NEWS
6Membrane Technology June 2006
tion with Lucent TechnologiesBell Labs, has improved thedesign of the nanostructure thatis used to separate the liquid elec-trolyte and electrodes to preventan electrochemical reaction fromtaking place.
Scientists at Bell Labs had orig-inally discovered that the elec-trolyte could be separated fromthe electrode material by placingit on what they refer to as a rod-like ‘nano-grass’ structure, etchedout of silicon, but the develop-ment team has since come upwith the alternative honeycombmembrane design.
In its February 2006 issue,Scientific American Magazine fea-tures the nano-battery in a four-page feature article, entitled‘Miniaturized Power’. mPhaseTechnologies has also posted onits website an on-line video ani-mation that demonstrates thenanostructure design whichimproves the battery’s features.
mPhase Technologies developsand commercializes next-genera-tion telecommunications andnanotechnology systems, deliver-ing novel systems to the marketplace that improve functionalitywhile reducing costs. The compa-ny was awarded the 2005 ‘Frost& Sullivan Excellence inTechnology Award’ and the‘Nano 50 Award’ from NASANanotech Briefs.
Contact:mPhase Technologies Inc, 587Connecticut Avenue, Norwalk, CT06854-1711, USA. Tel: +1 203 8382741, www.mphasetech.com
UF treats oilywastewaterDynatec Systems Inc ofBurlington, New Jersey hasdelivered three ultrafiltration(UF) units to the Jigang SteelCo in Jinan, People’s Republicof China, for use in an oilywastewater treatment system.
The integrated mill producesraw steel that is then processed ina wide variety of ways to createparts that are used in domesticappliances, such as refrigeratorsand washing machines, and in theautomotive industry.
The final stage of production— a cold rolling operation —produces oily wastewater. Athree-step process is being used totreat the water. Initially, heavysolids that are present in thewater are allowed to settle. Thewater is then treated using UFand, finally, it is passed through abiological treatment systembefore being discharged.
Dynatec Systems designed andbuilt the UF system, which iscomposed of four ceramic UFmembrane modules mounted ona skid. Two skids operate concur-rently to treat 216 m3 (57 000gallons) of wastewater per day.The third skid is held on standby.
The skids were built in the USand shipped to the Jigang plant,where they were incorporatedinto the wastewater treatmentsystem. A Dynatec engineer waspresent at the plant while the sys-tem was commissioned and beganoperating.
Contact:Dynatec Systems Inc, 909 JacksonvilleRoad, Burlington, NJ 08016, USA. Tel:+1 609 387 0330, www.dynatecsys-tems.com
Black & Veatchplants winawardsUS-based engineering, consult-ing and construction companyBlack & Veatch recently wonawards for the work it has car-ried out on two water purifica-tion plants.
At the 2006 Global WaterAwards ceremony, which was heldearlier this year in Dubai, UnitedArab Emirates, it received the‘Water Project of the Year’ awardfor the Columbia Heights mem-brane ultrafiltration (UF) plant,which is located nearMinneapolis, Minnesota. It alsowon a distinction in the‘Desalination Plant of the Year’category for the Singapore-TuasSeawater Desalination Project.
The award winners are chosenfrom votes cast by subscribers toWater Desalination Report andGlobal Water Intelligence, and bymembers of the International
Desalination Association, head-quartered in Massachusetts..
With a current capacity of265 000 m3 (70 million gallons)per day and an ultimate capacityof 295 300 m3 (78 million gal-lon) per day, the ColumbiaHeights membrane filtrationplant is one of the largest facilitiesof its kind in the WesternHemisphere.
Minneapolis Water Works con-tracted the company to providedesign, construction, training andstart-up services for the facility tomeet the challenge of more rigor-ous regulatory standards.According to Black & Veatch, themassive project is already influenc-ing emerging trends in water treat-ment facility design and pointingthe way to increased effectiveness,economy, size and sophistication ofmembrane filtration facilitiesaround the world.
‘The Columbia Heights planthas further established membraneUF as an economically viable tech-nology for microbial pathogenremoval and multiple-barrier pro-tection at a reasonable cost,’ saysChad Hill, Project Director atBlack & Veatch.
The sea-water reverse-osmosis(SWRO) plant in Singapore, ratedat 136 380 m3 (36 million gallons)per day, is believed to be the largestof its kind in Asia and one of thelargest in the world, accommodat-ing 10% of the country’s nationalwater demand. It is also one of themost energy-efficient SWROplants currently in operation —producing treated water at a totalenergy consumption of 4.2kWh/m3.
Black & Veatch provided com-plete design and services for theUS$90 million project, as well assupport during construction, com-missioning and operation. The facili-ty features a compact pretreatmentprocess, with screening and com-bined flotation and filtration beforethe dissolved salts are extracted bytwo sets of reverse osmosis mem-branes. Additional treatment process-es are used to further improve thewater quality prior to distributionand consumption.
Contact:Black & Veatch, 11401 Lamar Avenue,Overland Park, KS 66211, USA. Tel: +1913 458 2000, www.bv.com
I n B r i e fFDA to hold public meeting onnanotechnology In the US, the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) is planningto hold a public meeting later thisyear that is designed to gather infor-mation about current developmentsin the uses of nanotechnologymaterials in FDA-regulated prod-ucts. According to the FDA, nano-technology materials have thepotential to be used in an array ofproducts because of their small sizeand special properties. Detailsabout the venue, specific date, timeand registration will be provided ina federal register notice.
More information and updates can befound at: www.fda.gov/nanotechnology
Elsevier creates molecularsciences prizeElsevier, the publisher of ChemicalPhysics Letters (CPLETT), has cre-ated the ‘Ahmed Zewail Prize inMolecular Sciences’, which will beawarded biennially, beginning in2007. It will be awarded to individ-ual scientists who have made signif-icant contributions, particularlythose of a fundamental nature, toany of the disciplines of molecularsciences. The scientist’s activitiesmay cover theoretical and/or exper-imental studies. The prize compris-es a monetary award of US$20 000,a gold medal and a certificate.
Nominations should be sent, no laterthan 1 August 2006 and preferably byemail, to: Dr Karel Nederveen, PublisherCPLETT, Elsevier BV, Chemistry, Environ-ment & Earth Sciences, Radarweg 29,NL-1043 NX Amsterdam,The Nether-lands. Email: [email protected]
Novasep plays key role in thesupply of TamifluPharmaceuticals firm Roche iscollaborating with GroupeNovasep, which serves the life sci-ences industry, to fulfil theexceeding market demands forTamiflu. The manufacture ofTamiflu (Oseltamivir) is complex,and consists of several intermedi-ate steps. Groupe Novasep isinvolved as a custom manufactur-er, producing the sensitive azideintermediate at one of its affili-ates, Dynamit Nobel GmbH ES.Tamiflu attacks the influenzavirus and prevents it spreadinginside the human body.
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