In the dynamic and global filtration industry, news and information is breaking on a daily basis. International Filtration News is tracking stories relevant to our industry from air and gas filtration to liquid filtration and the various end-uses for filtration technology. Here we will post news stories relevant to filtration and its downstream applications on an ongoing basis. Please check back for regular updates. If you have news that you feel should be added to this summary report, please email it to Matt Migliore at mmigliore@inda.media.
Most recent update: January 31, 2022
Xylem appoints Mark Morelli to board of directors
Global water technology leader, Xylem, announced the appointment of Mark Morelli to the company’s board of directors, effective February 3, 2022.
Morelli currently serves as president and CEO of Vontier Corporation, a $3B global industrial technology company focused on smarter mobility. He brings nearly two decades of experience leading industrial and technology corporations through transformative growth and innovation. Previously, he served as president and CEO of Columbus McKinnon, COO of Brooks Automation, CEO of alternative energy company Energy Conversion Devices, and as a president of United Technologies.
“It’s our pleasure to welcome Mark to the Board of Directors,” said Robert Friel, chair of Xylem’s board. “Mark’s deep leadership experience and global perspective, together with his extensive background in industrial technology and innovation, will be invaluable in guiding Xylem’s strategy to accelerate the digital transformation of water. We look forward to working together to grow the company and create value for our shareholders.”
Patrick Decker, Xylem’s president and CEO added, “Mark brings rich experience leading companies at the forefront of smart and sustainable solutions, shaping high-performance teams, and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. His insights will add value across our stakeholder base – enhancing our capability to serve our customers, helping to drive progress against our sustainability commitments and accelerating our company’s growth.”
Mark Morelli holds a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his family.
Source: xylem.com
Unifrax, Lydall renamed to Alkegen
Unifrax, a leading manufacturer of high-performance specialty materials used in advanced applications, announced it has changed its name to Alkegen, to reflect the new company created following the acquisition of Lydall late last year. The company will also move its corporate headquarters to Dallas, Texas.
Alkegen’s portfolio includes battery technologies, electric vehicles, filtration media, and specialty insulation materials.
John Dandolph, president and chief executive officer of Alkegen explained, “Our new name helps define this global platform with differentiated, sustainability-focused advanced materials. Customers will come to know Alkegen as a brand that helps the planet breathe easier, live greener, and go further than ever before. Alkegen is an exceptional specialty materials platform that we believe is unrivaled in the world today.”
The name Alkegen is a modern adaptation of two words that are central to the company’s identity and mission. “Alke” is derived from the word “Alchemy,” which evokes transformational innovation and breakthroughs in what is possible. “Gen” is a shortened form of “Next Generation” and speaks to Alkegen’s focus on human health and a sustainable future. The green Alkegen “arc” in the logo represents collaboration, connectivity, and a horizon signifying the global nature of the company and its constant innovation and forward progress.
Alkegen will relocate its corporate headquarters to new offices in Dallas, Texas this spring. This new facility will serve as the headquarters for the company’s Filtration and Battery businesses. Unifrax’s current headquarters in Tonawanda, New York, will continue to serve as the headquarters for the company’s Thermal Insulation and Emission Control businesses.
Source: alkegen.com
Valin to offer Eaton’s strainer product line in the U.S.
Valin Corporation, a privately held, employee-owned company providing technical solutions for the technology, energy, life sciences, natural resources, and transportation industries, has partnered with Eaton to stock and offer its cast and fabricated strainer product line to Valin’s customer base.
“We’re excited to now offer Eaton’s reputable strainer solutions to our dedicated customer base,” said Kari Kohonen, Director of Sales at Valin Corporation. “Our customers expect that we can live up to our reputation of being a one-stop-shop in terms of process and control solutions. Being able to offer Eaton’s strainer solutions furthers our ability to live up to this reputation.
Eaton’s strainer solutions are designed to protect pumps, filters, nozzles, flow meters, valves, heat exchangers, condensers, oil burners, boilers and other downstream process system components from debris.
