Forward Thinking With Reverse Osmosis

Reverse Osmosis is a system of filtration that is highly effective at removing even the smallest particles from a liquid. It is also known as Hyperfiltration. The Reverse Osmosis process can remove particles as small as a dissolved individual ion. The most popular use for this process is in the purification of water for human consumption.

Reverse Osmosis systems effectively remove dozens of contaminants from water, including chlorine, benzene, chloroform, barium, and countless others. These systems essentially strip water down to its most basic form. We installed one in our home a few years ago. A manufacturing plant on the edge of town contaminated the local water supply and, although we were not affected, it served as a much needed wake-up call. Within days, we had a Reverse Osmosis water treatment system installed. We added the UV light system a month later, when we learned some more about it. Clean water is essential for health and survival. Contaminated water can kill you. Do you really have a choice in the matter? Think smart. Plan ahead.Reverse Osmosis uses a semi-permeable membrane that allows the water to pass through it, while ensuring that contaminants do not. Reverse Osmosis systems have come a long way in recent years, and many people have installed them in their homes to ensure that their family is drinking clean, pure, healthy water.While a Reverse Osmosis system does effectively clean water, it does not disinfect it. The membrane that is used for filtration can and will remove biological contaminants, but it should not be relied upon solely to treat contaminated water for human consumption. If you are concerned about biological contaminants, you could always add an ultraviolet light to your water system. Intense ultraviolet light systems will destroy biological contaminants before they reach your RO system, therefore ensuring only the best possible drinking water.

Reverse Osmosis systems effectively remove dozens of contaminants from water, including chlorine, benzene, chloroform, barium, and countless others. These systems essentially strip water down to its most basic form. We installed one in our home a few years ago. A manufacturing plant on the edge of town contaminated the local water supply and, although we were not affected, it served as a much needed wake-up call. Within days, we had a Reverse Osmosis water treatment system installed. We added the UV light system a month later, when we learned some more about it. Clean water is essential for health and survival. Contaminated water can kill you. Do you really have a choice in the matter? Think smart. Plan ahead.

HERO: A Patent-Pending Low Cost, Low Profile High-Efficiency Water Treatment and Filtration System

Greenway Design Group, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: GDGI) today announced the commercial release of its patent-pending High Efficiency Reverse Osmosis (HERO) Water Treatment and Filtration System.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Ray Wyman Jr Communications Dir EMAIL: Email Contact OFFICE: 714-892-0011 x26 CELL: 714-330-2232The HERO Water Treatment System™ features four-stage water treatment and mechanical filtration. Designed for the Cool-n-Save evaporative pre-cool system, HERO can remove approximately 90% of total dissolved solids from water with up to 1,000 PPM of dissolved solids.Add to Digg Bookmark with del.icio.us Add to Newsvine"HERO technology is a byproduct of our research and development for the Cool-n-Save misting system," says Ben Lefrancois, Greenway's CEO and president. "Water purification is a vital component of evaporative pre-cooling. HERO is designed to meet stringent requirements, among them is cost. HERO's low cost and high efficiency make it ideal for just about any commercial or industrial application."The company reports that the HERO system is suitable for other commercial and industrial purposes. HERO is a "plug-and-use" system; all primary components are ready to use on a low profile steel self-standing rack (w 48" x h 43") and it weighs about 180 lbs. The company also offers additional system configurations that can meet just about any water treatment requirement.FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS THIS PRESS RELEASE CONTAINS "FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS." FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE STATEMENTS CONCERNING PLANS, OBJECTIVES, GOALS, STRATEGIES, EXPECTATIONS, INTENTIONS, PROJECTIONS, DEVELOPMENTS, FUTURE EVENTS, OR PERFORMANCE, UNDERLYING (EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED) ASSUMPTIONS AND OTHER STATEMENTS THAT ARE OTHER THAN HISTORICAL FACTS. THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE ONLY PREDICTIONS. NO ASSURANCES CAN BE GIVEN THAT SUCH PREDICTIONS WILL PROVE CORRECT. ACTUAL EVENTS OR RESULTS MAY DIFFER MATERIALLY. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS SHOULD BE READ IN LIGHT OF THE CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS AND RISKS THAT INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH A SMALL COMPANY, OUR COMPARATIVELY LIMITED FINANCIAL AND MANAGERIAL RESOURCES, OUR INABILITY TO MARKET AND SELL OUR LIMITED PRODUCT LINE IN SUFFICIENT VOLUMES THAT MAY ALLOW US TO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN PROFITABILITY AND POSITIVE CASH FLOW, THE UNCERTAINTY OF MARKET TRENDS, THE INTENSE COMPETITION FACED FROM OTHER CURRENT AND FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES AND THE UNCERTAINTIES OF COMPETITIVE PRESSURES WE FACE. THESE OR OTHER RISKS COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THE FUTURE RESULTS INDICATED OR IMPLIED IN SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. WE UNDERTAKE NO OBLIGATION TO UPDATE OR REVISE SUCH STATEMENTS.For more information about the company and Cool-n-Save, call 714-892-0011 or visit www.coolnsave.com and www.greenwaydesigns.com .Cool-n-Save sprays water mist around air conditioning condensing coils to bring about a dramatic reduction of energy used by commercial and residential air conditioning systems. Five years of field tests have shown that Cool-n-Save evaporative pre-cooling may produce energy cost savings as high as 30%.Greenway markets their pre-cool technology under the trademark "Cool-n-Save." Independent studies, field tests and Greenway's growing list of residential and commercial customers show that Cool-n-Save evaporative pre-cooling systems may produce energy cost savings as high as 30%, with an average savings of about 26% from air conditioning use during peak heat seasons. The company has been developing pre-cool misting technology since 2005. Greenway recently won the Harvey Mudd College/TechAmerica High-Tech Innovation Award for Green Engineering.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Ray Wyman Jr Communications Dir EMAIL: Email Contact OFFICE: 714-892-0011 x26 CELL: 714-330-2232

