Lanxess' membrane elements approved for drinking-water applications
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FEATURE June 2013 Membrane Technology 7 Contacts: Kruger Inc, 4001 Weston Parkway, Cary, NC 27513, USA. Tel: +1 919 677 8310, www.krugerusa.com The Dow Chemical Co, Dow Water & Process Solutions, Customer Information Center, PO Box 1206, Midland, MI 48642-1206, USA. Tel: +1 989 636 9086, www.dowwaterandprocess.com, www.dow.com Lanxess’ membrane elements approved for drinking- water applications S peciality chemicals company Lanxess Deutschland GmbH reports that the Lewabrane reverse osmosis (RO) membrane elements manufactured at its plant in Bitterfeld, Germany, now comply with NSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking Water System Components – Health Effects. ‘This quality certificate is necessary for treating drinking water and, with it, we can now access an additional market with strong potential for growth. It confirms the high quality of our products and thus increases customer confidence in our membranes even more,’ commented Alan Sharpe, who heads up the RO Membrane Project in Lanxess’ Liquid Purification Technologies (LPT) business unit. ‘In most countries, compliance with NSF Standard 61 is a basic prerequisite for usage in drinking water applications and therefore a key quality indicator.’ In many parts of the world, particularly industrialised countries, drinking water is treated centrally and in large quantities in municipal or regional plants. There are also smaller, decentralised plants in hotels, restaurants, on passenger ships or in remote communities. The primary aim of the NSF Standard 61 is the objective evaluation and limitation of impurities and admixtures that are added to drinking water indirectly through the products, components and materials used in the treatment process. The NSF standard is designed to protect public health and the environment. ‘Products certified by NSF International are also highly valued outside North America. In addition to Europe and Asia, this is also true of Australia and the Middle East. These are regions in which we see high market potential, continued Sharpe. Contact: Lanxess Deutschland GmbH, Building B 106, 51369 Leverkusen, Germany. Tel: +49 214 30 47785, www.lewabrane.com Sustainability Mark helps consumers identify ‘‘green’’ products I n order to help consumers find products that have demonstrated their ‘‘green’’ commitment, the US-based Water Quality Association (WQA) recently launched its Sustainability Mark. It says it is the first certification of its kind in the industry. Products earn the mark only after they have proven that the best practices for environmental sustainability have been used in their creation. Rigorous examination is required to audit and assess the manufacturers according to independent standards developed by a WQA-lead task force consisting of environmental experts, consultants, regulators, manufacturers, industry professionals and other stakeholders. Ten companies have already applied for certification and dozens more are looking into it, says the association. The first products displaying this mark are expected to appear by the end of 2013. The Sustainability Mark will first focus on suppliers of activated carbon, as well as filtration products that use this material. Efforts are under way to add additional product categories for certification, such as reverse osmosis units, UV purifiers, distillers, plumbing products and chemical additives. In addition to the Sustainability Mark, the WQA offers other performance-based certifications under its Gold Seal programme. This is designed to help consumers choose products that are effective. WQA provides seals of approval on a variety of drinking- water treatment products. They are awarded only after thorough laboratory tests, literature review and materials assessment. WQA’s product certification programme is accredited by the American National Standards Institute. Dedicated to consumer education and public awareness, the WQA is a non-profit trade group of businesses that provide technology and products for producing safe, clean water – in homes, schools, commercial and industrial settings. Contact: Water Quality Association, 4151 Naperville Road, Lisle, IL 60532-3696, USA. Tel: +1 630 505 0160, www.wqa.org In Brief Dow and HidroLotus build surface-water plant in Baku, Azerbaijan Dow Water & Process Solutions, a business unit of Dow Chemical Co, and HidroLotus Llc, a joint venture between Azeri Hidro Group and Turkish Lotus Group, are build- ing in Baku, Azerbaijan what they claim will be the world’s largest surface-water ultrafil- tration plant. When completed, the plant will have a daily capacity of 520 000 m 3 (137.4 million gallons) and become one of the main drinking-water suppliers for Baku’s population of three million. Qua receives Frost & Sullivan award Qua Group Llc, a developer of membrane- based products for water and wastewater treatment, has received the 2013 ‘Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award for Industrial Water & Wastewater Treatment Technology, North America’ for its Q-SEP hollow-fibre ultrafiltration (UF) modules and fractional electro-deionisation (FEDI) system (also see page 5). Frost & Sullivan noted that by addressing key challenges in both FEDI and Q-SEP applications, the company has come up with unique design features for both products. The three key design features for its Q-SEP UF systems are higher fibre strength, uniform pore distribu- tion and consistent treated water quality. Meanwhile, the key design features for the FEDI system include reduced susceptibility to scaling and better handling of varying feed water quality. Modest $3-billion market forecast for hydrogen fuel-cells The dream of a hydrogen economy envi- sioned for decades by politicians, econo- mists and environmentalists is no nearer, with hydrogen fuel-cells turning a modest $3-billion market of about 5.9 GW in 2030, reveals a new report by US-based Lux Research. Although the cost of hydrogen impacts fuel-cell market adoption, hydrogen fuel accounts for only 35% of the total cost of ownership (TCO) for stationary applica- tions and 21% of the TCO for mobile appli- cations, with fuel-cell capital costs and mem- brane replacement costs making up most of the difference, says the firm. PEM cells will have a $1-billion stationary market. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells for telecommunications power and back-up will reach $1 billion in 2030, while fuel cells of all types for residential, commercial and util- ity generation will not prove cost-effective. More information: www.luxresearchinc.com
Transcript of Lanxess' membrane elements approved for drinking-water applications
FEATURE
June 2013 Membrane Technology7
Contacts:
Kruger Inc, 4001 Weston Parkway, Cary, NC 27513,
USA. Tel: +1 919 677 8310, www.krugerusa.com
The Dow Chemical Co, Dow Water & Process Solutions,
Customer Information Center, PO Box 1206, Midland,
MI 48642-1206, USA. Tel: +1 989 636 9086,
www.dowwaterandprocess.com, www.dow.com
Lanxess’ membrane elements approved for drinking- water applications
Speciality chemicals company Lanxess Deutschland GmbH
reports that the Lewabrane reverse osmosis (RO) membrane elements manufactured at its plant in Bitterfeld, Germany, now comply with NSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking Water System Components – Health Effects.
