permeate quality was attributed in part to leaky seals between the membrane elements and membrane degradation due to fouling of the membrane.

The upgrade involved replacing the existing membranes with higher surface area membrane elements. The permeate flow rate per train was increased to 28.4 m3/h per train. The original membrane configuration used membrane elements with a 7% lower surface area and a flux rate of 7.5 gal/ft2/day, whereas the upgraded system operates at a flux of 14 gal/ft2/day. Despite the increase in fluxes the membranes have experienced less fouling since commissioning and the upgraded system produced permeate with a conductivity ranging from 30-70 μS/cm.

Compressed short bed ion exchange

The original system utilised EDI stacks, typically used to treat double pass RO permeate. The plant decided to replace the EDI cells and expand capacity using a packed bed ion exhange (IX) system. The technical considerations for this decision were the rapid start-up after shut down provided by the packed bed system, elimination of the second pass RO requirement, and operating/maintaining a single type of polishing system.

Standard onsite mixed bed systems have a long and proven history of successful performance. Relative to newer EDI and packed bed technologies, operation and regeneration can be much more complicated, particularly when resins age. Many of these problems are related to resin separation and uniform re-mixing before and after regeneration.1 Another disadvantage of mixed bed technology is the high regenerant consumption and wastewater production.

Packed resin bed technology reduces these problems by using separate beds of cation and anion resin that are counter-currently regenerated. Separating the resins eliminates the separation and mixing problem. Counter-current regeneration minimises regenerant consumption and produces high quality water by ensuring the highest degree of resin

regeneration at the bottom of the column. The cleanest resin is the last to contact the product water ensuring the lowest contaminant levels.

A further refinement to this technology is the compressed short bed system,2 with a short bed height of 3 inch or 6 inch. Other features include a much smaller resin bead and complete elimination of internal freeboard. The smaller bead size greatly improves the kinetics of the exchange process, which allows operation at higher flo w rates and reduces the depth of the active exchange zone. Eliminating freeboard and operating the resin in a slightly compressed state ensures that flow is uniformly distributed and that the resin position is maintained during regeneration in order to obtain full benefit of the counter-current operation. One of the main concerns when using packed bed systems is resin fouling. Since resin is not backwashed during regeneration, any accumulated dirt will not be removed, hence the need for highly efficient pretreatment. With this in mind, treatment of RO permeate by packed bed systems is an ideal application.

When using separate beds of cation and anion resin the limiting factor with regards to product water quality is generally sodium leakage from the cation bed or from residual caustic left on the anion resin after regeneration. This becomes problematic when trying to produce high quality water (<0.1 μmho/cm) and with higher feed TDS (>25 mg/L).

Given the feed composition and product water quality target a cation/anion bed combination is not sufficient even with a compressed short bed system, a third polishing bed of cation resin is added to remove low levels of sodium. This low level allows the use of a bed only three inches deep, operated at an even higher flux with very infrequent regeneration. A single train skid-mounted compressed bed system with cation/anion/polishing cation beds was supplied.

Upgrade successful

Altogether, an upgraded and expanded water treatment plant was supplied to treat a secondary wastewater stream. A high purity product water with a conductivity <= 0.6 μmho/cm was produced and supplied as boiler make-up water. Tertiary treatment is provided by a high efficiency media filter replacing existing sand filters and was found to be more economic than ultrafiltration. This filter typically produced filtrate with a turbidity 0.1 NTU and SDI values of <3. Primary demineralisation is provided by a single pass RO system using low fouling composite membranes. Permeate quality ranges from 30 – 75 μmho/cm when treating feed water with a TDS of 700 – 1,000 mg/L. Polishing is provided by a compressed short bed IX system, which replaced existing EDI cells. The new system is able to operate on a feed with a much higher TDS eliminating the need for second pass RO. The problem of slow EDI start-up after shut down was also addressed. All performance objectives were achieved and the system has now been in service for over a year without any problems. •Contact:Michael SheedyVice President - Technology DevelopmentEco-Tec Inc.Tel: +1 905 427 0077E-mail: [email protected]

References

1. Smith, J.H, Renouf, P.W. and Crossen, M. – 50 Years in Separate Beds, Technical Paper presented at the International Water Conference 1984.

2. Sheedy, M. and Kutzora, P. – The Use of Short Bed Ion Exchange Technology for the Product of High Purity Water at WE Energies PPPP, Technical Paper presented at the International Water Conference 2004.

The previous two stage media filter trains.

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Product finder44Filtration+Separation October 2008

ACTIVATED CARBONBlücher GmbH Mettmanner Str. 25D-40699 Erkrath Tel.: + 49 211 92 44 0Fax: + 49 211 92 44 211Email: [email protected]: www.bluecher.com

Carbon Filter Technology LtdGairie WorksKirriemuir, AngusScotland, DD8 4BLTel: +44 (0)1575 570218Fax:: +44 (0)575 574333Email: [email protected]: www.carbfilt.co.uk

Charcoal Cloth InternationalRainton Bridge Industrial EstateHoughton-Le-SpringTyne & Wear, DH4 5PP, UKTel: +44 (0) 191 584 6962Fax: +44 (0) 191 584 6793Email: [email protected]: www.chemvironcarbon.com

Lydall Filtration/Separation, Inc.HeadquartersP.O. Box 1960RochesterNH 03866-1960, USATel: +1 603 332 4600Fax: +1 603 332 3734