Membrane filtration pursues tiny opportunities

Concentration without evaporation, pasteurization without heating, demineralization without distillation, fractionation without chemistry-the food applications for membrane separation technology continue to grow since reverse osmosis membranes were first developed 25 years ago.

The process is currently undergoing commercialization in Japan.Clermont cites these advantages of the ultrafiltration system:Juice processing* Ultrafiltration (UF) retains proteins and protein-sized molecules but allows most other molecules to pass through.The greatest potential for membrane separation technologies may lie in combining their capabilities into novel approaches to traditional processes.Membrane separation is analogous to filtration, but using an exceedingly fine filter. Membranes filter molecules rather than particles and the permeability of membranes to molecules is as much a function of the membrane's physical and chemical properties as the size of its pores.Reverse osmosisCurrently, however, applications of these membranes remains limited to microfiltration and ultrafiltration processes, and their acceptance by food processors remains hampered by the membrane's high cost.UltraosmosisA similar system is being used to process fruit juice concentrates. Orange juice is fractionated by ultrafiltration to yield pulp and serum fractions. The pulp is pasteurized to deactivate residual enzymes that could cause off-flavor development while the serum is concentrated with RO. The two product streams are recombined to yield a juice concentrate of superior quality.Reverse osmosis is used mainly to concentrate food product feedstreams or to clean waste streams. Cellulose acetate RO membranes are still widely used. They are very consistent from batch to batch and have predictable and reproducible salt rejection capabilities ranging from 90% to 95%. Alternatively, thin-film composite membranes are much tighter," rejecting more-than 98% of salt molecules, and better withstand harsh processing conditions. They are more expensive, however.* Yields are higher because "we don't have to stop and start the system as frequently as we did before," reports Eischen. This is particularly important considering that some of Clermont's juices sell for over $100 per gallon.* Ultraosmosis (UO) retains sugars, other organic molecules, and some divalent ions, but passes salt and other monovalent ions.One of the topics of discussion at the recent Dairy & Food Industries Supply Association (DFISA) Expo was the "zero-discharge" plant. While no dairy has yet achieved this goal, reverse osmosis (RO) can remove dissolved solved solids and BOD from wastewater to produce water that can be reused in the dairy.* It runs steadily for long periods of time between cleaning. The cleaning itself--which is a chemical clean-in-place flush--takes less than four hours, and then the system is back up and running.Cleanup advantagesTypical applications for reverse osmosis include concentration of skim milk and juices prior to further evaporative concentration, preconcentration of dried egg whites, protein concentration for gelatin production, and alcohol removal from beer or wine.Like filtration . . .* Microfiltration (MF) is the coarsest of the membrane separation options. Microorganisms, fat globules, fine particulates and colloids are retained by the membrane while most molecules permeate through.In addition to eliminating traditional plate and frame diatomaceous earth filters, membrane clarification typically provides 96 to 98 percent juice recovery compared with 85 to 95 percent for other filtering methods. Membrane concentration, done by RO, can increase juice concentration from its original level of 11 to 12 brix to as high as 60 or 70 brix, although this produces a thick and viscous product. To overcome this problem, systems that remove half the water with membranes and then finish the concentration with an evaporator can be installed. This partial concentration by membranes enables processors that already have an evaporator to double its output for a relatively small expenditure.Says Eischen: "The ultrafiltration system has served us better than expected. It takes care of all of our major filtration needs from early June when fresh strawberries start trickling in through the end of pear season at the end of August, when we're cranking six days a week, right through our frozen season in winter."The relatively recent development of sintered