Compare the specifications for all of our UF membrane designations here.

In China geothermal sewage has already been installed in a few buildings, including the Beijing Train Station. Now a wastewater treatment facility in Philadelphia is beginning the first US trial with this technology. It is a company in Philadelphia, NovaThermal Energy, that is making geothermal sewage possible by developing a proprietary filter material that can efficiently remove waste without requiring pretreatment.

Currently the technology requires that a target building be adjacent to large sewer mains, but if this pilot project is successful it could change our attitudes about sewage (and poop). David Henderson of XPV Capital in Toronto may have said it best: “Wastewater is a terrible name for wastewater. There are incredibly valuable resources in a wastewater flow: energy, nutrients, other materials, water itself.” It’s just a matter of separating the good from the bad.

Read this Forbes piece for more information

The product recommendations that we provide with the methods are based on the requirements set forth by the procedure, as well as input from customers and suppliers.

Check out the updated Standard Method & Application Guide

The FilmTec line of spiral wound membranes was created by the experts at Dow Water & Process Solutions for industrial, municipal and commercial water applications. While they have often been used for large industrial processes like power generation and semiconductor plants, with our precut sizes it is easier than ever to implement these membranes for laboratory scale testing with a membrane test cell. For information on how to best utilize each membrane type, consult our application tab for recommended uses on each designation.

Analog Dry Baths: analog dry baths are the original dry baths available to laboratory personnel. These feature knobs with periodic markings from 0 to 9. The user would turn the knob to increase temperature. It is vital that a thermometer is used with this kind of dry bath as it is difficult to know, except through trial and error, what temperature each of the numbers corresponds to.

Digital Dry Baths: This is the next generation of dry baths. These dry baths use microchips to internally control temperature. Some companies use knobs for temperature adjustment, while some, like Benchmark Scientific, use buttons. Numbers on a digital screen will display temperature which is adjusted by either the movement of the knobs or the pressing of the up or down buttons. These dry baths provide much more accurate temperature control and eliminate the need for an external thermometer (except in the case of calibration).

Both analog and digital dry baths can come in many different configurations and sizes. As a rule, dry bath capacity is measured in blocks and some of the most common sizes are 1,2 and 4 block models. Some models are known as “fixed block” dry baths. These dry baths have a block (or blocks) of a certain size built into them that cannot be taken out or exchanged. Some models, called modular block dry baths feature a more adaptive system that allows the user to exchange blocks for different sized tubes as he/she needs them. Recently, a push for smaller, lighter and more portable equipment has caused companies to minimize laboratory equipment size. Currently, Benchmark Scientific manufactures the smallest interchangeable block dry bath in the world. The MyBlock™ Mini has a capacity equal to some standard 1 block dry baths but it can fit into the palm of your hand and weighs only 3lbs.

Heating and Cooling Dry Baths: With the growing popularity of Peltier cooling, a new section of the dry bath market began to develop. Some manufacturers are starting to offer digital dry baths that can both heat and cool. Usually the cooling capacity of these dry baths is ambient temperature-20˚C. These can be very useful for molecular biology applications that require close to 0˚C temperatures to keep samples from denaturing.

Shaking Dry Baths: Some researchers in the Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics and Cell biology fields require either constant or intermittent agitation of samples in addition to constant heating. The solution to this used to be a temporary change in temperature of sample as the researcher would vortex the sample then place it back into the heating block. This sudden change in temperature can cause some damage to the sample and it is preferable to avoid it if possible. Some companies have taken this into account and are now offering shaking dry baths, such as the Multitherm™. The units available can generally shake and heat at the same time. There are also variations that can shake and heat or cool. As a general rule, these units are programmable and easy to use. They are incredibly accurate and offer a lot of versatility for the researcher.

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Here’s a cool infographic on water challenges in the 21st century, courtesy of the Waterblog by Suez Environment and the World Water Forum. Fair warning: There are some alarming projections here about clean water shortages. That sort of thing might make you a little sad on this lovely Monday, so here’s a link to some adorable animal videos that you can clear your mind with afterward.

Among the many interesting statistics (It takes 11,000 liters of water to make 1 pair of jeans!) is the note that 2% of fresh water is expected to be produced by desalination by 2015. It seems like every other day we’re hearing about a big new desalination facility opening up somewhere in the world, or an advancement that improves the desalination process.

One such advancement whose popularity is growing is forward osmosis (FO) for desalination. In short, forward osmosis utilizes natural osmotic pressure to aid in water treatment, therefore requiring less energy and hydraulic pressure. Forward osmosis can also be used as pretreatment for a reverse osmosis system to create a continuous flow process with even greater efficiency. For more research on FO, Yale University’s Elimelech Lab is an excellent resource for forward osmosis desalination. You can also take a look at our new collection of forward osmosis cells and pumps for this application.

Visit Waterblog here

ASTM D6217 governs particulate contamination testing by laboratory filtration of middle distillate fuels. Fuel samples are vacuum filtered past Nylon membrane filters (0.8 micron) and the particulate contamination level is determined by weighing the membranes.

ASTM D5304 sets a standard test method for assessing the storage stability by oxygen overpressure of middle distillate fuels. It was based on a test method developed by the U.S. Navy and is often used for their applications. D5304 has become more popular in recent years as the Navy and other organizations are using this method to help determine the storage stability of biofuels. Here this is accomplished by filtering the fuel through nylon membranes (again, 0.8 micron) in conjunction with a pressure filtration vessel. One of the biggest advantages of this testing method is that it allows for rapid fuel testing without requiring any additional stabilizing chemicals that could affect the integrity of the results.

For more information on fuel testing, we recommend “Fuels and Lubricants Handbook: Technology, Properties, Performance, and Testing” by George E. Totten, Steven R. Westbrook, and Rajesh J. Shah.

Browse the complete ASTM D6217 and D5304 standards

Compare the specifications for all of our UF membrane designations here.

Do you like this new change? Have any other design fixes or upgrades you’d like us to make? Sound off in the comments!

New Digital Hotplate/Stirrer

We’re expanding our Laboratory Equipment section with the addition of the Scilogex line of products. This new gear can be found among the Mini Centrifuges, Vortex Mixers, Hotplates/Stirrers, and Shakers. We also made a new category to accommodate their collection of Overhead Stirrers.

The Scilogex products complement our existing lineup by providing a premium option to accomplish a variety of common lab functions. The new items incorporate features like digital displays to make these everyday tasks a snap. For instance, the new Orbital Shakers have an RS232 interface so they can be controlled through a PC, and Scilogex models of Mini Centrifuges include bio-safe rotors and cooling systems.

Take a look at the brochures provided on the different category pages for detailed information on each the new models!