Valin’s foothold in the Western United States, Pacific Northwest and Alaska made the partnership attractive to Eaton.
Source: valin.com
Mott acquires ASCO Filtri S.p.A.
Mott Corporation has acquired ASCO Filtri, a designer and manufacturer of filtration solutions for a broad range of markets, and a long-time strategic partner of Mott’s in Europe.
The deal provides Mott a combined, expanded presence throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Further, this combination creates a filtration and fluid control company with an extensive material selection for applications in key markets including semiconductors, life sciences, clean energy, oil/gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, water purification, and aerospace & defense. Mott’s expanded product selection will now include reusable and disposable porous metal, ceramic, polymer filters and a wide range of complementary offerings, such as spargers, coalescers and skids.
ASCO Filtri will retain its team and locations. Ennio Michelini, managing director, and Massimo Mascheroni, general manager, will join the Mott leadership team and will continue to manage ASCO Filtri business. ASCO Filtri will now operate under the name ASCO Filtri: A Mott Company.
Source: mottcorp.com
New textbook covers nanofiber filtration technology options for submicron and nano aerosols
Wallace Leung, ScD (MIT), distinguished research professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, has published a new book, Nanofiber Filter Technologies for Filtration of Submicron Aerosols and Nanoaerosols. The text covers the nanoaerosols (less than 100 nanometers) to larger submicron aerosols due mostly to pollution, which are present in high number concentration in the environment.
According to Dr. Leung, airborne viruses from flu to coronaviruses are also nanoaerosols. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it took a long time for health authorities and the general public to recognize the airborne transmission mode of the virus. This leads to inadequate protection and ineffective virus control strategies resulting in high infection and death rates. The book cites evidence and observations pointing to the airborne transmission mode of the coronavirus. It also discusses different filtration technologies using nanofibers to capture these aerosols for short-term filtration, where aerosols are trapped in the filter (depth filtration), and long-term filtration, where aerosols are trapped in the growing filter cake (cake filtration).
This book provides a good understanding on how nanofibers, which is of size 1/1000 times that of a normal human hair, can effectively filter these tiny aerosols. The text is organized in four sections – fundamentals, deep understanding, technologies, and application, covering comprehensively on the subject. It is intended for undergraduates and graduates, engineers, researchers, and practitioners in related industries.
For more information and to purchase this text: https://www.elsevier.com/books/nanofiber-filter-technologies-for-filtration-of-submicron-aerosols-and-nanoaerosols/woon-fong-leung/978-0-12-824468-5
Source: elsevier.com/
Texas Tech researchers author study using new standardized mask filtration testing to evaluate effectiveness of alternative facial coverings
Seshadri Ramkumar, a professor of chemical countermeasures and advanced materials in Texas Tech University’s Department of Environmental Toxicology, has co-authored a study utilizing standardized methods to evaluate common household fabrics as alternative materials for barrier face coverings. Olukayode James Ayodeji, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Environmental Toxicology, conducted the standardized tests measuring the filtration efficiency (FE) of different facial coverings.
Using mask filtration testing standards developed by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Ramkumar and his team compared the performance of popular ready-made facial coverings, such as bandanas and neck gaiters, to alternative household materials including denim, cotton shirts, bedding and towels. Both categories of materials were measured against R95 masks, which offer the highest level of protection against viral particles.
While a material’s ability to filter out viral particles is paramount, breathability is an equally important consideration, Ramkumar said. Unfortunately, testing revealed an inverse relationship between filtration efficiency (FE) and breathability – for instance, while denim showed the highest FE, it also had the lowest breathability of all the household fabrics, rendering it unsuitable for facemask production. Ramkumar and his team took both parameters of FE and breathability into equal account when evaluating a material’s overall performance.
According to their study, the most effective ready-made facial coverings on the market are Velcro masks with carbon filters and surgical masks, while the least effective are fashion facemasks, single-layer face coverings, neck gaiters and bandanas.
The highest-performing household materials were thick cotton shirts and towels, indicating that multi-layered cotton facial coverings with proper fit are the most effective homemade mask alternative because they offer a measure of protection against viral particles without compromising breathability.