metallic and ceramic membranes offers major improvements in membrane durability, and ease of cleaning and sanitizing. Their applicability to high-temperature processes raises the possibility of marrying membrane separation to pasteurization processes.A second development is the nanofiltration (NF) membrane, which removes monovalent ions like sodium and potassium from the liquid stream. In the industry, these systems are used to remove as much as 95 percent of the salt from salty whey. The resulting product can be be blended back into the sweat whey stream and dried or evaporated into whey powder.Industry acceptance accelerated with the development of polysulfone UF and UO membranes. These membranes have a thin "active" membrane surface supported by a more robust supporting substrate. They are more durable, more permeable, more selective, more temperature resistant, and more readily cleaned in-place than their predecessors.Caustic recovery/CIP solution cleaning has been difficult for dairy processors in the past because membranes could not withstand the harsh operating requirement. However, one supplier announced a new stainless membrane at the DFISA Expo that can handle caustic. In addition, new organic MF membranes are also entering the market. The first caustic recovery systems are being installed on evaporator cleaning systems because of the relatively large volumes at one plant location.* System generates minimal heat. Potentially damaging heat is reduced and is easily handled by small, specially designed tube-in-tube heat exchangers integrated into the membrane system.* Costs are lower, especially compared to using diatomaceous earth. During high production times, such as the pear season, Clermont could go through a load of "earth" each week at a cost of almost $5,000 per load.In addition to treating wastewater, membrane systems can be installed on evaporator cow water and the permeate streams from whey processing RO systems, and can reclaim more than 90 percent of the infeed for use in the plant. Not only does this minimize the amount of fresh water needed in a plant - a major boon in dry areas like California and Arizona - it drastically reduces waste treatment charges.

The process is currently undergoing commercialization in Japan.

Author: William Dreier

Separating profits

Membrane processing has been used in the dairy industry for years - to concentrate whey, reduce evaporator or drier loads, and remove water, lactose and minerals from whey to make whey protein concentrate (WPC). Now, current advances in membrane technology are modifying standard uses and creating new opportunities for dairy processors.

Ultraosmosis is permeable to water, monovalent ions, and other small molecules but retains proteins and sugars. It is applied to demineralize, fractionate (in combination with other membrane types), or clean process streams. It can often partially or completely replace ion exchange and electrodialysis processes.In searching for a way to clarify the low-solids juices, Clermont considered all the alternatives. It pilot-tested diatomaceous earth, ceramic filtering, zirconia membrane and reverse osmosis before selecting an ultrafiltration system engineered and manufactured by APV Crepaco, Lake Mills, Wis.Ultrafiltration was the second of the membrane separation processes to be developed. Ultrafiltration membranes, which retain proteins and fats, and are used to manufacture whey protein concentrates (WPCs), gelatins, meat protein concentrates, delactosed whey, clarified wines and juices, and a wide selection of cheese.Inorganic membranesThe European process uses microfiltration (MF) to remove fat from the whey before it is concentrated by UF. The MF system uses membranes with pore sizes that allow the protein to pass through but retain the fat. One problem with the process is that the fat molecules plug up the membrane's pores. Only careful control of flow rates and cross-membrane pressures minimize clogging.The futureMembrane filtration's originsAnother developmental frontier is being opened up by Dr. Kris Berglund, associate professor of chemical and agricultural engineering at Michigan State University (East Lansing, Mich.). Berglund is studying the potential application of glassy coatings to inorganic membranes as a means of increasing their selectivity. The technology's potential extends beyond food processing applications to include the development of highly-selective in-line chemical or food ingredient sensors.

