Self-registration methods for increasing membrane utilization within compression-sealed microchannel hemodialysers

More than 1.2 million people worldwide require regular hemodialysis therapy to treat end stage renal failure. Current hemodialysis systems are too expensive to support at-home hemodialysis where more frequent and longer duration treatment can lead to better patient outcomes. The key cost driver for hemodialysers is the cost of the hemodialysis membrane. Microchannel hemodialysers are smaller providing the potential to use significantly less membrane. Prior work has demonstrated the use of sealing bosses to form compression seals in microchannel hemodialysers. In this paper, estimates show that the percentage of the membrane utilized for mass transfer is highly dependent on the design and registration accuracy of adjacent blood and dialysate laminae. Efforts here focus on the development of a self-registration method to align polycarbonate laminae compatible with compression sealing schemes for membrane separation applications. Self-nesting registration methods were demonstrated with average registration accuracies of 11.4 ± 7.2 μm measured over a 50 mm scale. Analysis shows that the registration accuracy is constrained by tolerances in the embossing process. A dialysis test article was produced using the self-nesting registration method showing a measured average one-dimensional misregistration of 18.5 μm allowing a potential 41.4% of the membrane to be utilized for mass transfer when considering both microchannel and header regions. Mass transfer results provide evidence of a twofold to threefold increase in membrane utilization over other designs in the existing literature.     

THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF DUAL PURPOSE NUCLEAR DESALINATION OF GROUND WATER1

ABSTRACT: The economic feasibility of a large scale dual purpose (desalting water and power production) facility were evaluated. Although a site in the Tularosa basin of southern New Mexico was chosen as a case study for this analysis, it is believed that the approach and consequential results would be applicable to alternative sites in the Southwest. The basic project evaluated included: a) a ground water well field; b) a dual purpose, nuclear, desalination plant; c) a mineral recovery plant; and d) a reservoir for recreation and irrigation storage. Principle project outputs included electrical power, minerals, recreation, and water for either irrigated agricultural production or export to an adjoining river basin. Two alternative project designs were developed for detailed analysis. The first alternative encompassed all major project components. The results, in discounted net values used to assess the feasibility of the project, were essentially negative; that is, values were less than zero for full scale development. The net benefits ranged from $-986.57 million at a 5 percent discount rate, to $-1,137.528 million at a discount rate of 10 percent. In the second alternative, exportation of the desalted water from the Tularosa basin to two adjacent rivers was analyzed with somewhat better net benefits, ranging from $-382,527 million to $-478,612 million at the 5 and 10 percent discount rates.     

DESALTING SALINE WATER FOR IRRIGATION A CASE STUDY,COACHELLA AREA,CALIFORNIA1

ABSTRACT .A case study was performed to evaluate potential applications of desalted saline water for agriculture using 2 distillation type processes and 2 membrane type processes. The investigation determined the costs and benefits associated with desalting saline water at concentrations of 1,500, 900, 400, 200, and 50 ppm. Benefits from desalting are generated by shifts to more profitable crops, reduced costs for drainage, and reduction in fertilizer and labor requirements with better quality water. Costs are based on the project features such as desalting plants, raw water diversion facilities, storage reservoirs, conveyance and distribution systems, brine disposal, blending facilities, and gypsum addition systems. Hydrologic studies determined the crop irrigation requirements, water demand schedules, desalted water storage requirements, brine disposal requirements, and size of facilities required. Reconnaissance design layouts were made for producing desalted water using a combination of 14 schemes. The study also included a review of irrigation practices. The benefit-cost ratios range from 0.4 to 1.0 for 1,500 ppm irrigation water to 0.8 to 1.0 for 50 and 200 ppm water. Investment costs per acre are high, ranging from $12,900 to $20,900. Irrigation benefits are based on the increase in production from a desert condition with no water supply to the irrigation conditions studied.     