A combinatorial approach involving both a facial covering and a surgical mask with good fit would offer the wearer better protection against particle inhalation, Ramkumar said.
Ramkumar co-authored the paper, “Particle-Size-Dependent Filtration Efficiency, Breathability, and Flow Resistance of Face Coverings and Common Household Fabrics Used for Face Masks During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” alongside Texas Tech graduate students Olukayode James Ayodeji and Terrell A. Hillard, with the support of Texas Tech graduate student Mirza Khyum. The study was published in Volume 16 of the International Journal of Environmental Research earlier this month.
Source: tiehh.ttu.edu
Enaqua management buys out Grundfos, acquiring portfolio of UV water treatment technology
Grundfos and Enaqua announced they have signed an agreement for the Enaqua management team to acquire 100% of the shares of Enaqua, including the company’s technology portfolio focused on UV water treatment.
“This acquisition is an exciting step in our journey,” said Mark Wilke, Co-CEO, of Enaqua. “This will allow us to continue to offer our customers the best available technology for their water treatment applications. We look forward to further strengthening our product portfolio and services, with all our customers in mind.”
Enaqua holds experience in UV water treatment for municipal wastewater disinfection and process water treatment, including food and aquaculture as well as re-use applications.
Grundfos acquired Enaqua in 2012.
Source: grundfos.com
Xylem sponsors Trial Reservoir funding scheme to scale technology for carbon footprint reduction in water & wastewater systems
Xylem, a leading player in water technology globally, is sponsoring an innovative new funding mechanism for water utilities to deploy promising technologies. The partnership with water consultancy Isle Utilities is a new approach to funding and scaling breakthrough water technologies, called the “Trial Reservoir.” It provides water technology innovators access to capital for pilot projects, with an initial focus on technologies that reduce the carbon emissions of water systems. Technology trials and pilots are generally required in advance of full-scale implementations.
The Trial Reservoir will make a pool of funding available to early-stage technology companies, giving them the capacity to undertake trial deployments with water utilities. The “reservoir” of funding will be replenished from the proceeds of commercial contracts, when the trials move to full deployments. Xylem is a foundation sponsor of the initiative along with other leading water sector partners.
“Innovation and new approaches to water management will be essential for cities and communities to solve their increasing water challenges and decrease their carbon footprint,” said Sivan Zamir, head of Xylem Innovation Labs. “This fund will help lower one of the biggest barriers to deploying and scaling breakthrough innovations: the question of who pays for the trial. The fund, itself, is an important innovation. It’s a new approach to financing that lowers the economic risk of trying new technologies that can solve communities’ water challenges.”
“Xylem’s sponsorship of the Trial Reservoir does much more than just create financial capacity for innovation in water utilities,” said Dr. Piers Clark, chairman of the Isle Group. “The Trial Reservoir brings together all the players needed to bring new technologies to market – utilities, investors, start-ups, non-profits. By removing financial uncertainty, partnerships between utilities and innovators can focus on solving a community’s water challenges and getting new water technologies proven in the marketplace.”
The Trial Reservoir is open to technology vendors around the world, actively supporting trials in high, medium and low-income countries. The only requirement is that the technology being tested must help reduce the carbon footprint of the water system, be that a municipal utility or an industrial/commercial water user.
The Trial Reservoir expects to fund its first utility pilots in the first quarter of 2022.
Source: xylem.com
Imperial Systems acquires new facility to support expansion of Imperial Filtration business unit
Imperial Systems Inc has acquired a new facility formerly occupied by Reznor, a company that produced heating and cooling equipment. The former Reznor manufacturing building, located in Mercer County Pennsylvania, will be used for Imperial Systems’ Imperial Filtration division. The facility will be completely renovated within a few months and is expected to bring an additional 50 new jobs to Mercer County in 2022.
