Nov 20 2010
Modeling Scale (RAM) Crossflow Filtration System to help in the research and development of bio-based products, thereby assisting the production of chemicals and fuels from renewable resources.
The RAM has been created mainly to assist universities, research centers, process developers and national labs to appraise the usage of membranes and create a trustworthy system for cost-effective guidance for potential scaling up operations of their applications.
Pall's RAM Crossflow Filtration System
Technology developers would be able to discover what role filtration and separations would have in their processes even before a costly pilot testing program. This is one of Pall’s green initiatives. The new Pall system incorporates data collection on a high level basis along with a small batch production capacity to help economic modeling and large scale processes for the duration of the early stages of development before field evaluation. Fluid streams can be concentrated by around ten times, and help the operators to assess ceramic, inorganic, organic hollow membranes and stainless steel membranes.
Its flexible nature makes it perfect for crossflow filtration viability studies, whereby comparisons of the efficacy of the different membranes inside specific applications can be carried out leading to the designing of a commercial and economical pilot scale system. This would lead not only to cost savings, but also supply the users with necessary economic data regarding scaling up activities early in the development process. Globally the focus is on process development of biobased materials, which could boost the fossil fuels and chemicals, leading to a decrease in the carbon footprint in the environment, which has all the while been a major contributor to global warming.
This system includes prefiltration and product purification for biobased chemicals; algal biomass separation and concentration; perfusion in fermentation processes and diafiltration. The RAMs system would rapidly enable the selection of an optimal membrane and permit speedier development time periods. According to Greg Heilbrunn, Pall Energy’s Senior Vice President, this system would assist their customers in achieving winning processes for the production of sustainable chemicals and fuels.