Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ELECTROCHEMICAL
In This Issue…
ELECTROCHEMICAL ........... 1
LINX Wastes
REVERSE OSMOSIS ............ 2 Less Water
ULTRAFILTRATION ............. 5
Pionetics is commercializing the LINX 120 system, a home drink-
ing water purification product that wastes less water than residen-
tial RO units and allows users to adjust the water’s taste to suit
GAS SEPARATION ............... 6
individual preference. Designed to replace bulky RO systems, the
compact LINX 120 is the first product based on Pionetics’ patented
BIOMEDICAL AND LINX technology, a process that removes 90% of total dissolved
BOMEMEBRANE ............... 7 solids (TDS) and numerous contaminants, using only clean electric
power and proprietary ion exchange membranes.
INDUSTRY INSIGHT ........... 8
Pionetics’ Founder and Chief Technical Officer Eric Nyberg tells
NON-SEPARATING .............. 12 MST that the point of use (POU) purifier is the first residential water
system to use electrically regenerable ion exchange. The water-
INDUSTRY NEWS ................ 13 splitting, or bipolar, membranes consist of a cation exchange layer
bound to an anion exchange layer. Similar membranes already are
WHO’S WHO IN MEMBRANE in industrial use for converting aqueous salt solutions into acids
TECHNOLOGY ............... 14 and bases without chemical addition. At its most basic, the LINX
unit comprises two cells, each cell having two electrodes, a spiral
wound ion exchange membrane cartridge located between the
electrodes, and a water inlet and outlet. The system additionally
Senior Editor: Susan Hanft
Tel: 512/303-6502
comprises a power supply, a flow detector, and sediment and carbon
E-mail: shanft@cebridge.net filters.
Lead Production Editor: Jon Gomes The LINX technology removes ions, for example sodium and nitrate,
from water flowing past the membranes. Sodium ions exchange
BCC Newsletter Group
Editorial Director: Alan Hall
with hydrogen ions held in the cation exchange layer; nitrate ions
VP — Operations: Marc Favreau exchange with hydroxide ions in the anion exchange layer. Deion-
Regional Editor: Dr. Robert Butler ized water, the combined product of hydrogen and hydroxide ions in
President: Louis Naturman the solution, then exits the system. The rate of ion removal is
greatly accelerated by the application of sufficient voltage to the two
Copyright 2005 Business Communications electrodes. When the cartridge’s capacity for ions is depleted,
Co., Inc. Norwalk, CT 06855. Reproduction of
any material in this newsletter is strictly
electrical regeneration is achieved by reversing the polarity of the
forbidden without express permission of the two electrodes.
Publisher. However, authorization to photo-
copy items is granted by BCC, provided that Pionetics’ membranes have good selectivity for many ionic species
the appropriate fee is paid directly to Copy- that worry consumers. Because the membranes are regenerated in
right Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive,
the hydrogen and hydroxide forms, they are especially effective for
Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
removing the weak acids arsenic (III) and arsenic (V). (RO cannot
ISSN: 0720-8483 remove arsenic [III], sometimes present in deep well water sources.)
Nitrates and nitrites are extracted selectively via the quaternary
Membrane & Separation Technology News July 2005
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LEGISLATION
BIOMEDICAL & BIOMEMBRANE
Desalination Act Intro-
duced in Senate. Legisla-
tion to increase the federal
Pseudo Pores Advance government’s role in build-
Study of Living Cells ing RO desalination plants
has been introduced for the
A team of electrical and computer engineers at the University of first time in the U.S. Senate,
Wisconsin-Madison has devised a method for investigating living cell and has been re-introduced
systems by embedding quantum dots, inorganic semiconductor in the U.S. House of Repre-
nanocrystals, which form pseudo pores in artificial biological mem- sentatives. If passed, Sen-
branes. By observing how the tiny crystals move through the mem- ate bill S. 1016, “The Desali-
brane layers, the researchers can examine biological systems on the nation Water Supply Short-
molecular level. A discovery could lead to new possibilities for ma- age Prevention Act of 2005”
nipulating, imaging and understanding the inner workings of cells. would establish a program
within the DOE to provide
Energy Assistance Payments
Measuring only millionths of a millimeter, quantum dots are so
to desalination projects fol-
small that the addition or subtraction of electrons changes the dots’
lowing a competitive bidding
properties. Electrical and Computer Engineering Professors Dan van
process. Financing would
der Weide and Robert Blick with researchers Sujatha Ramachandran
come from the DOE’s renew-
and George Kumar, found that by applying voltages to a solution of
able energy program with au-
quantum dots and membranes similar to those of living cells, the dots
thorization to spend $200
would be pressed into the membranes forming rings, which in turn
million over a ten-year pe-
act as membrane pores. The artificial pores then could be used to riod. The bill has been re-
examine living systems to confirm cell behavior that previously has ferred to the Senate Com-
been theorized, but not directly observed. mittee on Energy and Natu-
ral Resources.