In addition to eliminating traditional plate and frame diatomaceous earth filters, membrane clarification typically provides 96 to 98 percent juice recovery compared with 85 to 95 percent for other filtering methods. Membrane concentration, done by RO, can increase juice concentration from its original level of 11 to 12 brix to as high as 60 or 70 brix, although this produces a thick and viscous product. To overcome this problem, systems that remove half the water with membranes and then finish the concentration with an evaporator can be installed. This partial concentration by membranes enables processors that already have an evaporator to double its output for a relatively small expenditure.

Author: Jack Mans

Ultrafiltration membrane system fine-tunes juice processor's operation

Clermont Inc., a medium-sized fruit juice producer in Cornelius, Ore., processes apple juice and about 20 other juices for the food ingredient market. Some juices, such as black raspberry, are so specialized that the company spends just a few days processing them each year.

The early cellulose acetate reverse osmosis membranes were delicate, of inconsistent quality, and low in capacity. Systems were expensive to install and operate. While these and other problems slowed the commercialization of early membrane processes by the food industry, the early results were encouraging enough to promote further development of the technology.The use of UF membranes to separate monosaccharides and disaccharides from corn sweeteners has been reported in the trade literature.In the future, however, these advantages should translate into wider application in food processing.Reverse osmosis was first used to desalinate water. Its applicability to heat-sensitive foodstuffs such as juices, extracts, and milk was recognized but problems were encountered, the primary one being fouling. Retained solutes would also build up near the membrane surface, slowing water removal and decreasing the system's throughput.* Reverse osmosis (RO) retains the smallest of molecules, passing only solvents such as water and alcohol. It is the oldest of the membrane separation processes.George Hutson, president of a Minneapolis-based membrane systems engineering firm, cites its successful application to the demineralization of salty whey, sweet whey, and casein in large U.S., European, New Zealand, and Australian commercial establishments. Other applications include fractionation of sugar streams, and concentration and cleanup of UF permeate and meat and gelatin protein streams.* There is no haze in the juice because the system is more temperature-stable and has a lower molecular weight cutoff level.The newest developments in this area concern processing WPC with a very high protein level (up to 80 percent) and low fat content. The 80 percent WPC product is already being made by a number of processors using ultrafiltration (UF). Removing fat is a more difficult problem and no one in the United States is known to be doing it, although a fat-removing membrane process has been patented and used in Europe.

Says Eischen: "The ultrafiltration system has served us better than expected. It takes care of all of our major filtration needs from early June when fresh strawberries start trickling in through the end of pear season at the end of August, when we're cranking six days a week, right through our frozen season in winter."

Reverse osmosis: environmentally friendly filtration - water recovery system - Applied Technology

