NEWS

5Membrane Technology January 2007

safe, reliable and sustainable fresh water systems, products and ser-vices at the lowest total cost of ownership and quickest deploy-ment,’ said Nicholas Powell, General Manager for Middle East and Africa, GE Water & Process Technologies.

‘GE has over four decades of experience in designing, install-ing and operating water supply management system. We provide desalination units for both brack-ish water and sea water. These include standard equipment, suitable for light commercial or large residential applications, and mobile systems for temporary requirements.’

GE’s acquisition of Zenon Environmental Inc [Membrane Technology, April 2006, page 1] also allows the company to bring to the region ultrafiltration sys-tems for potable water purifica-tion, wastewater treatment, sea-water pretreatment and water reuse.

Contact:GE Water & Process Technologies, 4636 Somerton Road, Trevose, PA 19053-6783, USA. Tel: +1 215 355 3300, www.gewater.com

Membranes treat canal water for chemicals firmSiemens’ Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S) Group has received an order from Kaneka Belgium NV for a membrane-based filtra-tion system that will treat water from a canal, which will then be used in its production processes.

The chemical company, a subsid-iary of the Japanese Kaneka Corp, manufactures impact modifiers for polyvinyl chloride as well as poly-olefin foams, and elastic sealant and adhesive base polymers. It uses well water to produce process and demin-eralized water. However, the treat-ment process generates a large vol-ume of wastewater, which needs to be minimized. Instead of pumping more well water and increasing the capacity of the treatment system, the company decided to adopt an approach based on membrane technology.

To enable Kaneka to use the canal water in the manufacture of plastics,

I&S Group’s Water Technologies division is installing a membrane-based system at the company’s fac-tory which will continuously treat water at a rate of 45 m3/h.

The treatment process will include a pre-filter screen, two Memcor XP microporous membrane systems and a reverse osmosis unit. This process train will retain suspended and dis-solved solids to produce the high quality process water that the com-pany requires.

The flexibility of the new system will also guarantee a continuous supply of process water with a con-stant quality, even for conditions during which the raw water has a high solids content.

Contact:Siemens Water Technologies, 181 Thorn Hill Road, Warrendale, PA 15086, USA. Tel: +1 724 772 0044, www.industry.siemens.com

Condition of US lakes to be examinedThe US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is embarking on a three-year study to determine the state of lakes in the US.

It says that the ‘Survey of the Nation’s Lakes’ is the first-ever attempt to assess real-world condi-tions by studying 909 lakes, ponds and reservoirs whose profiles are representative of all lakes in the US. The survey will:

• determine the ecology of the lakes and the factors which influence their condition;

• stimulate and implement ideas within all levels of government – federal, state, regional and local;

• build state and ‘tribal’ capacity for monitoring and analyzing lake water quality data;

• collect a set of data for better management of lakes; and

• develop baseline information to evaluate progress.

‘America’s lakes shape the landscape and are at the heart of our natural heritage, health and beauty,’ said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin Grumbles. ‘The EPA’s national state-of-the-lakes

study will measure lake health, map priorities and motivate grass-roots stewardship, a cornerstone of the President’s Cooperative Conservation agenda.’

Survey samples will be taken from natural and human-made freshwater lakes, ponds and reser-voirs. Bodies of water included in the survey will have a minimum area of 4 ha (10 acres) and be at least 1 m (39 inches) deep.

The last time the EPA catalogued the status of lakes was between 1972 and 1976, when 815 lakes were eval-uated nationwide. The new study will re-sample 113 lakes from the earlier survey for comparison.

Researchers will look at water chemical quality, turbidity, colour, conditions of shoreline habitat and pathogen indicators, says the EPA. Other conditions will also be measured. The same sampling techniques will be used among all lakes to provide uniform results and permit comparisons across the country.

This study is part of a larger effort by the EPA to assess coastal waters, rivers and wetlands. A simi-lar survey for ‘wadeable streams’ was completed during 2006. All of the surveys will be repeated to ana-lyze the success of efforts to manage and improve overall water quality. The report on the lakes survey will be released during 2009.

Contact:Environmental Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460, USA. Tel: +1 202 272 0167, www.epa.gov/owow/lakes/lakessurvey

Hy9 opens new plant to meet demandHy9 Corp of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, a manufacturer of metal membrane hydrogen purifiers for the industrial, spe-ciality gas and energy markets, has opened a new manufacturing facility to meet demand for its hydrogen purifier and reformer products.

Jeffrey Altman, Hy9’s Chief Executive Officer, expects the new facility to improve the service the company offers its customers in

I n B r i e fIWA membrane conference scheduled for MayThe fourth International Water Association (IWA) conference on membranes for water and waste-water treatment is scheduled to be held on 15–17 May 2007 in Harrogate, UK. The event is look-ing to attract about 500 delegates from a cross-section of indus-try and academia, with 30% of current registrations represent-ing industry and the remainder from research institutes, says the organizer. Topics covered include among others, membrane bioreac-tors (anaerobic and aerobic), water membrane filtration, municipal and industrial wastewater treat-ment and recycling, and organic fouling of membranes for potable water treatment. (Further details can be found on page 15.)

Wilmington selects HDR to update water treatment plantArchitectural, engineering and consulting firm HDR has been awarded a contract by the city of Wilmington, Delaware to pro-vide design services to updates its oldest water treatment facil-ity, the Brandywine Filter Plant. The project will initially focus on evaluating membrane sys-tem alternatives to retrofit the plant. This includes incorporat-ing 22 700 m3 to 37 900 m3 (6–10 million gallons) of treat-ment capacity, using low-pres-sure membranes, into the plant’s existing footprint, followed by pilot testing and procurement of the selected membrane system.

Hyflux secures water treatment contract in ChinaSingapore-based Hyflux Ltd has announced that its affiliate Hyflux Utility Ltd has received a contract to run wastewater treat-ment and water recycling facilities in Langfang City, Hebei Province, China. Under the concession, granted by the city’s local gov-ernment, the firm will operate the plant, rated at 80 million l/d, and water recycling facility for a period of 25 years. The company will also design, engineer and con-struct the recycling plant, which will have an estimated capacity of 40 million l/d. The project is worth about S$30 million.