‘This quality certificate is necessary for treating drinking water and, with it, we can now access an additional market with strong potential for growth. It confirms the high quality of our products and thus increases customer confidence in our membranes even more,’ commented Alan Sharpe, who heads up the RO Membrane Project in Lanxess’ Liquid Purification Technologies (LPT) business unit.
‘In most countries, compliance with NSF Standard 61 is a basic prerequisite for usage in drinking water applications and therefore a key quality indicator.’
In many parts of the world, particularly industrialised countries, drinking water is treated centrally and in large quantities in municipal or regional plants. There are also smaller, decentralised plants in hotels, restaurants, on passenger ships or in remote communities.
The primary aim of the NSF Standard 61 is the objective evaluation and limitation of impurities and admixtures that are added to drinking water indirectly through the products, components and materials used in the treatment process. The NSF standard is designed to protect public health and the environment.
‘Products certified by NSF International are also highly valued outside North America. In addition to Europe and Asia, this is also true of Australia and the Middle East. These are regions in which we see high market potential, continued Sharpe.
Contact:
Lanxess Deutschland GmbH, Building B 106,
51369 Leverkusen, Germany. Tel: +49 214 30 47785,
www.lewabrane.com
Sustainability Mark helps consumers identify ‘‘green’’ products
In order to help consumers find products that have demonstrated
their ‘‘green’’ commitment, the US-based Water Quality Association (WQA) recently launched its Sustainability Mark. It says it is the first certification of its kind in the industry.
Products earn the mark only after they have proven that the best practices for environmental sustainability have been used in their creation. Rigorous examination is required to audit and assess the manufacturers according to independent standards developed by a WQA-lead task force consisting of environmental experts, consultants, regulators, manufacturers, industry professionals and other stakeholders.
Ten companies have already applied for certification and dozens more are looking into it, says the association. The first products displaying this mark are expected to appear by the end of 2013.
The Sustainability Mark will first focus on suppliers of activated carbon, as well as filtration products that use this material. Efforts are under way to add additional product categories for certification, such as reverse osmosis units, UV purifiers, distillers, plumbing products and chemical additives.
In addition to the Sustainability Mark, the WQA offers other performance-based certifications under its Gold Seal programme. This is designed to help consumers choose products that are effective. WQA provides seals of approval on a variety of drinking-water treatment products. They are awarded only after thorough laboratory tests, literature review and materials assessment. WQA’s product certification programme is accredited by the American National Standards Institute.
Dedicated to consumer education and public awareness, the WQA is a non-profit trade group of businesses that provide technology and products for producing safe, clean water – in homes, schools, commercial and industrial settings.
Contact:
Water Quality Association, 4151 Naperville Road, Lisle,
IL 60532-3696, USA. Tel: +1 630 505 0160,
www.wqa.org
I n B r i e f
Dow and HidroLotus build surface-water plant in Baku, AzerbaijanDow Water & Process Solutions, a business unit of Dow Chemical Co, and HidroLotus Llc, a joint venture between Azeri Hidro Group and Turkish Lotus Group, are build-ing in Baku, Azerbaijan what they claim will be the world’s largest surface-water ultrafil-tration plant. When completed, the plant will have a daily capacity of 520 000 m3 (137.4 million gallons) and become one of the main drinking-water suppliers for Baku’s population of three million.
Qua receives Frost & Sullivan awardQua Group Llc, a developer of membrane-based products for water and wastewater treatment, has received the 2013 ‘Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award for Industrial Water & Wastewater Treatment Technology, North America’ for its Q-SEP hollow-fibre ultrafiltration (UF) modules and fractional electro-deionisation (FEDI) system (also see page 5). Frost & Sullivan noted that by addressing key challenges in both FEDI and Q-SEP applications, the company has come up with unique design features for both products. The three key design features for its Q-SEP UF systems are higher fibre strength, uniform pore distribu-tion and consistent treated water quality. Meanwhile, the key design features for the FEDI system include reduced susceptibility to scaling and better handling of varying feed water quality.
Modest $3-billion market forecast for hydrogen fuel-cellsThe dream of a hydrogen economy envi-sioned for decades by politicians, econo-mists and environmentalists is no nearer, with hydrogen fuel-cells turning a modest $3-billion market of about 5.9 GW in 2030, reveals a new report by US-based Lux Research. Although the cost of hydrogen impacts fuel-cell market adoption, hydrogen fuel accounts for only 35% of the total cost of ownership (TCO) for stationary applica-tions and 21% of the TCO for mobile appli-cations, with fuel-cell capital costs and mem-brane replacement costs making up most of the difference, says the firm. PEM cells will have a $1-billion stationary market. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells for telecommunications power and back-up will reach $1 billion in 2030, while fuel cells of all types for residential, commercial and util-ity generation will not prove cost-effective.
More information:www.luxresearchinc.com