Water recovery system reduces demand of water treatment

Eight years ago, J. Lohr was marketing two products under the "Ariel Vineyards" brand: Ariel Free, a 99.51% alcohol-free wine, and Ariel Vineyard at 6 1/2% a.c.Rick Jones and Clark Smith are co-owners of Vinovation, Inc., formed 18 months ago and operating out of Santa Rosa, Calif.The Ariel product line has changed considerably since the pioneering days of 1986. The current line includes 13 wines from such premium varietals as Cabernet franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, plus sparkling wines. The Cabernet franc label, for example, reflects quality (resembling a Bordeaux-type label). Many of the wines are vintage-dated and come from such appellations as Napa Valley, Sonoma, the Delta, Monterey and Paso Robles. Barrel-fermented and/or barrel-aged wines can be used as well as tank-fermented wines.Actually, the ethanol-removal process isn't that new. Karl Jung, a German, produced the first no-ethanol wine in 1920. "It was awful," Gnekow laughed, explaining that the technique Jung developed was distillation without collecting the evaporating ethanol and essences (you can try this at home! Put wine in a sauce pan, heat it up until the ethanol and essences evaporate, then give what's left a taste. Dare you!).The partners stress that while the technology can correct flawed wines, it also can be used to, for example, allow winemakers to pick based on flavor characteristics, not just degrees brix.One of 18 Wisconsin Dairies plants, the Waumandee facility specializes in several American cheeses including Colby, Cheddar and Monterey Jack. As a medium- to large-sized plant, Wisconsin Dairies processes approximately 1 million lbs. of milk utilizing about 130,000 gal. of water, per day.Vinovation utilizes reverse osmosis (R/O) with the R/O unit from Millipore. An extension of ultra-filtration, R/O can, besides removing V.A., lower ethanol, remove color, and concentrate the liquid. At the time of Wines & Vines' visit, the company had processed more than 150 lots of premium wine from 54 winery clients totaling 550,000 gallons. In fact, at our visit we tasted a "before-and-after" red and white wine. In the "before" mode, all the winery could do would be to back-blend or sell the wine as vinegar material, hardly worth it if we're talking about estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon that might fetch $18 per bottle. Vinovation charges from $1-$2 per gallon for its service, which is a bargain considering vinegar prices.The plant currently operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week. It runs 60 gpm through the WRS filters, recovering 54 gpm of polished water, for 16 to 18 hours at a time. The system is then shut down for two hours, in order to clean the filter membranes with special dairy cleaners. This helps maintain proper flow across the filters.* concentrate to make "sweet reserves;"Filtration fills the need

The Water Recovery System continues to perform as smoothly and as efficiently as when it was first installed: reducing water intake volume into the plant; reducing the volume of wastewater; reducing wastewater treatment costs; all this while maintaining minimal operating costs for the company.

Further discussions with Ariel's Barry Gnekow

In 1986, Wines & Vines moseyed on down to San Jose to talk with Barry Gnekow, then winemaker at J. Lohr, about a new technology called reverse osmosis (R/O).