“We are very excited about the acquisition and renovation of the former Reznor heater factory. This will bring new life to Mercer County and offer the people of Mercer and the surrounding areas an opportunity to work for a world class company with the best wages and benefits,” said Imperial’s president and CEO Jeremiah Wann. “We have a passion for taking old factories and repurposing them into modern facilities. Four years ago, we purchased and refurbished the 95,000 sq ft Chevron building on 62 between Mercer and Sharon. That building is probably the most well-known manufacturing building in the area. With the purchase of the Reznor and Chevron factory, we have revived two of the most iconic buildings in Mercer County. With the two factories we are planning to be operating with over 200 employees over the next four years.”
The Imperial Filtration division will focus on manufacturing cartridge filters for industrial dust collection equipment. Imperial Filtration takes their superior technology already used in the CMAXX’s DeltaMAXX filters and makes it available in filters for almost all industrial air filtration equipment. During the renovation of this space, Imperial Filtration will also house a new state of the art ASHRAE Standard 199 test lab and rig. This equipment will allow Imperial to further push the bar as the most innovative company in the Dust collection and air filtration market.
Source: isystemsweb.com
Komline-Sanderson continues acquisition spree, adding Fluid Quip Inc. to its growing portfolio
Komline-Sanderson, a designer and manufacturer of equipment for wastewater management, environmental control, and other industrial applications, announced the acquisition of Fluid Quip, Inc., a manufacturer of capital equipment for the corn wet-milling and ethanol industries. The transaction closed on December 30, 2021.
Corn wet-milling, a process that uses water and specialized equipment to physically separate corn into proteins, starches, oil, and fiber, is a core market for Komline, and the acquisition of Fluid Quip substantially broadens its product offering in the space. Fluid Quip’s equipment is also used by Fluid Quip Technologies in the retrofitting of ethanol facilities to produce ultra-high-protein products used as animal feed. Fluid Quip Technologies is a separate company and not part of the transaction.
The acquisition was Komline’s fifth during 2021. Previously in the year, it acquired Illinois-based Barnes International, a manufacturer of coolant filtration equipment; Florida-based Harn R/O Systems, a producer of reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, and low-pressure membrane treatment systems; South Carolina-based Haselden Company, Inc., an engineering design and installation business of waste-reduction systems serving the food and beverage industry; and Tennessee-based AquaShield, Inc., a manufacturer of products for stormwater runoff, rainwater harvesting, and construction site discharges.
“Komline and Fluid Quip have partnered for nearly 20 years on a variety of projects and joint ventures for our customers in the corn wet-milling industry, making the business combination a very natural next chapter,” said Fluid Quip CEO Andy Franko. “Becoming part of Komline means we have even more products, engineering capabilities, and solutions to offer, while providing the same great service on which we built our reputation.”
Fluid Quip was founded in 1987 as a repair and field service company serving the pulp and paper and corn wet-milling industries. The company’s product expertise soon led it to begin innovating new features to improve equipment performance, and in 1991, it began to design and sell its own capital equipment and replacement parts. The company continues to maintain a full-service repair shop as part of its solution-oriented service to customers around the world.
Source: komline.com
Dynamic Air Quality Solutions promotes Steve Mores and Michelle Hogan within Residential Products Division
Dynamic Air Quality Solutions announced the appointment of Steve Mores as president of its Residential Products Division where he will be responsible for further expanding the company’s residential indoor air quality products business.
Mores brings extensive experience in consultative solution development, business development, sales training, and team management. In his previous role, he served as vice president of Residential Sales and Training.
Michelle Hogan has also been appointed vice president of Business Development and will report to Mores. In her last role, Hogan was director of Business Development for Residential Sales where she has been responsible for new account acquisition and client onboarding.
Dynamic Air Quality Solutions offers high-performance, low-static, energy-saving air filtration products and solutions that are designed to save energy and reduce operating costs.
Source: dynamicaqs.com
Premium Guard Inc completes acquisition of IPC Global Solutions
Premium Guard Inc (PGI) finalized its acquisition of IPC Global Solutions on December 30, 2021. As part of the transaction, PGI also partnered with Trive Capital, a Dallas-based private equity firm.