EuropeSaint Rivalain56310 Melrand, FranceTel; +33 2 97 28 53 00Fax: +33 2 97 39 58 90Email: [email protected]: www.lydallfiltration.com

Molecular Products Inc. PO Box 640Lafayette Colorado80026, USATel: +1 303 666 4400Fax: +1 303 665 0563Email: [email protected]: www.molecularproducts.com/?userlocation=usa

Molecular Products Ltd. Europe, Middle East and AfricaTel: +44 (0) 1371 830676Email: [email protected]

Molecular Products Asia Ltd. Tel: +852 2819 5238Email: [email protected]

ACTIVATED CARBON FILTERSPurification ProductsReliance Works, Saltaire RoadShipley, West YorkshireBD18 3HL, UKTel: +44 1274 530 155Fax: +44 1274 580 453Email: [email protected] Website: www.purification.co.uk

Activated carbon filter media. Other active powders can be incorporated. Custom medias manufactured.

AIR FILTERSFreudenberg Vliesstoffe KGFilter DivisionWeinheim, D-69465, GermanyTel: +49 6201 80 6264Fax: +49 6201 88 6299Email: [email protected]: www.viledon-filter.com

AIR MEDIA FILTERHollingsworth & Vose Corporate Headquarters112 Washington StreetEast WalpoleMA 02032, USATel: +1 508 850 2000Fax: +1 508 668 3557Email: [email protected]: www.hollingsworth-vose.com

Filtration Applications: Asia: +86 512 6283 8918Europe: + 49 6467 801 4125 (Engine Filtration)Brussels: + 32 2 725 6260Americas: +1 508 850



AUTOMATIC FILTER MEDIA FOLDING/SPACER INSERTION MACHINEA2Z Filtration Specialities Pvt. Ltd.(Designers & Engineers)Design Centre & Manufacturing FacilityD-1, Infocity, Phase -II, Sector - 33, Gurgaon 122 001 INDIATel: +91 (124) 478 8700, + 91 (124) 221 2841Fax: +91 (124) 400 1388, +91 (124) 221 2840, +91 (11) 4166 0134E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]: www.a2zfiltration.com

Contact Persons: Mr. Digvijai Singh and Mr. Anoop Singh.

For manufacture of Hepa Filters with aluminium spacer formation and insertion to required sizes depending on customers specifications.

BELT FILTERSBHS-Sonthofen GmbHHans-Boeckler Strasse 7Sonthofen, D-87527

GermanyTel: +49 8321 802 200Fax: +49 8321 802 220Email: [email protected]

BELT (DEWATERING PRESSING & DRYING)Ashbrook Simon-Hartley Ltd10/11 Brindley CourtLymedale Business ParkNewcastle-under-LymeStaffordshireST5 9QHTel. +44 (0) 1782 578650Fax. +44 (0) 1782 260534Email: [email protected]

Euroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

Veolia Water Solutions & TechnologiesWhittle Road, Meir, Stoke-on-Trent,Staffordshire, ST3 7QD, UKTel: +44 (0) 1782 599000Fax: +44 (0) 1782 599001Email: [email protected]: www.veoliawaterst.co.uk

BOLTING CLOTHSaati S.p.A.Via Milano1422070 Appiano Gentile (Como) ItalyTel: +39 031 9711Fax: +39 031 933392Email: [email protected]: www.saati.com

CABIN AIR / GAS MASK FILTER PRODUCTION LINESA2Z Filtration Specialities Pvt. Ltd.(Designers & Engineers)Design Centre & Manufacturing FacilityD-1, Infocity, Phase -II, Sector - 33, Gurgaon 122 001 INDIATel: +91 (124) 478 8700, + 91 (124) 221 2841Fax: +91 (124) 400 1388, +91 (124) 221 2840, +91 (11) 4166 0134E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]: www.a2zfiltration.comContact Persons: Mr. Digvijai Singh and Mr. Anoop Singh.

A2Z has introduced an automated line that is flexible, fit to purpose and cost effective for filter manufacturers.

CANDLE FILTERSG. Bopp USA IncOne Commerce Court, Suite 1Wappingers Falls,NY12590, USATel: +1 845 226 3839

Fax: + 1 845 226 8565Email: [email protected]: www.bopp.com

World-leading wire mesh producer/manufacturer offers the largest specifications & alloys available including fabricated components. DFARS / ISO 9001:2000

G. Bopp & Co., AGZurich, SwitzerlandTel: +41 (0) 44 377 66 66Email: [email protected]

Paul GmbH & CoMetallgewebe-u. FilterfabrikenIndustriegebiet WestD-36396 Steinau, GermanyTel: +49 666 397 80Fax: +49 666 397 8190Email: [email protected]: www.paco-online.com

CENTRIFUGES (FGD)Andritz LtdSpeedwell RoadParkhouse EastNewcastle-Under-LymeStaffordshire, ST5 7RGTel: +44 1782 565656Fax: +44 1782 566130Email: [email protected]: www.andritz.com


Gruppo Pieralisi1 Via Don BattistoniI-60035 Jesi, Ancona, ItalyTel: +39 0731 2311Fax: +39 0731 231 239Email: [email protected]: www.pieralisi.com

CENTRIFUGES (CHEMICALS & PHARMACEUTICALS)Euroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

CENTRIFUGES (STARCH & FOOD PROCESSING)Euroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