“To get a feeling of why this is important,” says Blick, “you have to
understand that each of our cell membranes has specific pores in
them that regulate the flow of ions in and out.” Through these ions,
cells build up electric potential and communicate with other cells,
FUNDING
performing signal transduction as well as determining how chemi-
cals react in the body. For example, when caffeine enters a cell, it DOE Backing NCAT H2 Re-
stimulates the opening and closing of these ion channels. Using the search. The DOE has awarded
quantum dots to form artificial pores enhances the flow of ions and grants to eight institutions
can be controlled from the outside via voltage. for energy research through
the Historically Black Col-
The Wisconsin team initially set out to use the dots to tag mem- leges and Universities and
brane pores for easier visualization and measurement of the
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Membrane & Separation Technology News July 2005
INDUSTRY INSIGHT
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Membrane & Separation Technology News July 2005
which is especially important for a backwash conducted separately and vertically, providing numerous advan-
with higher volumes. The perforation underneath then tages:
provides an optimal axial distribution. Small openings
right under the potting material allow a complete de- Due to the fact that a complete aeration and de-aeration
aeration of the vertically installed module on the permeate is possible, integrity testing can be done in a few min-
side. The optimal solution to minimize pressure loss in utes.
the capillary bundle and to control the flow distribution
is a regular arrangement of capillaries with defined Complete aeration guarantees that air cushions do not
spaces. To avoid a complete compaction of the capillaries arise on either the feed side or permeate side. Therefore,
during backwash, the capillaries should also be fixed each capillary contributes to filtration and backwash.
and stabilized. One method to achieve the regular (Air on the feed or permeate side of the module might
arrangement of the capillaries is the construction of arise through the outgassing of supersaturated water,
“membrane grids.” Parallel membrane fibers are used to e.g. some ground waters or biologically active waters, or
build one of these grids. Two of them are then crossed during integrity testing.)
(Figure 1) and spiral wound, thus building an ordered
structure of capillaries with regularly defined spaces. The complete dewatering of modules installed vertically
on the rack provides the possibility of dry installing or
Figure 1 uninstalling the modules by one person. Each module
can be handled separately without having to remove
Multibore Grid other modules first. The parallel inflow of the modules
provides a constant flux through the capillaries. In
addition, the transport distance for removing the cake
layer from the membrane is very short. Between the
racks, a space of less than one meter is sufficient for
comfortable module handling. Additional pressure ves-
sels are not necessary.
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EN: In graduate school at the University of Illinois, I was starting to use ion exchange materials, but not
as membranes. Then at Raychem Corp. in the 1980s, in an electrochemistry group, I began casting ion
exchange layers on electrodes. That’s what I refer to as a membrane, a layer of ion exchange material.
MST: How was Pionetics established and how has the firm been funded?
EN: Pionetics was founded in 1995, so that we, the two co-founders and I, could assign a licensing
agreement from Raychem to the corporation. In 1997, we filed for our basic patent and assigned that to
Pionetics. We were funded by the founders for the first six years. After that, we raised funds from individual
private investors, 10 or 15 bridge investors. In May of 2003, five venture capital firms led by NGEN came
on board with $3.2 million in our Series B round. We closed on our Series C round in November ’04 with
$6.4 million.
EN: The technology is named LINX, an acronym that stands for electrically regenerable ion exchange. We
are doing a classic ion exchange process using electricity to regenerate the material rather than using
chemicals. In that sense, it’s probably not a membrane process in the way normally thought of, it’s more
of a batch ion exchange process. But, all of our ion exchange materials are in the form of long sheets. We
use electricity to accelerate the extraction of ions from water as they pass through a cartridge that we spiral
wind from our membranes. The cartridge is sitting between two electrodes, which provide the electric field
and a driving force such as in an electrodialysis cell, but our extraction process is fundamentally different.
At some point, the ion exchange capacity of the membrane is consumed, or exhausted, and it’s time for
regeneration. We reverse the polarity on the electrodes, slowly pass a solution through the cartridge, and
expel the ions that were absorbed in the previous step back into the solution to make a concentrate. This
is usually a waste stream, but can be something that is recovered, as well. Regeneration takes about ten
minutes. The system is then ready for another deionization step.
Our first product is a point of use drinking water system. We’re just starting to sell the first units now for
field trials. (See “LINX Wastes Less Water,” this issue)
MST: What goals do you have for the company near term (next two to three years) and longer term?
EN: In the next three years, we want to firmly entrench the under sink drinking water system in a variety
of geographies. We’re finding that the Asian market is really hungry for a drinking water system that doesn’t
waste much water, doesn’t take much space and doesn’t use much power. We’re planning to entrench
ourselves in China, India and other countries in Asia, and in Latin America, as well as penetrate the
European and U.S. market with point of use.
We have a relationship with a leading residential water softening company. The technology scales up well
and we’ve actually built prototypes with this partner that treat up to ten gallons per minute. It would be
a point of entry system that would compete with classic ion exchange systems for softening water or
treating water for the whole house.
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Membrane & Separation Technology News July 2005
EN: It’s a brand new technology for a conservative, slow moving industry. I’ve been convinced for quite
some time that our point of use application is an excellent fit given the drawbacks of RO, but getting large
companies to move and to make a bet is tough, especially when you’re a startup. It’s really about finding
a high quality, large partner that wants to move relatively quickly.
EN: My goal is to work in Third World countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia introducing people at a
village level to our technology. I think it’s going to be a great fit.
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Membrane & Separation Technology News July 2005
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