“This is a new chapter in PGI’s history,” said Anan Bishara, CEO and president of PGI. “We competed with IPC for the last 26 years, which has pushed both companies to raise the ceiling and flourish. The merger will capitalize on the combined strengths and synergies. We will push forward with our core competencies to provide the aftermarket with industry leading service, complete solutions, best-in-class-quality products, and leading application coverage at compelling prices.”
The combined company will employ over 600 people and operate approximately 1,000,000 sq. feet of warehouse space throughout North America. This merger follows PGI’s acquisition of Interfil in Mexico in November 2020, expanding its automotive filtration product line and aftermarket solutions.
“Both PGI and IPC have celebrated a rich history in the automotive filtration market, and we are very excited to join forces together in a quest to deliver more value to our customers,” said Mike Bowden, EVP and chief development officer at IPC Global Solutions.
Source: premiumguard.com
French AMF approves Veolia’s offer to purchase 86% stake in Suez
The French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has published the final result of the cash tender offer initiated by Veolia for the shares of Suez. Based on the information provided by Euronext Paris today, Veolia (Paris:VIE) will own 551 451 261 Suez shares representing 86.22 % of the share capital and voting rights of Suez based on the total number of shares outstanding as of November 30, 2021.
In accordance with the AMF’s general regulations, Veolia has requested the reopening of the offer for a period running from January 12 to January 27, 2022 (inclusive). This reopening will allow shareholders who have not tendered their shares to do so under unchanged conditions.
Veolia also confirms its intention to proceed with the squeeze-out and delisting of Suez shares in the event that the number of shares not tendered to the offer by minority Suez shareholders does not represent, at the end of the reopened offer, more than 10% of the capital and voting rights of Suez.
Veolia’s offer document, as approved by the AMF on July 20, 2021 under visa no. 21-338, is available on the respective websites of the AMF (www.amf-france.org) and Veolia (www.veolia.com), and may also be obtained free of charge on request from Veolia (21, rue La Boétie, 75008 Paris, France).
According to Veolia Group, the acquisition of a majority stake in Suez is in line with its aim to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with nearly 179,000 employees, Veolia designs and deploys solutions for the management of water, waste and energy. In 2020, the Veolia group served 95 million inhabitants with drinking water and 62 million with sanitation, produced nearly 43 million megawatt hours and recycled 47 million tonnes of waste.
In news related this historic merger for Veolia, which will increase its workforce from 180,000 to 230,000 employees and its revenues from €27 billion to €37 billion, Veolia’s Board of Directors decided at its meeting on January 10, 2022 to separate the functions of chairman of the Board of Directors from those of chief executive officer.
Antoine Frérot had expressed his wish to step down as chief executive officer, which he has held since 2009, when his current term of office expires. He therefore asked the Board of Directors to instruct the Nominations Committee, with the support of a recruitment firm, to conduct a search for the most appropriate governance to manage a company that is changing in scale and continuing to expand internationally.
Upon the proposal of the Nominations Committee, the Board of Directors has also decided that Estelle Brachlianoff, chief operating officer, will succeed Antoine Frérot as chief executive officer of Veolia as of July 1, 2022. It will be proposed to the shareholders that she joins the Board of Directors.
Estelle Brachlianoff joined the Group’s Executive Committee in 2013 and was appointed by Antoine Frérot as chief operating officer in 2018. She will be in charge of managing and leading Veolia.
Source: veolia.com
Aigües de Barcelona starts river water treatment pilot in Barcelona
Aigües de Barcelona, the public-private company responsible for managing the water cycle in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain, has started a series of pilot projects with NX Filtration’s direct nanofiltration membranes. The objective of the first pilot project is to treat water from the Llobregat river in Barcelona to produce drinking water.
