Emerging Technologies

In a recent article, we described how environmental DNA (eDNA) has been used to detect the presence of aquatic species in lakes and rivers.  eDNA studies have demonstrated great potential for surveillance of rare, endangered, and invasive species by simply collecting and analyzing water samples from target habitats.  Dr. Caren Goldberg, of Washington State University, is one researcher using a unique combination of Sterlitech filters in her investigations of Yangtze giant softshell turtles in southeast Asia, tiger salamanders in California and Arizona, and fairy shrimp in southern California.

Many of our eDNA end-user researchers utilize

Environmental educators in Pensacola are acquainting kids with water filtration in a new, hands-on way. Instead of a class turtle, these students are raising baby oysters. This program is sponsored by the Pensacola Bay Oyster Company and supports a local nonprofit, the Bream Fisherman Association, in its efforts to educate a new generation on marine wildlife preservation. Students contribute to the efforts to expand oyster populations in Pensacola Bay by purchasing and raising baby oysters (spat). It is a challenging and rewarding task, as baby oysters are not easily cared for. They are sensitive to salinity and other environmental changes, and must be maintained in the proper environment 2 feet below the water’s surface. The juvenile oyster cages must be periodically monitored and cleaned. Only after nine months of attention are the oysters mature enough to be placed in

Spokane county is home to the largest concentration of cannabis farms in Washington State, so we were excited to visit the source and attend the King Cannabis Conference & Expo in Spokane, WA. Representatives from Sterlitech connected with producers and processors from across the state to gain insight into current and emerging trends in the industry.

At the expo, Sterlitech displayed its newest contributions to the cannabis processing industry:

Fluxx Spigots: Achieve gurgle-free nutrient dispensing with efficient flow rates.

150 mm Glass Assembly Extraction Kit: Perform high-volume cold filtration and speed up winterization with our largest extraction system.

Leave it to Google to shine a light on our next generation of young scientists!  As we start getting ready for the 2017 academic year, Sterlitech decided to look back at last year’s Google Science Fair awards.  One group of clever kids caught our attention by winning the 2016 Scientific American Innovator Award with a subject near and dear to our hearts: filtration. They made filters from a unique source – waste Styrofoam packing! 

The trio of middle school students from Columbus, Ohio, came up with the idea after one of the three made a trip to Central America the prior year.  The student was surprised at the volume of Styrofoam trash that littered the beaches and wondered if there was something that could be done.  Further research into the use

In last October’s newsletter, Sterlitech announced the availability of kits for performing the Kato-Katz  analysis technique for Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis (STH) in field-based applications, signifying the first time that these kits were available from a source in the United States. Prior to this, the efforts of research groups and health organizations could be hampered by limited availability. Recognizing the global health need, Sterlitech developed the kits to ensure a consistent and reliable supply. We are pleased to announce that, in less than a year, Sterlitech has already supplied enough Kato-Katz Kits to perform 87,000 diagnostic tests.

The Kato-Katz Kits are used to identify and enumerate parasitic eggs in feces samples from at-risk individual. The testing enables clinicians and field

Membrane filtration is an effective way to remove pollutants and microorganisms from water and wastewater. However, membrane fouling lowers efficiency over time when considering rejection values and water flux.  Fouling is typically biological or particulate; fouling rate is a function of the membrane pore size relative to the size of the foulants and also the interactions between the membrane and the foulants. Membrane surface charges and affinity for water directly affect membrane biofouling intensity. Applying electric charge to the membrane surface is one of the methods that has been recently trending for mitigating biofouling [1]. Use of an electroconductive nano-carbon-based membrane has also been reported for mitigating membrane fouling by integrating membrane filtration [2].

In an effort to meet the demand for a cross flow cell that allows users to apply alternating voltage to a flat sheet membrane, Sterlitech recently developed an

There’s no shortage of news stories on a tiny bacterium continuing to cause big trouble; Legionella. In a recent search of Google News, 1800 different stories from across the globe are revealed for June of this year when searched strictly against the term “Legionella.”  Illustrations of how serious a threat is this bacterium can be are seen across the variety of the news stories; from people becoming infected after using contaminated showers in gyms, hotels, hospitals, to babies born in birthing pools, basic residential water supplies, and even a simple backyard garden hose.  So, what is this nasty little microorganism, and why is it still causing trouble? To look closer, let’s revisit two newsletter stories Sterlitech originally published back in December 2010 and April

Researchers frequently ask, “what is the purpose of the shims and spacers for use with the membrane test cells, and do I need them?” Curious to know more? In response to this common question Sterlitech’s own Sepideh Jankhah explores this topic in her recently published Paper, which investigates the hydrodynamic conditions in a bench-scale membrane flow-cell (CF042 Cell). It looks at the ways in which parameters such as the feed crossflow velocity, geometry of the cell, and feed spacers, affect system hydrodynamics.

In the area of a former military building complex in the Chaoyang District of Beijing is a unique and thriving artistic community.  In the middle of this art district, is a strange 7-meter tall tower shaped like an avant-garde metallic pineapple.  Designed by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde, it is both an artistic creation and a functional tool meant to test a possible solution for Beijing’s worsening air pollution.  The tower is a giant silver-colored ionizer and  particulate trap designed to pull in and hold tiny pollutants, known collectively as PM 2.5’s.  The tower works by releasing charged ions into the air nearby, causing the PM 2.5 particles to become trapped on the metallic fins as they are pulled from the air.

While it appears the sculpture is capturing quite a bit of particulate, the full data on its effectiveness is not yet confirmed; it seems there may be too much pollution for it to reduce air pollution except in the immediate vicinity.

The use of polymeric membranes for filtration of non-aqueous solutions started around 1960 and has been developed significantly since then [1]. Today, non-aqueous membrane filtration applications in chemical and pharmaceutical processing account for more than 25% of the global total polymeric membrane market [2].

To put into perspective the potential significance of membrane filtration for non-aqueous solutions, one must realize that conventional separation processes still accounts for up to 70% of capital (CAPEX) and operational (OPEX) expenditures in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries [2,3]. Therefore, to reduce CAPEX and OPEX, developing membrane separation processes that can be more efficient and cost effective than conventional separation processes has been of great interest for these industries and a growing field of research.

Sterlitech has observed this growing demand from the research community for solvent resistant membranes that can be used in non-aqueous