The second project, awarded bythe Joint Water Reuse & Desalin-ation Task Force (comprising theWateReuse Foundation, WaterEnvironment Research Foundation,AWWARF and US Bureau ofReclamation) will focus on develop-ing a decision methodology to helpwater utilities evaluate their brinedisposal options on a local level.

This project, called RegionalSolutions for Concentrate Disposal,addresses the significant, geograph-ically diverse issues associated withconcentrate disposal, and requiresCarollo’s knowledge of the com-plexities of regional and state envi-ronmental planning processes. Thecompany says that the study’s focusis to determine what concentratedisposal and management optionsare technically feasible and viablefor various regions.

The outcome of these projects isextremely pertinent to industrydecision-makers who are determin-ing a sound and just basis for pur-suing desalination, says the compa-ny. Carollo’s research will provideimportant information to aid pro-ject planners in assessing the timerequired to implement a waterresource portfolio that may includedesalination.

To ensure the success of eachproject, Carollo Engineers willemploy key criteria throughout thestudies’ investigations. These crite-ria include production efficiency,product water quality, infrastruc-ture considerations and constraints,energy and chemical usage, life-cycle and capital and operationalcosts, operational and maintenanceconsiderations, and pre- and post-treatment requirements.

Contact:Carollo Engineers PC, 10540 TalbertAvenue, Suite 200 East, Fountain Valley,CA 92708, USA. Tel: +1 714 593 5100,Fax: +1 714 593 5103, www.carollo.com

Sartorius meetstargets for fiscal2004The Sartorius Group, theGerman process and laboratorytechnology provider, says thatit has achieved its targets for its2004 fiscal year, and to someextent even surpassed them.

The company’s earnings morethan doubled, and sales revenuegrew significantly.

Earnings before interest andtaxes (EBIT) surged 121.5% to�32.5m, from �14.7m postedfor the previous fiscal year. At�54.8m, earnings before interest,taxes, depreciation and amortiza-tion (EBITDA) were 45.3%higher than the previous year’sfigure of �37.7m.

Group sales revenue totalled�467.6m — up from �442.3min fiscal 2003. This translatesinto a gain of 5.7%. The Biotech-nology Division and Mech-atronics Division contributednearly equally to sales growth.

The Biotechnology Divisionachieved an EBIT of �17.5m, upfrom �7.6m posted for 2003.This gain was essentially support-ed by Sartorius’ filter business.EBIT for the MechatronicsDivision was �15.0m — up from�7.1m posted for the year-agoperiod. The laboratory instru-ments business contributed mostto the division’s earnings.

For 2005, the company antici-pates sales revenue growth inconstant currencies in the 5–9%range. The firm is striving to fur-ther increase profitability and toraise EBIT to more than 8% ofits sales revenue.

Contact:Sartorius AG, Weender Landstrasse94-108, D-37075 Göttingen, Germany.Tel: +49 551 3080, Fax: +49 551 308289, www.sartorius.com

GE dedicates firstmajor project inMiddle EastGE Infrastructure’s Water &Process Technologies businessrecently helped to dedicate whatis claimed to be the world’slargest membrane-based waste-water filtration facility, and thecompany’s first major water pro-ject in the Middle East.

The wastewater treatment plant,which is based in Sulaibiya, Kuwait,was built in partnership with the Kuwaiti government andMohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi & Sons Co. It will purifymore than 375 000 m3 (100 mil-

lion gallons) of wastewater each dayfor agricultural and industrial uses.

‘Water is the lifeblood of indus-tries and communities around theworld, and scarcity, increasingdemand and rising costs are drivingthe need to conserve, reuse andidentify new supplies of this essen-tial resource,’ says George Oliver,President and CEO of GE’s Water& Process Technologies business.

Reverse osmosis (RO), used inthe plant, is well proven for desali-nating municipal effluent, says GE.The salinity of the municipal efflu-ent has an average monthly value of1280 mg/l total dissolved solids(TDS), with a maximum value of3014 mg/l. RO will be used todesalinate the water to 100 mg/lTDS, and provide a second barrierto bacteria and viruses.

Since this is a build, own, operateand maintain contract, the consor-tium will also be responsible forrunning the plant once construc-tion is complete. GE will operatethe water reclamation facility. Thepurified water will be used for non-potable applications that are cur-rently competing with the drinkingwater supply, and will ensure thatthe citizens of Kuwait have ade-quate water.

According to the World Meteor-ological Association, nearly 50% ofthe world’s population will live in‘water stressed’ areas by 2025.Many in the Middle East face thisreality today. Countries in the thisregion now produce more than halfof the world’s desalinated water,and experts predict that this willincrease in ‘water stressed’ regions.

GE says that in order to addressthe growing demand for its waterand energy technologies, it has beeninvesting in the region, with majoroffices now located throughout theMiddle East. ‘GE has been expand-ing its portfolio of technologies,such as the recent acquisition ofIonics, to help address water scarci-ty,’ says Nabil Habayeb, GE’sPresident and Chief ExecutiveOfficer for the Middle East andAfrica region. ‘GE fully anticipatesmore projects like the Sulaibiyaplant in the coming years.’

Contact:GE Infrastructure Water & ProcessTechnologies, 4636 Somerton Road,Trevose, PA 19053-6783, USA. Tel: +1215 355 3300, Fax: +1 215 953 5544,www.gewater.com

NEWS

5Membrane Technology May 2005

I n B r i e fFuel cell design avoids use of membranesA new type of fuel cell has beendeveloped that can operate with-out a using a solid membrane toseparate the fuel and oxidant,claims a report in the US press. Italso works with alkaline chemistryin addition to the more commonacidic chemistry. Most fuel cellsemploy a physical barrier to sepa-rate the fuel and oxidant, but themicro-fluidic cell developed at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign uses multi-streamlaminar flow to accomplish thesame task. According to researchworkers at the university, the sys-tem uses a Y-shaped micro-fluidicchannel in which two liquidstreams (containing fuel and oxi-dant) merge and flow betweencatalyst-covered electrodes with-out mixing.

Pall expands support in Asianmicroelectronics marketUS company Pall Corporationhas expanded support in theAsian microelectronics market,naming Jon Weiner as the firstpresident of Pall MicroelectronicsAsia, and opening a new manu-facturing facility in Beijing,China. The moves come as PallMicroelectronics continues to seeexceptional growth and demandfrom customers in Japan, China,Taiwan and Singapore. Based inTokyo, Weiner will lead all microelectronics business activi-ties in the Asian region, includingstrengthening the company’s salesand coordinating product devel-opment initiatives.

Weir supplies reverse osmosisplants for PDO plantWeir Techna Middle East, part ofthe Techna Division of UK-basedWeir Group, has signed a contractwith Al Hassan Engineering Co,the main engineering, procure-ment and construction contractorfor Petroleum DevelopmentOman’s (PDO) Qarn Alam facili-ty, based in Oman. The contract,which is valued at just over £1m(US$1.8m), involves supplyingthree containerized brackish-water RO plants, rated at 500m3/day. It also includes anoptional demineralization plant.The plants are scheduled to bedelivered and commissioned byearly September.