In other news below:
-- UCLA engineers use nanomaterials to develop new desal membrane
-- American Water, WaterReuse Foundation to study reclaimed water biostability
-- USGS to present critical water quality issues at SETAC
-- Trinity Consultants announces 2007 training schedule
-- Sauereisen survey shows permeability a critical corrosion factor
-- 'Lean' manufacturing initiatives increase efficiencies at Moyno Inc.
-- Trnka joins Fresh Creek Technologies as national sales manager
-- Foster Wheeler awarded two CFB boilers for Vietnamese power plant
-- Olympus sponsors two Crypto workshops for water quality professionals
-- Detroit water wars highlight of Michigan Land Use Institute update
-- Siemens Water Technologies offers mining industry wastewater solutions in U.S., Africa
• WEFTEC now largest annual water quality exhibition in the world -- ALEXANDRIA, VA, Nov. 6, 2006 -- WEFTEC®.06, the Water Environment Federation's 79th annual technical exhibition and conference, hosted 17,632 attendees and a record 965 companies using 245,155 net square feet of floor space last week in Dallas, TX, officially designating WEFTEC as the largest annual water quality exhibition in the world.
"The core of WEF's mission and the reason it was created over seventy-five years ago, was to educate professionals within the water quality community," said newly-appointed WEF President Mohamed Dahab. "I'm pleased that WEFTEC continues to build upon past successes to offer the best educational opportunities available today and grows each year, not only in size, but in scope to meet the evolving challenges of water quality professionals."
In addition to the expansive show floor, attendees selected from a high-quality technical program of 95 technical sessions, 25 workshops, 8 facility tours and several special events. Of particular interest to attendees was a standing-room only session on compounds of emerging concern (CECs) and a well-attended session on a 2006 Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) biosolids report. The CEC session focused on endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and will be followed by a 2-day symposium in July 2007 with tentative plans for a 3-day specialty conference in 2008. The WERF report - released this past June - investigated the hypothesis of fecal coliforms entering a viable but non-culturable state during digestion and the potential for reactivation and re-growth after centrifuge dewatering. Phase 2 of this work - currently in progress - will verify and better understand the reactivation and re-growth phenomena and develop mitigation strategies.
In addition, the Federation also announced the adoption of a new climate change resolution during the Opening General Session on Monday, October 23. Officially adopted by WEF's Board of Trustees on October 20, the resolution recognizes climate change and its impacts on the planet's natural hydrologic cycle. Then-president Michael Read made the announcement following the keynote address by Dr. James Hansen, Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and top climate change scientist. Recognized as the leading U.S. expert on climate change and global warming, Dr. Hansen provided an in-depth overview of the issue, discussed future scenarios, and outlined practical implications to hydrology and water management to an audience of nearly 2,000 water quality professionals.
The following day, as part of the "WEF Celebration of Excellence", Read ceremoniously "passed the gavel" of Federation leadership to Dahab. Also inducted were the 2006-2007 WEF Officers: President-Elect Adam Zabinski, Vice President Rebecca West and Treasurer Charles Weir. The ceremony culminated with awards presentations in recognition of the outstanding achievements of the most talented and dedicated professionals in the water quality community. In all, over 25 awards were presented at various events during the four-day conference.
On the international front, 1,970 international attendees - including 206 trade delegations from 13 countries - visited the Global Center where conference exhibitors had the opportunity to meet with buyers and market experts. The Federation also worked in cooperation with the United States Trade Development Agency to organize a networking session with WEFTEC exhibitors and delegates from six sub-Saharan African regions including Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. The session provided exhibitors with the opportunity to learn more about new developments in the region's water and wastewater sectors.
Other conference highlights included a Water is Life, and Infrastructure Makes It Happen™ program update, WEFTeach , poster presentations, student activities, and Operations Challenge 2006 where the Water Environment Association of Texas Trinity River Authority (TRA) CReWSers successfully defended their title against a record 43 teams from the United States, Canada and Argentina .
Already recognized as the largest water quality event in North America, WEFTEC continues to grow as plans for WEFTEC®.07 get underway. To date, nearly 800 companies have already reserved over 236,000 of net square footage space at the San Diego Convention Center for WEFTEC.07 which is scheduled to take place October 13-17, 2007 in San Diego, California.
