science of water quality. ‘We want topush the envelope of public healthprotection, and research gives us thetools to make needed advance-ments,’ says Bannister.

He continues: ‘The creation ofnew technologies for desalting watercould be used to develop non-tradi-tional water supplies in SouthernCalifornia, such as brackish ground-water, recycled water and agricultur-al drainage water. Ultimately, thiscould help reduce our need for addi-tional imported water.’

The first project involves replac-ing microfiltration pretreatmentwith reverse osmosis (RO) pretreat-ment, using ozone and bio-filtrationprocesses. The research will deter-mine if this approach is cost-effec-tive in maximizing the feed waterquality and minimizing membranefouling.

The second project will study theperformance of large-diameter ROmembranes. This will be the firstdemonstration of 46-cm (18-inch)membranes — believed to be thelargest that are currently available— as part of a complete water treat-ment system. The research will eval-uate how well these membranes per-form when operated at 85%, orgreater, water recovery on conven-tionally pretreated water. Theresearchers also hope to determinehow often the membranes need tobe cleaned, and what is the optimalcleaning strategy to maintain a suc-cessful desalting operation.

The third project calls for a newconcentrate recovery technology tobe fed by the reject stream of a large-diameter RO unit. The projecthopes to confirm previous pilot-scale research, which produced 95%water recovery — a 10% increaseover more traditional RO. The con-centrate recovery process involvesusing chemicals to remove com-pounds with the greatest potentialto foul a membrane surface, fol-lowed by treatment with a sec-ondary RO system.

The WQIC is a full-service, oper-ational water research center. Itincludes three test trains and multi-ple stand-alone test devices. It servesas a field site to investigate new andimproved water treatment technolo-gies, including pretreatment associ-ated with desalination.

The Bureau of Reclamation is thelargest wholesale water supplier inthe US, and the nation’s secondlargest producer of hydroelectric

power. Its facilities also provide sub-stantial flood control and recreationbenefits.

The Metropolitan Water Districtof Southern California is a coopera-tive of 26 cities and water agenciesserving 18 million people in sixcounties. The district imports waterfrom the Colorado River and north-ern California to supplement localsupplies, and helps its members todevelop increased water conserva-tion, recycling, storage and otherresource-management programs.

Contacts:Bob Muir, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, PO Box 54153,Los Angeles, CA 90054-0153, USA.Tel: +1 213 217 6000, Email:rmuir@mwdh2o.comPeter Soeth, Bureau of Reclamation,PO Box 25007, Denver Federal Center,Denver, CO 80225-0007, USA. Tel: +1303 445 3615, Email:psoeth@do.usbr.gov

Disposable filtertargeted at bio-manufacturingMeissner Filtration Products ofCamarillo, California has addedan in-line UltraCap filter assem-bly to its existing product range ofT-style assemblies for filtrationapplications in bio-manufactur-ing.

The assembly is an integrallysealed filter and housing system.According to the company, this dis-posable product provides faster,more convenient filter change-outsthan traditional cartridge and filterhousing systems. Furthermore,because it is disposable, cleaningvalidation costs are avoided.

The UltraCap disposable filterassembly is available with absoluteremoval ratings from 0.04 to 70 µmto meet a range of filtration applica-tions, including sterile filtration ofserum, tissue culture media, micro-biological growth media, and otherviscous biological liquids. It also canbe used for sterile tank venting, andfilling line applications with dispos-able plastic bio-containers.

For critical applications, it is avail-able with membrane filters in PVDF(Sterilux), polyethersulfone (Stylux),polypropylene (Chemdyne) andPTFE (Ultradyne).

Meissner also offers the UltraCapwith pleated micro-fiber filters inpolypropylene (Alpha), borosilicateglass (Protec) and polypropylenedepth filters (DeltaMax). A gamma-irradiated version is also availablefor aseptic applications.

The sanitary, T-style connectionsor in-line versions are available inlengths of 25 cm (10 inches), 50 cm(20 inches) and 76 cm (30 inches).

Contact:Meissner Filtration Products Inc, 4181Calle Tesoro, Camarillo, CA 93012, USA.Tel: +1 805 388 9911,www.meissner.com

Millipore adds toproduct portfolioMassachusetts-based MilliporeCorporation has announced theavailability of two new, high sen-sitivity chemiluminescent sub-strates for Western blotting appli-cations. The company has alsolaunched its Steritest Equinoxpump for use in isolators.

The inexpensive ImmobilonWestern HRP and AP chemilumi-nescent substrates provide a highsignal response at mid-femtogramlevels. Primarily used in Westernand dot, slot or spot blotting appli-cations, each versatile substrate has ahigh signal intensity to facilitate thedetection of both high and lowabundance proteins.

The substrates use fewer primaryand secondary antibodies than tra-ditional, low-sensitivity substrates,says the company. As a result, anti-body consumption drops signifi-cantly and reagent costs are reduced.

Available in ready-to-use formats,the two substrates are compatiblenot only with polyvinylidene fluo-ride (PVDF) and nitrocellulosemembranes, but also commonlyused buffers and blocking reagents.

In other news, Millipore hasintroduced an isolator version of itsSteritest Equinox pump for sterilitytesting applications. According tothe company, it has been optimizedfor use with its Steritest and SteritestEZ sterility testing devices, and itdelivers consistent testing in a secureenvironment and reduces overalltesting time.

The software-controlled peri-staltic pump can be installed easilyin both glove and half-suit isolators.

This gives laboratory technicians asafe and uniform way of transfer-ring drug samples from variouspackaging formats to the Steritestand Steritest EZ testing devices.Using the company’s mounting kit,the pump is affixed directly to anisolator work table.

Analysts download custom pro-cedures from a computer onto thepump, and are guided throughselected standard operating proce-dures by a series of prompts. Apatented auto-close pump headsimplifies the loading and unload-ing of the device’s tubing, withoutthe risk of damaging isolatorgloves.

The Steritest Equinox pump isalso available for use in sterility test-ing procedures that are carried out inlaminar flow hoods.

Contact:Millipore Corporation, 290 Concord Road,Billerica, MA 01821, USA. Tel:+1 978 715 4321, www.millipore.com

Hydrogen andfuel cell initiativeunveiled forMassachusettsThe Massachusetts HydrogenCoalition recently unveiled initia-tives which, it claims, will propelthe state into a strong position inthe future $46 billion hydrogenand fuel cell industry.

The initiatives – introduced at theHydrogen Generation Symposiumheld during June in Waltham,Massachusetts – emphasize job cre-ation, energy security, clean trans-portation and high mobility power,and aim to significantly expand thehydrogen and fuel cell industry inMassachusetts.

Brad Bradshaw, President of theMassachusetts Hydrogen Coalition,says: ‘Massachusetts has the oppor-tunity to lead in the pursuit of clean,secure and domestically sourcedenergy and transportation solutionsutilizing hydrogen and fuel cells.’

The initiatives include develop-ing the Massachusetts CleanEnergy Corridor; establishing ahydrogen and fuel cell center;establishing a clean energy exportprogram; greater education andoutreach; increased state resource

NEWS

4Membrane Technology August 2005