CERAMIC FILTERSItN Nanovation AGUntertürkheimer Straße 2566117 SaarbrückenGermany

Tel: +49 (0)681 5001 460Fax:: +49 (0)681 5001 499Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

CERAMIC MEMBRANESNovasep Process Novasep ProcessSite Saint Maurice de Beynost5 Chemin du PilonMiribel Cedex F-01708, FranceTel: +33 (4)72 01 2727Fax: +33 (4)78 55 38 33Email: [email protected] Website: www.novasep.com

Tami Industries F - 26110, Les Laurons, NyonsFranceTel: +33 475 264 769Fax: +33 475 264 787Email: [email protected]: www.tami-industries.com

COMPRESSED AIR FILTERSAirfilter Engineering (M) Sdn BhdNo. 20, Jalan Anggerik Mokara 31/47Section 31, Kota Kemuning40460 Shah Alam, SelangorMalaysiaTel: +603 5122 4975Fax+: +603 5121 2069Email: [email protected] Website: www.airfilterengineering.com

Europe(Marketing & Distribution Center)AFE Airfilter Europe GmbHLueddigstrasse 8,D-53332 Bornheim,Germany.Tel: +49 (0) 2227 921 0130Fax: +49 (0) 2227 921 0132Email: [email protected]@airfilter-europe.comWebsite: www.airfilter-europe.com

COMPRESSED AIR FILTERS + DRYERSHI-Line Industries Ltd5 Crown Industrial EstateOxford StreetBurton-on-TrentStaffordshire, EnglandDE14 3PGTel: +44 (0)1283 533377Fax: +44 (0)1283 533367Email: [email protected] Website: www.hilineindustries.com

CONSULTANTS FOR FILTRATIONBokela GmbH,Gottesauer Strasse 28Karlsruhe, D-76131, GermanyTel: +49 721 9 64 56 0Fax: +49 721 9 64 56 10Email: [email protected]: www.bokela.com

Advertisers’ Guide to Filtration & Separation FinderBy listing your Company in Product Finder you will benefit from many new leads. The new format permits buyers of filters and ancillary products to make direct contact with your sales force.

Please note that if a suitable heading is not listed we will create a new one specifically for you.

Reader Guide to Filtration & Separation FinderDesigned as a directory the companies and their products listed here are amongst the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers.

To obtain further information simply call, fax, e-mail or visit their website.

If you would like to feature in

Product Findercontact:Sally PyeTel: +44 (0) 1865 843081 E-mail: [email protected]

The cost per category is £290/$460/�440 for 12 months

Elsevier Ltd, PO Box 150, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1AS, UK.

Product Finder

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Product finder 45Filtration+Separation October 2008

DECANTERSEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

Gruppo Pieralisi1 Via Don BattistoniI-60035, Jesi, Ancona, ItalyTel: +39 0731 2311Fax: +39 0731 231 239Email: [email protected]: www.pieralisi.com

DEWATERING EQUIPMENT/FILTERSEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

Gruppo Pieralisi1 Via Don BattistoniI-60035 Jesi, Ancona ItalyTel: +39 0731 2311Fax: +39 0731 231 239Email: [email protected]: www.pieralisi.com


DISC FILTERSVeolia Water Solutions & TechnologiesWhittle Road, Meir, Stoke-on-Trent,Staffordshire, ST3 7QD, UKTel: +44 (0) 1782 599000Fax: +44 (0) 1782 599001Email: [email protected]: www.veoliawaterst.co.uk

DROPLET GENERATORSPALAS GmbHGreschbachstr 3bKarlsruhe, D-76229GermanyTel: +49 721 962 130Fax: +49 721 962 1333Email: [email protected]: www.palas.de

DRYING AND DRYERSEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

DUST GENERATORSPALAS GmbHGreschbachstr 3bKarlsruhe , D-76229, GermanyTel: +49 721 962130Fax: +49 721 962133Email: [email protected]: www.palas.de

FABRICS, WOVENSaati S.p.A.Via Milano1422070 Appiano Gentile (Como) ItalyTel: +39 031 9711Fax: +39 031 933392Email: [email protected]: www.saati.com

FILTER BAGS & SLEEVESBWF Tec GmbH & Co. KGBWF EnvirotecBahnhofstrasse 20D-89362 Offingen, GermanyTel: +49 8224 71 0Fax: +49 8224 71 21 44Email: [email protected]: www.bwf-group.deBWF Envirotec provides filter bags, filter elements and filter pockets made of synthetic fibres and scrims for industrial flue gas cleaning, product recovery, separation of solids from liquids

Khosla Profil Pvt Ltd2 Laxmi Towers, 8th Floor, B WingBandra-Kurla ComplexMumbai 400051IndiaTel +91 22 3061 3061Tel + 91 22 3061 3062Email: [email protected]/ [email protected]: www.puritytex.com

ICT FILTRACIÓN, S.L.Psje. Pare Claret, 15 - 2508390 MONTGAT (Barcelona)Tel + 34 902 999 433Fax + 34 934 642 763Email: [email protected]: www.ictfiltracion.com

Saati S.p.A.Via Milano1422070 Appiano Gentile (Como) ItalyTel: +39 031 9711Fax: +39 031 933392Email: [email protected]: www.saati.com

FILTER CLOTHS, MONOFILAMENTEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com


FILTER COMPONENTS & END CAPSA2Z Filtration Specialities Pvt. Ltd.(Designers & Engineers)Design Centre & Manufacturing FacilityD-1, Infocity, Phase -II, Sector - 33, Gurgaon 122 001 INDIATel: +91 (124) 478 8700, + 91 (124) 221 2841Fax: +91 (124) 400 1388, +91 (124) 221 2840, +91 (11) 4166 0134E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]: www.a2zfiltration.com


A2Z offers over 700 part numbers of pressed sheet metal and machined parts, aluminium cast caps Nylon6 glass filled components.

