MOBILE WATERFILTRATION

SYSTEM LARGESTEVER

Following news of EcosphereTechnologies’ launch of theTactical Water FiltrationTruck two months ago (SeeFiltration Industry Analyst,January 2006), Siemens hasreportedly completed, com-missioned and deployed whatit says is the largest mobilewater filtration system in theindustry.

The Horizontal FiltrationTrailer, or HFT, is a high-capaci-ty trailer-mounted systemdesigned to provide temporarywater treatment in a variety ofindustrial and municipal appli-cations.

Siemens claims that theHFT has the highest capacityflow rate of any single trailer onthe market today, at rates of upto 1,600 gallons per minute(GPM) for general filtration. Forpre-treating reverse osmosisfeedwater, the HFT can produceflows up to 1,200 GPM. Thesystem can be loaded with filtermedia, carbon, or specialisedresin, depending on the applica-tion.

“These units complementour existing fleet of mobile clar-ification systems,” says BillMertes, mobile and on-site ser-vices general manager, “allow-ing us the unique ability to clari-fy and filter 1.0 to 1.5 milliongallons per day of surface waterfor industries or municipalities.”

The first installation of anHFT was for potable drinkingwater, providing emergencywater flow for an Arizona townof 19,000 where the wells hadfailed and nearby municipalitiescould not meet the demand.

“We also see great promisefor HFT in applications wherehigh-flow reverse osmosis sys-tems require pretreatment to pre-vent membrane fouling, reducedmembrane life and inconsistentflow or water quality,” saysMertes. “In fact, we see theseopportunities routinely in the

power, refining, chemical pro-duction, pulp and paper and pri-mary metals industries.”

AFS DELIVERS1,000 AIRCRAFTSYSTEMS TO US

ARMYAerospace Filtration Systems(AFS) has delivered its1,000th UH-60 Black HawkAuxiliary Power Unit (APU)Inlet Barrier Filter (IBF) kitto the US Army.

Initial production deliveriesof APU IBF systems began inFebruary 2004, the companysays, and the kits are for the twoqualified UH-60 APUs, theHamilton Sundstrand T-62T-40-1 and the Honeywell EngineSystem GTCP36-150 [BH].

In 2001 AFS began develop-ment of an IBF system for APUinlets and a patent for the designconcept was filed in December2002 and issued in November2004. Design criteria for theAPU introduced significantchallenges, including physicalconstraints, high velocity air-flow, high operating tempera-tures and torturous APU heatsoak back, according to Wilson.In addition, AFS developed acommon filter assembly config-uration for both APUs, althoughthe mounting systems wererequired to be unique to eachAPU vendor.

BOSCH ANDMANN+HUMMEL

TO ACQUIREPUROLATOR

The Bosch Group andMann+Hummel have madeplans to acquire the Purolatorfilter business from ArvinMer-itor around the beginning ofApril 2006. The business willbe continued as a 50:50 jointventure company from thatdate and will cover all Purola-tor oil, air, fuel and cabinfilters. The acquisition issubject to approval by therelevant authorities.

The Purolater businesscurrently produces filters forboth the OE and aftermarketsectors at its site in Fayet-teville, North Carolina, USA.Sales are focused on theNorth American market, andin 2005, Purolator recordedsales of US$267 million.

“We have been extendingour activities specifically inthis region since 1997,” saidDr. Dieter Seipler, CEO ofMann+Hummel. “For Mann+Hummel, Purolator perfect-ly complements our businessin North America in the OEsector and in the independentaftermarket.”

KMS TO PROVIDEFILTERS TO

JOINT WATERDISTRICT

Koch Membrane Systems(KMS) has been selected toprovide ultrafiltration e-quipment in the town ofMattapoisett, Massachu-setts, USA.

Koch will provide potablewater to a joint water district,including the towns of Mat-tapoisett, Fairhaven, Marionand Rochester. The joint pro-ject was developed as a cost-effective solution to providedrinking water to the towns.

“The project promotesthe sharing of waterresources within the Mat-tapoisett River Valley by four

towns and allows for thereactivation of wells that arecurrently offline,” said SusanHunnewell, project managerfor Tata & Howard, the engi-neering firm that is headingthe project.

According to Hunnewell,KMS’s ultrafiltration tech-nology has been used by hercompany in the past. TheMattapoisett plant is the mostrecent of several ultrafiltra-tion systems supplied byKMS in Massachusetts.

WWF AND NORITX-FLOW PART-

NER FOR WATERPROJECTS

The Word Wide Fund forNature (WWF) and NoritX-Flow have signed a three-year agreement to shareknowledge and technicalexpertise regarding thesecuring and protection ofwater reserves that are vitalfor people and nature.

The collaboration focuseson freshwater sources, suchas rivers, deltas and wetlandsthat generate drinking water,Norit says.

An inventory of currentWWF projects all over theworld will be made, wherethe cooperation between thetwo partners is expected tohave most effect. Solutionscontributing directly to theobjectives of the WWF arere-using municipal waste-water, reducing the intake offresh spring water, and puri-fying industrial waste waterso that rivers, lakes andcoastal areas are protectedfrom further pollution, Noritsays.

Another aspect that WWFand X-Flow are focussing onis complete water manage-ment solutions. Such a solu-tion, although on a smallerscale, was set up in a zoo inthe town of Emmen, in theNetherlands, X-Flow says. Inthat project all water was re-used in a closed water cycle,

March 2006

NE

WS

3

Filtration Industry Analyst

COMMENT According to Mann+Hum-mel, the total volume forautomotive filters worldwide currently amounts to�4.5 billion euros, withglobal growth of around 2%per annum expected up to2015. It is therefore no sur-prise that Bosch plans toexpand its filter businessesinto the automotive aftermar-ket division, and improve itsmarket position in the(NAFTA) region. ■