N e w s a n d V i e w s

Perva ration s y s t e m for pharmaceut ica l s

A multl-use Pervap unl t from Le Carbone.

Le Carbone has been awarded a contract to supply Pfizer Pharmaceut icals of Ireland with a large capacity pervaporation system. The 'Pervap' system is for installation at Pflzer's plant in Ringaskiddy, near Cork, and will be used to extend the company 's existing solvent recovery facilities.

The mult i-purpose design will initially be used for dehydrating 550 kg of ethanol per hour, from a 4% water concentrat ion of down to 0.2%, and will also be capable of drying isopropanol and THF to similar levels of purity. Supplied as a self-contained skid mounted unit, occupying over 40 m 3, the product will be complete with three pervaporatlon membrane modules and all control, ins t rumentat ion and safety systems.

This contract will represent the first Pervap system to be used in Ireland and will also be the very first product of its type to be installed by Pfizer. Having made the decision to expand its solvent recovery plant, Pfizer selected pervaporation instead of the more usua l technique of azeotropic distiUation, with its a t tendant entrainer considerations.

Le Carbone Pervap products now feature in 34 industrial-scale installations throughout Europe, J a p a n and the USA.

Further informatlon from: Mlke Denyer, Chemical Engineering Division, Le Carbone (Great Britain) Ltd, South Street, Portslade, Eas t S u s s e x BN41 2LX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)273 415701.

Book on biose tion t e c h n o The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has published New Developments In Bioseparation, (Symposium Series Vol. 88, No. 290), which focuses on innovations in the preparatory methods for separating and purifying products in biotechnology. The 114-page book contains synopses of recent improvements in these methods, some which are currently in use, and others which show potential.

The editors say that all the papers in the volume are written with sufficient background information to ensure that the book may be used as a reference for bioseparation practitioners.

The collected papers include 'Modeling of Non-linear Elution Chromatography for Preparative-Scale Separations' , 'Experimental and Theoretical Study of Key Parameters of Adsorption on Reverse Phase Macroporous Resins', 'Solute Partitioning by Size: Pore Geometry Effects for Concentrated Solutions', and 'Transport of Amino Acids Through Ultraflltration Membranes in the Presence of Electric Field'.

Edited by Mohammad M. Ataai and Subhas K. Sikdar, New Developments In Bioseparation (S-290, ISBN 0-8169-0577-0) is priced at US$48 for AIChE members and 860 for nonmembers .

Further Informatlon from: American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 345 Eas t 47th Street, New York, NY 10017, USA. Tel: +1 212 705 7845.

Water supply safegua ed A man-made lake, Lake Argyle, in a remote part of the Kimberley region of north-west Australia, is the only water supply to provide water for the Argyle diamond mine community. In this region temperatures can reach as high as 46°C and the area suffers a tropical cyclone season, which results in substantial quantities of sand, conoidal clay materials, tannins and organic matter being washed into the lake.

A treatment process was required which could cope with a widely differing quanti ty of suspended solids, up to 500 ppm in the wet season. The plant also had to be automatic and parameters had to be able to be monitored remotely at a distance of 5 km from the mine.

A Memcor cont inuous microffltration (CMF) system was chosen, which is based on a polypropylene honow fibre membrane with a very high porosity. This is claimed to achieve higher flow rates at lower operating pressures compared to ultraflltration or reverse osmosis membranes. The pore size of the CMF

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