Osmonics Awarded Grant To Develop Membrane System

GE Osmonics Inc.75 million research grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been jointly awarded to Osmonics, Inc. and Cargill, Inc. (both of Minnetonka, MN) to develop a solvent-resistant membrane system for separation applications that currently rely on energy-intensive distillation. Current membranes typically require about 10% of the energy used in distillation.

Dr. Steven Kloos, Osmonics' group leader of Membrane Development, believes, "The major challenge will be designing polymeric membranes and modules that are compatible with the organic solvents used in industrial processes, often at high temperatures, while maintaining the ability to separate the target components." Dr. Kloos has been appointed technical leader for Osmonics' part of the project. Osmonics will focus on technology development and collaborate with Cargill on commercial applications.

"Receiving this grant is a major technology event," said David Paulson, Osmonics' director of Corporate Research and Development. "It will allow us to develop new polymeric membranes and system designs with widespread applications in food, pharmaceutical, and petrochemical processing."

The first targeted food processing application is oilseed processing. H. S. Muralidhara, assistant vice president and manager, Process Technology, explained that using membrane technology in oilseed processing provides several benefits. "It will reduce the amount of wastewater used in manufacturing, reduce air emissions, and use less energy than other separation methods. It also will provide significant cost savings compared to traditional vegetable oils processing technologies," Muralidhara said.

For more information: Kay A. Kettwig, <%=company%> , 5951 Clearwater Drive, Minnetonka, MN 55343-8995. Telephone: 612-933-2277.