Membrana and Hager + Elsasser reach agreement on water treatment patent in Europe

CHARLOTTE, NC, Sept. 7, 2006 -- Membrana announced yesterday that an agreement has been reached with Hager + Elsasser GmbH (formerly Ondeo Industrial Solutions GmbH) relating to Hager + Elsasser's European patent EP 0 899 239. The patent applies to the treatment of water whereby reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration (NF) permeate is fed into a membrane contactor, which is used to remove dissolved carbon dioxide (CO₂) from water.

The agreement between Membrana and Hager + Elsasser enables Membrana and its customers to supply award-winning Liqui-Cel^® Membrane Contactors for CO₂ removal using air sweep to final end users.

Liqui-Cel Membrane Contactors are used around the world for adding or removing Oxygen (O₂), Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and Nitrogen (N2) to or from different liquids in the Semiconductor, Power, Pharmaceutical, Photographic, Food and Beverage, and many other industries. For example, it is known that O₂ negatively impacts many processes; it is corrosive and can oxidize materials. In the power and industrial areas, piping and equipment are susceptible to corrosion. Specifically to the semiconductor market, high levels of O₂ can cause lower wafer yields.

Additionally, CO₂ negatively impacts performance of EDI and Ion Exchange. The Liqui-Cel Contactors offer a modular solution for O₂/CO₂ removal before these processes without chemicals.

Liqui-Cel Contactors are also used to add gasses to liquids to enhance megasonic cleaning. The beverage industry looks to membrane contactors for carbonation, nitrogenation and O₂ removal. These reflect only a few examples of the variety of applications where Liqui-Cel Membrane Contactors are used.

Membrana also offers liquid ring vacuum pumps, eductors and oxygen sensors to complement the membrane contactors.

Membrana's Industrial Membrane Group also manufactures a variety of membranes used for filtration in various industries and applications. Manufacturing facilities are located in the USA and Europe. Global markets are served through sales offices and affiliates in North America, Europe, Japan, South East Asia and China. Membrana is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polypore, Inc., a growing worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of highly specialized polymer-based membranes used in separation and filtration processes.

With headquarters in Wuppertal, Germany, and U.S. offices based in Charlotte, NC, Membrana is a PolyPore company. For more information, see: www.membrana.com, www.liqui-cel.com and www.liqui-flux.com

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