The Expanded Metal Company Longhill Industrial Estate Hartlepool, TS25 1PR, UK Tel: +44 (0)1429 867388 Fax: +44 (0)1429 866795 Email: [email protected] Website: www.expandedmetalcompany.co.uk

FILTER EQUIPMENT MAINTENANACE & SERVICINGEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

FILTER MEDIAA Kayser GmbH u. Co. KGTextile FiltermedienBaustraße, 38D-37574, EinbeckTel: +49 (0)55 61 79020Fax: +49 (0)55 61 7902/2870Email: [email protected]: www.kayser-textil.de

Blücher GmbH Mettmanner Str. 25D-40699 Erkrath Tel.: + 49 211 92 44 0Fax: + 49 211 92 44 211Email: [email protected]: www.bluecher.comBased on spherical adsorbers.

FINSA – Filtros Industriales, S.L.Joan Monpeo 14408223 Terrassa (Barcelona) SPAINTel + 34 93 786 18 61Fax + 34 93 785 83 59Email: [email protected]: www.finsaspain.com

Haver & Boecker Wire Weaving DivisionEnnigerloher St. 64 Oelde, D-59302GermanyTel: +49 2522 300Fax: +49 2522 304 04Email: [email protected] Website: www.weavingideas.com

Hollingsworth & Vose CompanyCorporate Headquarters112 Washington StreetEast Walpole,MA 02032, USATel: +1 508 850 2000Fax: +1 508 668 3557Email: [email protected]: www.hollingsworth-vose.comFiltration Applications:Asia: +86 512 6283 8918Europe: +49 646 78010 (Engine Filtratration)Europe: +32 2 725 6260Americas: +1 508 850 2000


Khosla Profil Pvt Ltd2 Laxmi Towers, 8th Floor, B WingBandra-Kurla ComplexMumbai 400051IndiaTel +91 22 3061 3061Tel + 91 22 3061 3062Email: [email protected]/ [email protected]: www.puritytex.com



Saati S.p.A.Via Milano1422070 Appiano Gentile (Como) Italy

Tel: +39 031 9711Fax: +39 031 933392Email: [email protected]: www.saati.com

FILTER MEDIA, NONWOVENSHollingsworth & Vose Corporate Headquarters112 Washington StreetEast WalpoleMA 02032, USATel: +1 508 850 2000Fax: +1 508 668 3557Email: [email protected]: www.hollingsworth-vose.comFiltration Applications: Asia: +86 512 6283 8918Europe: + 49 6467 801 4125 (Engine Filtration)Brussels: + 32 2 725 6260Americas: +1 508 850



FILTER PAPERHollingsworth & Vose Corporate Headquarters112 Washington StreetEast WalpoleMA 02032, USATel: +1 508 850 2000Fax: +1 508 668 3557Email: [email protected]: www.hollingsworth-vose.com


FILTER PAPER AND PULP TESTING EQUIPMENTA2Z Filtration Specialities Pvt Ltd (Designers & Engineers)Corporate Office :11, Poorvi Marg, Vasant ViharNew Delhi - 110 057, IndiaTel: +91 (11) 4166 0133 Fax: +91 (11) 4166 0134Email: [email protected] : www.a2zfiltration.com

Design Centre & Manufacturing FacilityD-1, Infocity, Phase -II, Sector - 33, Gurgaon 122 001 INDIATel: +91 (124) 478 8700, + 91 (124) 221 2841Fax: +91 (124) 400 1388, +91 (124) 221 2840, +91 (11) 4166 0134E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]

Contact persons : Mr. Digvijai Singh and Mr. Anoop Singh

A large variety of test equipment used by the paper and pulp industry, and also filter manufacturers is available.

FILTER PLATESEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

Presswell FiIters Pvt Ltd146-147, Macche Industrial EstateMaccheBelgaum 590014IndiaTel: +91 (0) 831 241 1054/5/6Fax: +91 (0) 831 241 1057Email: [email protected]


FILTER PLEATINGMACHINESA2Z Filtration Specialities Pvt. Ltd.(Designers & Engineers)Design Centre & Manufacturing FacilityD-1, Infocity, Phase -II, Sector - 33, Gurgaon 122 001 INDIATel: +91 (124) 478 8700, + 91 (124) 221 2841Fax: +91 (124) 400 1388, +91 (124) 221 2840, +91 (11) 4166 0134E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]


A variety of pleating equipment including Blade, Rotary, Star Pleaters and special configuration pleating equipment

JCEM GmbH, headquartersengineering & manufacturing Industrie Allmend 27 / CH – 4629 Fulenbacht: + 41 62 926 44 80 / f: + 41 62 926 44 81Email: [email protected] Person: Vesna Mladenovic-ChristakosSales & Marketing ManagerEmail: [email protected]

