Page 62 - Blog
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August 25, 2011
More new product goodness arrives in the form of Disposable Vacuum Filters. These ready-to-use filters contain a PES membrane that provides high flow-rates and throughput for rapid filtration of tissue culture media, buffers, additives and aqueous biologicals. Consider using these filters when quick, cost-efficient filtration is of the utmost importance. They are available now as bottle top only units or with a receiver flask (pictured here with receiver flask attached).
Head over to the product page to view the full specs.
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August 23, 2011Sterlitech just made the Inc. Magazine list of America’s fastest-growing private companies! A big thank you to all of our customers for continuing to support us and making our growth possible! We’re very lucky to be serving the top companies and institutions in expanding fields like R&D, environmental science, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, especially in these economic times. Of course, we’re not done growing either…Expect more announcements in the future about new product lines as well as more customizable options for bench systems. Drop us a comment to let us know what else you’d like to see from Sterlitech so we can make the list next year too! You can look over the complete list of Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest-growing companies here.
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August 17, 2011Western Biodiesel Inc. was fined $160,000 (Canadian dollars) yesterday by the Provincial Court of Alberta for releasing wastewater that contained methanol into the environment and for providing false or misleading statements to investigators. The fine is the outcome of an incident in October 2008 in which Western Biodiesel dumped around 16,000 liters of methanol-laced water onto its property. Problems arose for Western Biodiesel the day after this release occurred when an unsuspecting welder accidentally ignited the wastewater with his torch, causing a fire that luckily yielded no injuries. In what had to be an incredibly gutsy and foolish move, the (now former) plant manager denied the release occurred when investigators showed up. He was later sentenced to four months house arrest. So besides dumping it in a river and hoping nobody lights a match, what are the actual proper methods of methanol disposal? Methods for extracting methanol from biodiesel include: Vacuum stripping, flash evaporation,
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August 12, 2011
Some of our more astute visitors may have noticed that our wishlist feature went away this week. What gives? Well, we decided to revamp our shopping cart in an effort to make it easier for people to share carts. The best part is that now you don’t have to be logged in to an account anymore in order to create a shopping cart and email it off to someone else. Just add the item(s) you want to your cart and click on the “Send Cart” button under My Cart and voila! The recipient gets an email a moment later with all the product information and the option to quickly complete the order. This should especially help out the universities and large companies that have to bounce ordering information around between purchasing and other departments. Now someone in the lab can select the supplies they want and the purchasing person can easily place the order with just a few clicks!
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August 08, 2011Coal miners could be at greater risk to lung ailments caused by air-borne contaminants such as crystalline silica, according to a new NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) publication. After reviewing information that had been published over the last 15 years the agency determined that miners may face increased exposure to these harmful materials as the more productive seams of coal are mined out, forcing them to dig deeper into thinner mining seams. The result is longer working hours in environments that have denser concentrations of crystalline silica, creating respiratory and pulmonary disease. NIOSH is responsible for setting guidelines on exposure levels of damaging substances like crystalline silica as well as recommending the sampling procedures for these toxic particles. The NIOSH sample technique for crystalline silica involves redepositing the sample onto a 0.45 micron, 25 mm silver membrane filter for analysis by x-ray diffraction. Testing for air-borne
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August 03, 2011
On the surface (no pun intended) the DK and DL series of nanofiltration (NF) membranes appear identical. They’re both thin-film membranes from Osmonics, and they are used for the same applications, such as dye concentration and acid purification, so why the separate designations? In actuality, the difference is that the DL series has a higher flow rate, while the DK series provides higher rejection. If you look at our NF specifications page, you can see that the DK series has a rejection size of 98% -MgSO4, compared to 96% for DL. Conversely, DL has a Typical Flux/PSI of 31/100 (GFD@PSI), whereas DK rates at 22/100. So there you have it, a small distinction perhaps, but hopefully it helps you pick the best possible item for your needs!
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August 01, 2011
If you've ever worked with a Polyamide flat sheet membrane, there's a good probability that you may have noticed some slight discoloration on the active layer side of the filter, as seen below: And additionally, this may have caused some uneasy speculation; is it mold? contamination? time to purchase a new membrane? The good folks at Toray Membranes were able to shed some light on this common concern... literally. Brown discoloration can be due to small amounts of residual amine from the manufacturing process. The amine, (one of the building block compounds used to create the polymer constituting the polyamide membrane family), can turn brown with exposure to direct light. This effect doesn't make for a pretty membrane, but it does not affect the performance of the membrane in any way. Note: if it is in fact mold that you're seeing, you can try irrigating the area with dechlorinated water with a laboratory wash bottle to see if it lifts off. Any rubbing of the membrane
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July 28, 2011Here is a cool bit of news this morning; Boeing is working with Embraer and the Inter-American Development Bank to study the production of renewable jet fuel made from Brazilian sugarcane. Even sweeter is that this jet fuel is produced by one of our customers, Amyris! According to Amyris CEO John Melo the goal here is to, “help us replace fossil fuels with a renewable jet fuel that surpasses both technical and sustainability criteria.” The study is being directed by ICONE, a non-profit Brazilian research organization, and the World Wildlife Fund is acting as an independent reviewer and advisor. Sounds like it's a dedicated coalition of minds working on this issue. We’re thrilled that we can indirectly support this kind of innovation and will look forward to seeing the results in early 2012.
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July 27, 2011Do you feel like sample prep is taking up all your time? If you answered yes then you aren’t alone according to this recent survey from Lab Manager Magazine. The results of 245 lab professionals show that in chromatography about 80% of their time is spent on the process of sample preparation – from collection to data management. This survey found that filtration is the most common technique used to achieve sample preparation, with Solid Phase Extraction also ranking as a common method. Add these results together and it looks like quite a few of you are spending a lot of time with our products. So the question becomes, how can you improve your sample preparation process? When asked this question, 97% of respondents said they would look to lower costs, such as by using less solvent or using cheaper materials.
Techniques Used for Sample Preparation Filtration 20% Solvent Extraction 18% Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE) 15% Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) 14% Protein Precipitation (PPT) 7% Dialysis -
July 20, 2011
The Silt Density Index is most frequently used to determine fouling potential prior to RO filtration. You can think of SDI as a bouncer, keeping the riff-raff out of the RO feed water. The higher the number, the greater the likelihood of fouling. The maximum SDI number allowed depends on the type of RO membrane being used; most manufacturers recommend a maximum SDI of 4 or 5. SDI is found by calculating the rate at which a membrane filter is plugged. ASTM standard D4189-07 defines that the nominal filter for this application is a white hydrophilic MCE membrane filter, with 0.45 ?m pore size and a 47 mm diameter. The reason this particular membrane is used is that it is more susceptible to plugging from colloidal material than from hard particles such as sand, therefore giving a better indication of the factors that might plug an RO membrane down the line. Other measures that can be derived from the SDI include the plugging factor and the Modified Fouling Index (MFI). The plugging factor