As an aside, Gnekow mentioned that submariners from the Navy's Pacific Fleet stock up on Ariel prior to getting underway for a nice stay under the Polar cap. True, no licensed beverages are allowed on Navy vessels, but since Ariel has less than .05% a.c. it can come aboard.Vinovation isn't just covering the California market, either. It has identified at least 14 overseas markets where the technology could be a factor.Whatever you call it, just don't call it "weird science."In 1986 (and also in this issue), Wines & Vines carried an article on the no-ethanol Ariel produced at J. Lohr in San Jose. The dealcoholization also employed R/O, as it does today, although the wine no longer is made at J. Lohr but at the former Papagni winery in Madera, Calif. So the technique is not new. In fact, Ariel President Barry Gnekow first read about the process in 1976. But back to Vinovation; more about Ariel later.A little over a year ago, the Wisconsin Dairies Waumandee plant installed a Water Recovery System |TM~, (WRS) utilizing reverse osmosis membranes, at its Cochrane, Wis., plant. By installing the system, Wisconsin Dairies hoped to reduce the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) of the condensate off the evaporator from 35 to 40 mg/liter, down to 15 to 18 mg/liter. The system has not only met the plant's expectations, but has surpassed them. The water currently coming off the WRS contains a BOD of only 8 to 9 mg/liter.Because Scandinavian politicians and others in the public eye bear considerable scrutiny, often no-ethanol wine is served at such functions as state dinners.* reproduce the effects of botrytis in absence of the mold.What the new company offers is the removal of volatile acidity from problem wines. Needless to say, because of the nature of the service the two can't provide testimonials from happy clients.The process had been used to desalinate seawater and to purify water for the electronics industry, but Gnekow, who'd read about the process in 1976, felt it had wine and juice making potential as well.Simple, compact system"The system 'polishes' approximately 50% of the plant's discharge water through the membrane filters, and releases it into the adjacent creek" says Paul Mullikin, plant manager. "The remainder flows to a storage tank, where it is then further used for boiler makeup, initial wash in the CIP systems, hosing down trucks, or washing down the exterior of equipment such as the evaporator." Any water not needed for these functions is ultimately diverted to the wastewater treatment site for final processing.Basically, R/O is an extension of ultrafiltration, the basic differences being different pressures, different flow rates, membrane sizes, and the fact that the liquid flows across the membrane.The WRS is quite compact, measuring just 4 ft. wide by 15 ft. long. SeparaTech not only sold Wisconsin Dairies the system, but installed it and trained the plant's personnel as well. According to Mullikin, the WRS is very simple and convenient to use, and basically runs itself once the pressure is established.Barry Gnekow no longer is winemaker at J. Lohr. He's winemaker and president of Ariel Vineyards, which has its headquarters at Napa, Calif. (plus the first non-alcoholic wine tasting room, in the Napa Town Center), and its 60,000 square-foot production facility at Madera, Calif. using a good portion of the former Papagni winery along Highway 99.Partner Rick Jones, a native of Flint, Mich., attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he studied literature, the visual arts and music composition. He became interested in winemaking while touring Europe with the Antioch College Chorus in 1975. After visiting such winegrowing areas as Alsace and Burgundy, he headed for California. He was accepted into the Davis enology program in 1980, and earned his B.S. in 1982. He received a fellowship to study the problem of regional ethanol variation (which Vinovation has solved) and covered the state for three years, harvesting and fermenting more than 1,000 lots of grapes. He has been director of technical services at San Martin Winery and was brandymaster/production manager at Jepson Vineyards in Mendocino County. The distillation experience came in handy in designing the hardware for the alcohol adjustment technology.Gnekow said the company gets a great deal of market feedback during supermarket demos. He said when he was winemaker at J. Lohr, he got one or two letters a year. Now, with Ariel, he gets considerably more than that.* control a wide range of acids;To crystallize what we learned from Gnekow (M.S., Fermentation Science, U.C., Davis) back in '86 was that with R/O you can:The companys' main unit is located at St. Supery in the Napa Valley; the winery has a Distilled Spirits Plant license. Customers ship their wine to St. Supery for ethanol removal processing."The evaporator operator simply monitors the flow, which is controlled by a mag flow meter and a Taylor scan controller," Mullikin says. The system is also equipped with alarms, alerting the operator when there is a deviation in pressures, change in conductivity, low level of fluid, or if the flow rate across the membranes decreases below desired levels. The system is designed for variations in feed rates, compensating for changing feed volumes throughout the day.The #1 market for Ariel, Gnekow said, is northern California. Number two, southern California. He says Norway is booming thanks to a couple of things: a great distributor with six years' tenure and a government requirement that establishments serving licensed beverages on premise must carry at least one no-ethanol wine and one no-ethanol beer. Hence, such products fill the bill for the person who doesn't want to settle for bottled water or juice, but would rather "have a glass of wine" with everybody else. Of course, it doesn't hurt that a restaurateur makes more profit on non-alcoholic items than on water or juice.In dairy cheese plants, every 100 lbs. of milk yields about 10 lbs. of cheese and 90 lbs. of whey. Of this whey, about 6 lbs. is whey solids and 84 lbs. is water. Evaporators are used to remove a large portion of this water. The evaporation process, operating under vacuum to lower the boiling point and energy costs, does allow some gases and impurities to pass into the water that is removed.Smith and Jones also pointed to growing interest among winemakers in small-scale R/O machines and related equipment for V.A. removal, juice concentration or for dessert wine production. Vinovation can design and sell original equipment developed for specific needs.Gnekow said Ariel is in 22 markets abroad. In the U.S., most sales are at retail. Eight years ago, Ariel sought positioning in non-wine sections at supermarkets. No longer. "We position it as wine, and it's packaged like wine," he said.What's the future for Ariel and the other no-ethanol wines? Will those markets in the Near East materialize? Will Ariel and others be concentrated and shipped to fast-food outlets worldwide, to be reconstructed on site with sparkling water for a grape-based drink?

Who knows. We'll get back to Barry in another eight years.

Author: Philip E. Hiaring