JCEM usaexclusive distribution11201 ampere court / louisville, ky 40299T: + 1 502 261 8222 / f: + 1 502 261 8225Email: [email protected] Person: Chris LyonsSales TechnicianEmail: [email protected]

Karl Rabofsky GmbHMotzener Str 10a, Berlin, D-12277, GermanyTel: +49 30 713 0260Fax: +49 30 713 02613Email: [email protected]: www.rabofsky.de

Karl Rabofsky American Corp.20 Hampden Drive, S. Easton,MA 02375, USATel: +1 508 238 34 44Fax: +1 508 238 01 44Email: [email protected]

FILTER PRESSESAndritz LtdSpeedwell RoadParkhouse EastNewcastle-Under-LymeStaffordshire, ST5 7RGTel: +44 1782 565656Fax: +44 1782 566130Email: [email protected]: www.andritz.com

Arai Machinery Corporation2-7-19 OkataAtsugi-shiKanagawa-ken243-0021JapanTel: +81 (0) 46 227 0461Fax: +81 (0) 46 227 0463Email: [email protected]: http:// www.arai-machinery.co.jp

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Product finder46Filtration+Separation October 2008

Ashbrook Simon-Hartley Ltd10/11 Brindley CourtLymedale Business ParkNewcastle-under-LymeStaffordshireST5 9QHTel. +44 (0) 1782 578650Fax. +44 (0) 1782 260534Email: [email protected]

Diemme SpAVia Bedazzo 19, 48022, Lugo (RA), ItalyTel: +39 0545 20611Fax: +39 0545 30358Email: [email protected]: www.diemme-spa.com/filtration

Dinshaw Filtration Systems Pvt Ltd265, M.S. Road,Grant Road CornerNear Royal CinemaMumbai 400 008IndiaTel: 0091 22 23864782/3/9Fax: 0091 22 23 807 439Email: [email protected] [email protected]: www.dinshaw.com/net



'Progress' Berdichev Machine Building Plant', JSC5 Leontovicha Street,Kiev, 01030UkraineTel: +38 044 490 3888Fax: +38 044 490 3899Email: [email protected]: www.progress.ua


FILTER PRESSES (SERVICES AND SPARES)Andritz LtdSpeedwell RoadParkhouse EastNewcastle-Under-LymeStaffordshire, ST5 7RGTel: +44 1782 565656Fax: +44 1782 566130Email: [email protected]: www.andritz.com


FILTER TESTING EQUIPMENTPALAS GmbHGreschbachstr 3bKarlsruhe, D 76229GermanyTel: +49 721 962130Fax: +49 721 962133Email: [email protected]: www.palas.de

GLASS FIBRE MEDIALydall Filtration/Separation, Inc.HeadquartersP.O. Box 1960RochesterNH 03866-1960, USATel: +1 603 332 4600Fax: +1 603 332 3734


LIQUID FILTER MEDIAHollingsworth & Vose Corporate Headquarters112 Washington StreetEast WalpoleMA 02032, USATel: +1 508 850 2000Fax: +1 508 668 3557Email: [email protected]: www.hollingsworth-vose.comFiltration Applications: Asia: +86 512 6283 8918Europe: + 49 6467 801 4125 (Engine Filtration)Brussels: + 32 2 725 6260Americas: +1 508 850



MAGNETICEQUIPMENTGoudsmit Magnetic Systems BVPO box 18, Petunialaan 19, 5580 AA Waalre, Netherlands,Tel: +31 (0) 40 2213283Fax: +31 (0) 40 2217325Email: [email protected]: www.goudsmit-magnetics.nl

MEDIA, PAPER -TREATEDHollingsworth & Vose CompanyCorporate Headquarters112 Washington StreetEast Walpole,MA 02032, USATel: +1 508 850 2000Fax: +1 508 668 3557Email: [email protected]: www.hollingsworth-vose.com

Filtration Applications:Asia: +86 512 6283 8918Europe: +49 646 78010 (Engine Filtratration)Europe: +32 2 725 6260Americas: +1 508 850 2000



MEMBRANESAlfa Laval Nakskov A.S.Stavangervej 10Nakskov 4900, DenmarkTel +45 70 204 900Fax +45 70 204 910Email: [email protected]: www.alfalaval.com

Donaldson Advanced Filtration7 The ParksNewton Le WillowsWA12 0JQEnglandTel: +44 (0) 1942 711 711Fax: +44 (0) 1942 711 571Email: [email protected]: www.donaldson.com


Novasep Process Novasep ProcessSite Saint Maurice de Beynost5 Chemin du PilonMiribel Cedex F-01708, FranceTel: +33 (4)72 01 2727Fax: +33 (4)78 55 38 33Email: [email protected] Website: www.novasep.com

MEMBRANE PRESSESEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

MESH, SYNTHETICNetten149 Avenue de Bretagne59000 LilleFranceTel: +33 3 20 08 05 99Fax: + 33 3 20 08 05 71Email: [email protected]: www.netten.frSpecialists in extruded plastic meshes


METAL CLOTHPaul GmbH & CoMetallgewebe-u. FilterfabrikenIndustriegebiet WestD-36396 Steinau, GermanyTel: +49 666 397 80Fax: +49 666 397 8190Email: [email protected]: www.paco-online.com

METAL EXPANDER LINE FROM DECOILER TO RECOILERA2Z Filtration Specialities Pvt Ltd (Designers & Engineers)Corporate Office :11, Poorvi Marg, Vasant ViharNew Delhi - 110 057, IndiaTel: +91 (11) 4166 0133 Fax: +91 (11) 4166 0134Email: [email protected] : www.a2zfiltration.com

Design Centre & Manufacturing FacilityD-1, Infocity, Phase -II, Sector - 33, Gurgaon 122 001 INDIATel: +91 (124) 478 8700, + 91 (124) 221 2841Fax: +91 (124) 400 1388,

+91 (124) 221 2840, +91 (11) 4166 0134E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]

Contact persons : Mr. Digvijai Singh and Mr. Anoop Singh

Manufacturers should be aware of the advantages of using expanded metal as opposed to perforated sheet due to rising steel costs.