Revised emergency vacuum relief device sizing for atmospheric distillation systems

Conventional vacuum relief methodologies are usually protective responses; that is, they accomplish their purpose by substitution of an inert gas (usually nitrogen) for the process gases removed by an external vacuum source, or for condensable vapour collapsed by an internal process mechanism (e.g. condensation). While this approach is theoretically possible for all potential vacuum scenarios, it becomes practically impossible to implement for installations where a rapid phase change can impart near-instantaneous system pressure reductions. The procedure outlined in this paper takes a preventive approach: eliminate the source of vacuum generation before the safe lower system pressure limit is reached. For distillation and other refluxing systems, this vacuum source is usually the main overhead condenser, which is designed to collapse large volumes of condensable vapour. To eliminate the vacuum source requires elimination of the system's ability to rapidly condense vapour. This goal is accomplished by introduction of inert gas directly into the condensing system to ‘blanket’ the heat transfer surface and stop condensation. The procedure determines the rate, amount and location for introduction of inert gas. The required design data include: (i) system starting pressure, (ii) maximum allowable system vacuum, (iii) volume of the condensing system, and (iv) normal system condensing rate. By determining the rate at which the condenser removes vapour volume from the system, and designing an inert gas delivery system to meet or exceed this rate, the vacuum generation potential of the system is effectively eliminated using a much smaller quantity of inert gas than with the more traditional volume substitution methods.     

膜生物反应器技术在环境激素废水处理中的应用

本文主要介绍膜生物反应器技术在环境激素废水处理研究中的应用现状。     

废锌锰电池真空蒸馏法去除汞的研究

废锌锰电池回收利用中的正交实验,研究蒸馏温度、系统压强和蒸馏时间对去除汞的综合影响;寻找去除汞的最优工艺条件.根据实验结果,使用真空蒸馏的方法处理锌锰电池优化的工艺参数为:蒸馏温度500～600℃,蒸馏时间60～80 min,系统压强3000～7000 Pa.     

挥发酚的蒸馏损失

回收率实验表明,苯酚经预蒸馏后平均回收率在95%左右,损失率达5%.现提出应用经验系数0.95来修正蒸馏过程带来的损失,结果令人满意.     

老化油处理技术研究进展

老化油是石油工业生产过程中产生的含大量化学药剂、水、黏土及无机盐的状态稳定的复杂乳液,其产生量大、处理难度高。介绍了老化油的来源、成分、数量、对生产的危害、特点及处理难点,总结了老化油现有的处理方法,包括物理法、化学法、生物法及组合工艺,分析了各种方法的优缺点,并对老化油的管理和研究方向提出了建议。     

环境治理中膜接触器的应用研究

膜接触器可以将膜分离与化工单元操作进行有效结合,是一种先进的高效分离器,可在不同接触的情况下实现相间传质,被广泛应用于废气治理、重金属选择吸收等环境治理中。对此,本文首先对膜接触器的分类原理及结构形式进行介绍,然后对不同膜接触器在环境治理中的应用原理进行分析,并以某废水治理项目为研究对象,对膜接触器在环境治理中的应用方式进行深入研究。     

Optimized determination of airborne tetracycline resistance genes in laboratory atmosphere

• Sampling parameters with high efficiency was determined. • Operational process to detect airborne ARGs was optimized. • Providing research basis to control airborne ARGs of a laboratory atmosphere Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been detected in various atmospheric environments. Airborne ARGs transmission presents the public health threat. However, it is very difficult to quantify airborne ARGs because of the limited availability of collectable airborne particulate matter and the low biological content of samples. In this study, an optimized protocol for collecting and detecting airborne ARGs was presented. Experimental results showed that recovery efficiency tended to increase initially and then declined over time, and a range of 550–780 copies/mm² of capture loading was recommended to ensure that the recovery efficiency is greater than 75%. As the cell walls were mechanically disrupted and nucleic acids were released, the buffer wash protects ARGs dissolution. Three ratios of buffer volume to membrane area in buffer wash were compared. The highest concentrations of airborne ARGs were detected with 1.4 µL/mm² buffer wash. Furthermore, the majority of the cells were disrupted by an ultrasonication pretreatment (5 min), allowing the efficiency ARGs detection of airborne samples. While, extending the ultrasonication can disrupt cell structures and gene sequence was broken down into fragments. Therefore, this study could provide a theoretical basis for the efficient filter collection of airborne ARGs in different environments. An optimized sampling method was proposed that the buffer wash was 1.4 µL/mm² and the ultrasonication duration was 5 min. The indoor airborne ARGs were examined in accordance with the improved protocol in two laboratories. The result demonstrated that airborne ARGs in an indoor laboratory atmosphere could pose the considerable health risk to inhabitants and we should pay attention to some complicated indoor air environment.