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (www.wef.org) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes water quality professionals from 76 Member Associations in 30 countries
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Among other recent headlines:
• UCLA engineers develop new desal membrane -- Nanomembrane effort may make seawater conversion for drinking water more practical -- LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6, 2006 -- Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science today announced they have developed a new reverse osmosis (RO) membrane that promises to reduce the cost of seawater desalination and wastewater reclamation. RO desalination uses extremely high pressure to force saline or polluted waters through the pores of a semi-permeable membrane. Water molecules under pressure pass through these pores, but salt ions and other impurities cannot, resulting in highly purified water. The new membrane, developed by civil and environmental engineering assistant professor Eric Hoek and his research team, uses a uniquely cross-linked matrix of polymers and engineered nanoparticles designed to draw in water ions but repel nearly all contaminants. These new membranes are structured at the nanoscale (the width of human hair is about 100,000 nm) to create molecular tunnels through which water flows more easily than contaminants...
• American Water, WaterReuse Foundation join forces to preserve nation's water supply -- Companies enter into research partnership, study the biology of reclaimed water -- VOORHEES, NJ, Nov. 6, 2006 -- American Water, the largest water services provider in North America, today announced it has signed a contract with The WateReuse Foundation to conduct a joint research project on the biostability of reclaimed water. The project, titled "Microbiological Quality and Biostability of Reclaimed Water Following Storage and Distribution," will study the biological components of water in reclaimed water systems, or those where wastewater is treated and reused for a number of environmental purposes, such as irrigation and grounds maintenance. Total budget for the 30-month project is $500,335, with $300,000 in funds contributed by The WateReuse Foundation, and $200,335 of in-kind support from American Water and other participating organizations...
• USGS to present critical water quality issues at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry -- Topics range from pharmaceuticals in groundwater to mercury in high U.S. mountains -- MONTREAL, Canada, Nov. 6, 2006 -- The 27th Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) is being held Nov. 5-9 at the Palais de Congres in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Additional information about the conference can be found online at http://montreal.setac.org/home.asp. U.S. Geological Survey presentations include:
-- A Happy Medium? Antidepressants in Aquatic Systems
-- Pharmaceuticals in Long Island's Groundwater
-- After the Hurricanes: The Contaminants Left Behind in New Orleans
-- Rocky Mountain High: Mercury in Cold Environments of the Western United States
-- Contaminants Lower Reproductive Health of Gila River Fish
-- Aquatic Herbicides May Benefit Invasive Aquatic Species
-- Wastewater Issues Get Wormy
-- Toxicity Tests for Endangered Mussels
-- Toxic Tango: Interactions of Mercury and Selenium on Bird Embryos
-- Contaminants Affect Over-Winter Survival of Swallows
-- Fungicides: Analysis, Fate, and Toxicity
-- How Much is Too Much? Mercury Thresholds for Common Loon Eggs..
• Trinity Consultants announces 2007 training schedule -- DALLAS, Nov. 6, 2006 -- Trinity Consultants, a firm that assists facilities with regulatory compliance and environmental management issues, announced Nov. 1 its environmental training schedule for 2007. In its introductory courses -- on topics such as air quality regulations, Clean Water Act permitting, waste management, and multimedia environmental regulations, SPCC integrated contingency planning, and environmental recordkeeping and reporting -- attendees learn key terms and focus on basic compliance issues...
• Sauereisen survey shows permeability a critical corrosion factor -- PITTSBURGH, Nov. 6, 2006 -- According to an independent survey of wastewater engineers, municipal managers and contractors, a chemically resistant lining's permeability to corrosive substances was shown to be the most important consideration during product selection. The survey was conducted in April 2006 by WaterOnline, a leading service for the water and wastewater industry. The survey was sponsored by Sauereisen Inc., a third-generation manufacturer of industrial construction materials...
• Lean manufacturing initiatives increase efficiencies at Moyno Inc. -- SPRINGFIELD, OH, Nov. 6, 2006 -- Moyno's lean manufacturing initiatives at its Springfield, OH, facility have had two objectives -- to ensure the cost savings needed to remain profitable in a global economy and to retain highly skilled employees. The 5S efforts of the lean manufacturing program involve five specific areas of focus: sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain. At Moyno, 5S is being implemented in six areas including, for example, the chrome plating area, the small pump area and the office area...