MICROFILTRATIONAlfa Laval Nakskov A.S.Stravangervej 10Nakskov, DK-4900, DenmarkTel: +45 70 204 900Fax: +45 70 204 910Email: [email protected]: www.alfalaval.comArai Machinery Corporation2-7-19 OkataAtsugi-shiKanagawa-ken243-0021JapanTel: +81 (0) 46 227 0461Fax: +81 (0) 46 227 0463Email: [email protected]: http:// www.arai-machinery.co.jp

Bokela GmbHGottesauer Strasse 28Karlsruhe, D-76131, GermanyTel: +49 721 964 56 0Fax: +49 721 9 64 56 10Email: [email protected]: www.bokela.com

Tecan Ltd. Tecan WayGranby Industrial EstateWeymouthDorsetDT4 9TU, UKTel: +44 (0)1305 765432Fax: +44 (0)1305 780194Email: [email protected]: www.tecan.co.uk

MINIATURE PUMPSGardner Denver Thomas GmbHSiemensstrasse 4Puchheim, D-82178GermanyTel: +49 89 809 00 0Fax: +49 89 808 36 8Email: [email protected]: www.rtpumps.com/puc

NANOFILTRATIONAlfa Laval Nakskov A.S.Stravangervej 10Nakskov, DK-4900, DenmarkTel: +45 70 204 900Fax: +45 70 204 910Email: [email protected]: www.alfalaval.com

Novasep Process Novasep ProcessSite Saint Maurice de Beynost5 Chemin du PilonMiribel Cedex F-01708, FranceTel: +33 (4)72 01 2727Fax: +33 (4)78 55 38 33Email: [email protected] Website: www.novasep.com

NONWOVEN MEDIAHollingsworth & Vose Corporate Headquarters112 Washington StreetEast WalpoleMA 02032, USATel: +1 508 850 2000Fax: +1 508 668 3557Email: [email protected]: www.hollingsworth-vose.com




PGI Nordlys SASZI de la Blanche MaisonAvenues des Nations UniesBP 109 - 59270Bailleul, FranceTel: +33 (0) 3 28 43 74 74Fax: +33 (0) 3 28 43 74 72Email: [email protected]: www.pgi-industrial-europe.com

OIL / WATER SEPARATORSEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com


PAPER MEDIA, TREATED Hollingsworth & Vose Corporate Headquarters112 Washington StreetEast WalpoleMA 02032, USATel: +1 508 850 2000Fax: +1 508 668 3557Email: [email protected]: www.hollingsworth-vose.comFiltration Applications: Asia: +86 512 6283 8918Europe: + 49 6467 801 4125 (Engine Filtration)Brussels: + 32 2 725 6260Americas: +1 508 850

PARTICLE SIZING EQUIPMENTPALAS GmbH,Greschbachstr 3bKarlsruhe, D-76229GermanyTel: +49 721 962130Fax: +49 721 9621333Email: [email protected]: www.palas.de

PLEATED CARTRIDGESSaati S.p.A.Via Milano1422070 Appiano Gentile (Como) ItalyTel: +39 031 9711Fax: +39 031 933392Email: [email protected]: www.saati.com

PLEATING MACHINERY


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Product finder 47Filtration+Separation October 2008

JCEM usaexclusive distribution11201 ampere court / louisville, ky 40299T: + 1 502 261 8222 / f: + 1 502 261 8225Email: [email protected] Person: Chris LyonsSales TechnicianEmail: [email protected]



PRESSURE FILTERSBokela GmbHGottesauer Strasse 28Karlsruhe, D-76131, GermanyTel: +49 721 964 56 0Fax: +49 721 9 64 56 10Email: [email protected]: www.bokela.com

PRESSURE PLATE FILTERSEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

REVERSE OSMOSISAlfa Laval Nakskov A.S.Stravangervej 10Nakskov, DK-4900, DenmarkTel: +45 70 204 900Fax: +45 70 204 910Email: [email protected]: www.alfalaval.com

ROTARY, BLADE PLEATERS AND OTHER SPM’sA2Z Filtration Specialities Pvt. Ltd.(Designers & Engineers)Design Centre & Manufacturing FacilityD-1, Infocity, Phase -II, Sector - 33, Gurgaon 122 001 INDIATel: +91 (124) 478 8700, + 91 (124) 221 2841Fax: +91 (124) 400 1388, +91 (124) 221 2840, +91 (11) 4166 0134E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]


A2Z specializes in all styles of Pleaters – Blade, Geared and Rotary Pleaters with Pleat Lock, Dimple, Zigzag and Conventional Design.