Since Barcelona is situated in a water stressed and densely populated region, Aigües de Barcelona has identified the direct nanofiltration (dNF) membranes of NX Filtration as an innovative technology that can significantly simplify the treatment of their surface waters. These surface waters have posed challenges due to their variability in quality, mainly due to seasonal impacts. The pilot will target the reduction of processing steps, reduced energy and chemicals consumption and attend to the problem of limited space. As such, Aigües de Barcelona aims for more production of drinking water with less resources through achieving better recoveries with a smaller footprint than the current conventional technologies used.
Eva León González, innovation, investigation and technology manager at Aigües de Barcelona, said, “Compared to conventional water treatment technologies, direct nanofiltration could provide high quality water whilst reducing the number of filtration steps, thus simplifying the treatment of surface water and saving space. In addition, this technology also provides various advantages in terms of sustainability, as it reduces energy consumption and avoids the use of pre-treatment chemicals. Partnerships are key for Aigües de Barcelona to promote innovation aimed at realizing social and environmental impact.”
The pilot campaign is based on NX Filtration’s full-scale “Mexpert” pilot system and is expected to run for approximately 15 months. Aigües de Barcelona continues to promote innovation projects through partnerships to advance the ecological and social transition, prepare for future challenges and improve the quality of life of people and the health of the planet.
Source: nxfiltration.com
France’s AMF shares details of Veolia’s offer for 86% stake in Suez
The French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has published the provisional results of the cash tender offer initiated by Veolia for the shares of Suez. Based on the information provided by Euronext Paris, Veolia would own 551,451,261 Suez shares, representing 86.22% of the share capital and voting rights of Suez based on the total number of shares outstanding as of November 30, 2021. The final result will be announced on Monday, January 10, 2022.
In accordance with the AMF’s general regulations, Veolia will request the reopening of the offer for a period expected to run from January 12 to January 27, 2022 (inclusive). This reopening will allow shareholders who have not tendered their shares to do so under unchanged conditions.
Veolia also confirms its intention to proceed with the squeeze-out and delisting of Suez shares in the event that the number of shares not tendered to the offer by minority Suez shareholders does not represent, at the end of the reopened offer, more than 10% of the capital and voting rights of Suez.
Veolia’s offer document, as approved by the AMF on July 20, 2021 under visa no. 21-338, is available on the respective websites of the AMF (www.amf-france.org) and Veolia (www.veolia.com), and may also be obtained free of charge on request from Veolia (21, rue La Boétie, 75008 Paris, France).
Source: veolia.com
SEPTA contracts with Lumin-Air to updgrade bus filtration systems to MERV-13
Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), the 5th largest overall transit system in the U.S., has partnered with Indiana-based Lumin-Air to outfit its bus fleet with MERV-13 equivalent filtration. MERV-13 filters are recommended by experts because they remove small particles and at least 85% of the droplet nuclei people exhale that contain virus cells. These filters will help catch and remove contaminants from recirculated air inside the bus, improving the air quality for both riders and bus operators, according to Lumin-Air.
Bruce Kramer, SEPTA senior project designer, said, “Removing airborne contaminants inside our fleet is another strategy in our layered approach to keep riders, coach operators, and SEPTA team members safe.”
Lumin-Air’s Dan Fillenwarth added, “The key to our solution is increasing filtration efficiency without reducing airflow. Our filters last three times as long as standard bus filters, so our solution is a very economical way to improve the health and safety of riders and bus operators. SEPTA continues to be an industry leader in prioritizing safety and will be the first transit system on the east coast to retrofit their fleet with filters that are this efficient.”
SEPTA has already received the first shipment of filters and will complete the filtration upgrade over the next several months.
Source: lumin-air.com
Camfil school air filtration experts explain the importance of high-efficiency filtration in schools
A 2019 study conducted by researchers from the University of Utah’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences found a statistically significant correlation between air pollution and school absences.
Over 135 million Americans — more than 40% of the population — are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution on a day-to-day basis in their communities. According to the National Lung Association, exposure to unsafe air and the health threats associated with it disproportionately affects people of color and low-income families.
Schools in low-income communities are often built on the cheapest plots of land available, placing them next to high traffic roads and in other high-risk areas for excessive pollution levels. Since school funding is allocated based on property taxes within the school zone, schools serving low-income families do not have adequate resources to upgrade their HVAC systems to accommodate the high-efficiency air filtration solutions that would protect students.