• Trnka joins Fresh Creek Technologies as national sales manager -- CEDAR GROVE, NJ, Nov. 6, 2006 -- Fresh Creek chairman Dennis Moran announced Nov. 1 that Walter "Wally" Trnka, a former USFilter regional sales manager, has joined Fresh Creek Technologies Inc. as national sales manager. Prior to USFilter, Trnka's extensive career included positions with, Waste-Tech Inc., Drake Water Systems, Hycor/Waterlink Corp. and Culligan International Co...
• Foster Wheeler awarded two circulating fluidized-bed boilers for Cam Pha Power Plant in Vietnam -- HAMILTON, Bermuda, Nov. 6, 2006 -- Foster Wheeler Ltd. announced today that Foster Wheeler North America Corp., an operating unit of its Global Power Group, has been awarded a contract by Harbin Power Engineering Company, Ltd. (HPE) for the design of two
545 tons per hour sub-critical circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) steam generators for the Cam Pha Power Plant Power Project in Cam Pha, Vietnam. The contract, valued at approximately $12 million, calls for Foster Wheeler to provide HPE, a subsidiary of Harbin Power Plant Equipment Group Corporation, with two 150 megawatt (MWe, net) CFB boilers to be used at the Cam Pha power station. The two boilers are designed to use waste anthracite and slurry and will provide steam to a single 300 MWe reheat turbine...
Also see: "Foster Wheeler awarded wind farm EPC contract in Italy"
• Olympus sponsors two further essential workshops for water quality professionals -- Another 'Cryptosporidium -- size matters' workshop hailed a success. Places available for next course, Hamburg 2007 -- HAMBURG, Germany, Nov. 6, 2006 -- After the success of the recent 'Cryptosporidium size matters' workshop organized by the Scottish Parasite Diagnostic Laboratory and the Environmental Health Department - University of Strathclyde, Olympus Life and Material Science Europa announces that there are still places available for the next course at the Olympus Academy in Hamburg in February 2007.
• Detroit water wars highlight of Michigan Land Use Institute update -- BEAULAH, MI, Nov. 3, 2006 -- The latest e-newsletter from the Michigan Land Use Institute focused on a city-suburb struggle over control of Detroit's water department in an article: "Detroit's Vast Water System: A Tangle of Regional Resentment: Can water bring city, suburb together in southeast Michigan?"...
• Siemens Water Technologies offers mining industry wastewater solutions in U.S., Africa -- Biological treatment of cyanide, thiocyanate, arsenic and ammonia in wastewater generated by mining operations -- WARRENDALE, PA, Nov. 3, 2006 -- Pilot operations at tailings pond discharges in Canada and Africa show the Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC) process can be designed to economically and reliably treat wastewater generated by mining operations. As a pioneer in the RBC process in North America, Envirex Products of Siemens Water Technologies, a division of the Siemens Group Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S), reported May 24 that it has successfully applied the RBC process in many different industrial applications worldwide such as refineries, chemical plants, and mines, in addition to hundreds of municipal wastewater treatment applications, dating back to 1985. An environmentally friendly way to detoxify hazardous cyanide tailings compounds that result from the leaching process, cyanide is biologically removed allowing reuse or disposal of the treating water. For instance, a successful application of RBCs in a gold mining application for purpose of thiocyanate and cyanide reduction occurred at the Homestake Mine installation (now Barrick) in Lead, SD. This was accomplished by pilot demonstration in 1981, leading to a full scale installation by Envirex in 1984. The latest project is a gold mine in Ghana/Africa, where Envirex after successful piloting will be supplying RBCs for a mine. The plant will treat influent for cyanide and arsenic reduction and is scheduled to be online late 2006. To date, Envirex -- a USFilter company -- has provided over 11,000 RBCs and over 7,000 SBCs for a number of applications, many of which have reliably exceeded their 20-year design life and continue operating today...
Also see: "New hybrid MBR offer plant operators more options: Calls Crrek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Watkinsville, GA, takes advantage of membrane bioreactor solution"
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