JCEM usaexclusive distribution11201 ampere court / louisville, ky 40299T: + 1 502 261 8222 / f: + 1 502 261 8225

Email: [email protected] Person: Chris LyonsSales TechnicianEmail: [email protected]



ROTARY PRESSURE FILTERSBHS-Sonthofen GmbHHans-Boeckler Strasse 7Sonthofen D-87527, GermanyTel: +49 8321 802 200Fax: +49 8321 802 220Email: [email protected]

Bokela GmbH,Gottesauer Strasse 28Karlsruhe, D-76131, GermanyTel: +49 721 9 64 56 0Fax: +49 721 9 64 56 10Email: [email protected]: www.bokela.com

ROTARY VACUUMFILTERSBokela GmbH,Gottesauer Strasse 28Karlsruhe, D-76131, GermanyTel: +49 721 9 64 56 0Fax: +49 721 9 64 56 10Email: [email protected]: www.bokela.com

SCREENSEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com


SEALS, GASKETS AND "O" RINGS Dichtomatik LtdDonington House, Riverside RoadPride Park, DerbyDE24 8HXTel: +44 (0)1332 524401Fax: +44 (0)1332 524425Email: [email protected] Website: www.dichtomatik.co.uk Specialist sealing solutions for all filtration applications

SEPARATION & VIBRATORY SCREENSG. Bopp USA IncOne Commerce Court, Suite 1Wappingers Falls,NY12590, USATel: +1 845 226 3839Fax: + 1 845 226 8565Email: [email protected]: www.bopp.comThe Art of Swiss Precision 150 years weaving expertise, including fabricated components, sintered mesh and precious alloys.



SEPARATION & VIBRATORY SCREENSPaul GmbH & CoMetallgewebe-u. FilterfabrikenIndustriegebiet WestD-36396 Steinau, GermanyTel: +49 666 397 80Fax: +49 666 397 8190Email: [email protected]: www.paco-online.com

SEPARATORS CENTRIFUGALEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

SEPARATORS LIQUIDEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

SIEVESSaati S.p.A.Via Milano1422070 Appiano Gentile (Como) ItalyTel: +39 031 9711Fax: +39 031 933392Email: [email protected]: www.saati.com

SINTERED WIRE MESHG. Bopp USA IncOne Commerce Court, Suite 1Wappingers Falls,NY12590, USATel: +1 845 226 3839Fax: + 1 845 226 8565Email: [email protected]: www.bopp.comWorld-leading wire mesh producer/manufacturer offers the largest specifications & alloys available including fabricated components. DFARS / ISO 9001:2000


Haver & Boecker Wire Weaving DivisionEnnigerloher St. 64 Oelde, D-59302GermanyTel: +49 2522 300Fax: +49 2522 304 04Email: [email protected] Website: www.weavingideas.com

SLUDGE DEWATERINGAndritz LtdSpeedwell RoadParkhouse EastNewcastle-Under-LymeStaffordshire, ST5 7RGTel: +44 1782 565656Fax: +44 1782 566130Email: [email protected]: www.andritz.com

Ashbrook Simon-Hartley Ltd10/11 Brindley CourtLymedale Business ParkNewcastle-under-LymeStaffordshireST5 9QHTel. +44 (0) 1782 578650Fax. +44 (0) 1782 260534Email: [email protected]

Diemme SpAVia Bedazzo 19, 48022, Lugo (RA), ItalyTel: +39 0545 20611Fax: +39 0545 30358Email: [email protected]: www.diemme-spa.com/filtrationEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com


SLUDGE THICKENERSEuroby LimitedColumbia HouseColumbia Drive, WorthingSussex, BN13 3HDTel: +44 1903 694400Fax: +44 1903 694477Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

STAINERSOxford Filtration Ltd.Unit 15, Bridgewater Way, Windsor, Berks SL4 1RDTel: +44 (0)1628 440906 Fax: +44 (0) 1628 476667Email: [email protected]: www.oxfordfiltration.comManufacturer and Supplier of Simplex, Duplex Strainers and Self Clean filters for virtually any fluid duty.

ULTRAFILTRATIONAlfa Laval Nakskov A.S.Stravangervej 10Nakskov DK-4900 DenmarkTel: +45 70 204 900Fax: +45 70 204 910Email: [email protected]: www.alfalaval.com

ItN Nanovation AGUntertürkheimer Straße 2566117 SaarbrückenGermanyTel: +49 (0)681 5001 460Fax:: +49 (0)681 5001 499Email: [email protected]: www.itn-nanovation.com

WEDGE PROFILE SCREEN & FILTRATION Hyuksan Profile Co., Ltd.PLANT: 5B-1L Incheon Seo-Bu Industrial Complex, 681 Kyung-Seo Dong, Seo-Gu, Incheon, KoreaTel: 82-32-561-6437, Fax: 82-32-561-4824Marketing Office : 16FL., Renaissance Tower, 989-1 Juan6 Dong, Nam-Gu, Incheon, KoreaTel : 82-32-420-0561, Fax : 82-32-420-0564Website: www.hyuksan.co.krE-mail: [email protected]

WEDGE WIRE SCREENS & TUBESArai Machinery Corporation2-7-19 OkataAtsugi-shiKanagawa-ken243-0021JapanTel: +81 (0) 46 227 0461Fax: +81 (0) 46 227 0463Email: [email protected]: http:// www.arai-machinery.co.jp