A 2019 study conducted by researchers from the University of Utah’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences found a statistically significant correlation between air pollution and school absences. Even minor increases in levels of PM2.5 in the air in the Salt Lake City School District in Utah were linked to increases in school absences the following day.
While this correlation does not prove a causal relationship, the finding aligns with other research on the topic conducted before and since the University of Utah’s study.
Often abbreviated to PM1, PM2.5, or PM10, these microscopic particles suspended in the air are known to cause damage to human health as well as industrial equipment and processes. Particulate matter can be made out of anything.
PM is classified by the measurement of their diameter in microns. Different classifications of particulate matter affect different parts of the body in different ways and require different filtration solutions. A micron, or a micrometer, is a unit of measurement equaling one-millionth of a meter, or one-thousandth of a millimeter. For reference, there are 25400 microns in an inch.
PM10 are inhalable particles with a diameter of ten microns or less. PM2.5 are inhalable particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less. This type of particulate matter is often referred to as fine particulate matter. PM1 are inhalable particles with a diameter of 1 micron or less.
To get an idea of just how small particulate matter is:
- A strand of human hair averages 70 microns in diameter
- A sheet of copy paper is usually 100 microns thick
- A grain of pollen typically falls in the range of 10 to 40 microns in diameter
The following infographic produced by Camfil highlights the potential benefits of high-efficiency filtration in schools.
Source: camfil.com
AFS reopens abstract submission for technical & symposia presentations at World Filtration Congress
The American Filtration & Separation Society (AFS) has reopened abstract submission for a limited number of oral technical and oral symposia presentations for WFC 13. As organizers of this global event for the filtration industry, AFS was forced to postpone the conference in March of 2020 when the conference was scheduled to take place in April 2020 and the technical program had been set and confirmed.
All oral and industry posters presenters are being asked to update their existing abstracts in the WFC 13 abstract submission system or submit a new abstract based on current events. Students interested in giving a student poster presentation and entering the student poster competition must submit a new abstract.
In response to current and relevant events, WFC organizers have identified three new sessions in the Health Symposia Track and are seeking abstracts for these sessions:
- Facemask and Respirators for Filtering Airborne Viruses, Harmful Aerosols
- Vaccine Production Filtration & Separation
- Cleanroom filtration
Important Deadlines
- Friday, January 28, 2022 – Technical oral and Symposia oral abstract submission deadline
- Friday, February 25, 2022 – Student poster and Industry poster submission deadline
Oral Technical Tracks
- Air/Gas – very limited presentation availability
- Filter Media – very limited presentation availability
- Membranes – very limited presentation availability
- Solid/Liquid Separations
Oral Symposia Tracks
- Energy
- Environment
- Health
Click on the below documents for additional information:
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Abstract Submission Categories
How To Guide – Submit an Abstract
Source: wfc13.com
Metso Outotec awarded EUR 150M order for key technology to Boliden’s Green Zinc Odda project in Norway
Metso Outotec has been awarded a contract for the delivery of key technology to the Boliden Odda zinc smelter expansion in western Norway. The contract is valued at EUR 150 million.
With the expansion, Boliden Odda is planning to increase its annual production capacity of zinc metal from 200,000 to 350,000 tonnes. Several byproducts will also be produced. The project is called Green Zinc Odda, and its energy consumption is based on fossil-free energy. Metso Outotec scope of delivery includes roasting and off-gas cleaning solutions and a sulphuric acid plant. Metso Outotec will also supply hydrometallurgical equipment and technology for calcine leaching, solid liquid separation, solution purification, as well as process and plant engineering and site services.
“We are very happy for being trusted with this order. The Green Zinc Odda project paves way for more sustainable zinc production and is yet another important milestone in the many years of collaboration between Boliden and Metso Outotec,” said Jari Ålgars, president, Metals business area at Metso Outotec.
Source: mogroup.com