Progress Eco S.A.28-142 Tuczepy,Dobrów 7, PolandTel.: +48 15 864 62 70

Fax: +48 15 864 62 78Email: [email protected]: www.progress-screens.com

TrislotRoterijstraat 134Waregem, B-8790,BelgiumTel: +32 56 62 72 22Fax: +32 56 62 72 62Email: [email protected]: www.trislot.be

WIRE MESHFratelli Mariani S.p.A.Via Cadorna,3420032 CORMANO (MI)ItalyTel.: +39 02 6103441Fax: +39 02 61034499E Mail: [email protected]: www.fratellimariani.it

The Expanded Metal Company Longhill Industrial Estate Hartlepool, TS25 1PR, UK Tel: +44 (0)1429 867388 Fax: +44 (0)1429 866795 Email: [email protected] Website: www.expandedmetalcompany.co.uk

WIRE, WOVENHaver & Boecker Wire Weaving DivisionEnnigerloher St. 64 Oelde, D-59302GermanyTel: +49 2522 300Fax: +49 2522 304 04Email: [email protected] Website: www.weavingideas.com

WOVEN FILTRATION FABRICSSaati S.p.A.Via Milano1422070 Appiano Gentile (Como) ItalyTel: +39 031 9711Fax: +39 031 933392Email: [email protected]: www.saati.com

WOVEN WIRE CLOTHG. Bopp USA IncOne Commerce Court, Suite 1Wappingers Falls,NY12590, USATel: +1 845 226 3839Fax: + 1 845 226 8565Email: [email protected]: www.bopp.comWorld-leading wire mesh producer/manufacturer offers the largest specifications & alloys available including fabricated components. DFARS / ISO 9001:2000



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Advertisers’ index48Filtration+Separation October 2008

Advertisers’ IndexAdvertiser Page

Ahlstrom 11Bekaert Fibre Technologies 9BWF Envirotech 31Expanded Metal Company Ltd 35Gaudfrin S.A. IBCGroupe Novasep SAS 17Hollingsworth & Vose 39I F T S 31JCEM Gmbh IFCLydall Filtration/Separation Inc. 7McIlvaine Company 21Microdyn-Nadir GmbH 19Pieralisi Group 27Pollutec 33Porex Filtration 13SpinTek Filtration Inc 35The Hilliard Corporation OBCWestfalia Separator Industry AG 15X-Flow BV 5


Visit our website at

www.filtsep.com

2008 diary dates7-8 October Pittsburgh, USA 22nd International Activated Carbon Conference Contact: Professional Analytical and Consulting Services Tel: +1 724 457 6576 Fax: +1724 457 1214 E-mail: [email protected] www.pacslabs.com

7-8 October Cologne, Germany

Filtrex 2008 Contact: Edana Tel: +32 2 734 93 10 Fax: +32 2 733 35 18 E-mail: [email protected] www.edana.org

8-10 October Las Vegas, USA WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition Contact: SNWA Tel: +1 702 862 3777 www.watersmartinnovations.com

15 OctoberRoyal Academy of Engineering, London

Bioresources to Land: Managing the Nutrient Cycle

Tel: +44 1924 257891E-mail: [email protected]

18-22 October

Chicago, USA

WEFTEC 2008 Contact: WEF Tel: +1 703 684 2552 Fax: +1 703 684 2492 E-mail: [email protected] www.weftec.com

20-22 October

Toulouse, France

Conference on Membranes in Drinking Water Production and Wastewater Treatment Contact: European Desalination SocietyTel: +39 0862 319954Fax: +39 0862 3475 213 E-mail: [email protected]

22-24 October

Suntec Singapore

ProcessCEM Asia 2008 Contact: Lee Yingqi Tel: +65 6393 0212 Fax: +65 6296 2670 E-mail: [email protected] www.processcemasia.com

28-30 OctoberRaleigh, North Carolina, USA

New Energy Technologies and Sustainability 2008 Contact: Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics IndustryTel: +1 919 233 1210E-mail: [email protected]

28 October Chester, England

Filter Testing and StandardsContact: The Filtration SocietyTel: +44 1392 874398www.fi ltsoc.com

29-30 October Aachen, Germany

12th Aachener Membran Kolloquium (AMK)Contact: RWTH Aachen University Tel: +49 241 809 8110 Fax: +49 241 809 2252 E-mail: [email protected] www.amk.rwth-aachen.de

30 October- 2 November Istanbul Expo centre

TURKCHEM 2008 Contact: Artkim Fuarcilik Ltd. Tel: +90 212 324 0000

Fax: +90 212 324 3757 E-mail: [email protected] www.turkchem.net

3-5 November

Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition Centre, Shanghai, China.

Bag Filter Shanghai 2008Contact: Dust Control Committee (under China Occupational Safety and Health Association)www.bagfi lter.net

10-12 November

Manchester, England

13th European Biosolids and Organic Resources Conference and ExhibitionTel: +44 1924 257891Fax: +44 1924 257455E-mail: [email protected]

12-14 November

Beijing, China

China-PharmContact: Messe Dusseldorf Tel: +86 10 66155603 Fax: +86 10 66167891 E-mail: [email protected]/English

If you are organising an event concerning filtration, separation or related disciplines, and would like to be included in this list, please send details to: The Editor, Filtration+Separation, Elsevier Ltd, PO Box 150, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1AS, UK. Fax: +44 (0)1865 843971 or Email: [email protected]

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Documents

Filtration and separation journal