Many projects are detailed in monthly updates under Industry Analysis in this Report’s Chapters. Click on the links below to view information on these projects.

CHEMICALS
ETHANOL
FOOD & BEVERAGE
METALWORKING
MINING
OIL & GAS
OTHER ELECTRONICS
PHARMACEUTICAL / BIOTECH
PULP & PAPER
REFINERIES
SEMICONDUCTOR

POWER

Huge pump expenditures are forecast for flue gas desulfurization systems in the U.S. and China. The specific reports are available separately in Fossil and Nuclear Power Generation World Analysis and Forecast and in Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System. CLICK HERE to view information on these projects.

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Acquisition

Weir Buys Novatech

The Weir Group PLC ("Weir") has agreed to acquire Novatech LLC, a US manufacturer of well service pump valves and valve seats for upstream oil and gas applications, for US$176m (£113m1) in cash. Subject to US regulatory approvals, completion of the acquisition is expected in February 2012.

Based in Dallas, Texas, Novatech, a family-owned business, produces a wide variety of proprietary valves and valve seats for high pressure applications such as fracking, cement and mud pumps used in unconventional upstream oil and gas operations. The business is well known to Weir, being a long standing local supplier to Weir SPM. Novatech achieved proforma revenues of US$61.6m for the most recent fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, with associated annual revenue growth of 88 percent. Positive trends continued in the final quarter of calendar 2011. Approximately 90 percent of revenues are generated from aftermarket demand.

Novatech's range of durable valves expands Weir's offering in the fast-growing fracking pump consumables markets and significantly enhances its fracking pump aftermarket portfolio. The acquisition enables Weir to:

· Offer an enhanced package of aftermarket pump expendables to oil and gas service companies;

· Utilize its substantial footprint to provide broader sales opportunities and field service for Novatech products;

· Open international markets to Novatech's offering; and,

· Enhance productivity through application of Weir's lean processes in production, supply chain and front end.

New Facilities

OMB Build New Valve Factory in Stafford, TX

OMB Valves of Italy, which manufactures valves for the oil and gas industry, has announced plans to construct its Western Hemisphere headquarters in Stafford, according to Flori Meeks in January 17, 2012 issue of The Houston Chronicle.

Construction is expected to begin this March on Phase I of the project, a 42,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. OMB Valves plans an initial investment of approximately $5.5 million in the building, which will bring about 20 jobs to the area when it is completed this August. A second phase, which will add an additional 60,000 square feet, will take place in the next two to five years.

The company first considered Stafford for its headquarters at the recommendation of Keith Southard, director of sales in the Americas for OMB Valves. When he began working for the company last year, OMB was considering about seven or eight properties north and northwest of Houston. Southard suggested a Stafford location last March, and OMB found a location there in June.

OMB will join several existing valve manufacturers in Stafford, including Baro Controls Inc. (pumps, valves and level controls); Global Flow Technologies; Groth Corp.; Kitz Corp. of America; Newmans Valves; PBV-USA Inc.; Tyco Valves & Controls; and Virgo Engineers Inc. (EVS Valves Inc.).

Chromatic Industries Building Hemiwedge in New Facility

Chromatic Industries, Inc. (“Chromatic”), a private corporation, is ramping up production of its key technology, the Hemiwedge® Valve product, at a new specialized manufacturing facility located just north of The Woodlands, Texas. Chromatic began a full schedule at the new 30,000 square foot facility in November 2011.

The Hemiwedge® Cartridge Valve is a long service-life technology that minimizes costly issues of conventional valve maintenance and repair. The Hemiwedge® Valve piqued the industry’s interest quickly after its introduction, but the challenging economic climate stifled the company’s growth until 2011, when Chromatic Industries stepped in. Chromatic completed the acquisition of the Hemiwedge® Valve product line in May 2011.

With applications in the refining, mining, process, pipeline, power and petro-chemical markets, Chromatic’s Hemiwedge® Valve is poised to make a significant mark on the industries it serves, alleviating many of the headaches and costs associated with traditional valve technology. Chromatic has increased the company’s sales force and production for the Hemiwedge® Valve.

The patented proprietary Hemiwedge® Valve product line combines the positive features of ball, gate, plug and high performance valves resulting in a mechanically sealing, tight shutoff valve with a simple operation that provides outstanding longevity and performance with virtually no maintenance. The Hemiwedge® Cartridge design allows for easy access in-line, with minimal downtime, resulting in significant savings. Hemiwedge® Valves are available in soft-seated and metal-seated designs, making them viable for a wide range of applications, including demanding high-temperature requirements.

Chromatic’s Hemiwedge® Valve product line currently ranges in sizes from one inch to twenty inches, ANSI 150 to 1500 Class and is marketed in industries including oil and gas production, mid-stream, gas processing, refining, petrochemical processing, power, pipeline and mining.

Plant Celebration

Cameron Ships 2,500 Subsea Choke

Cameron’s Flow Control division (FLC) celebrated a milestone when it shipped its 2,500th subsea choke out of its state-of-the-art Subsea Center of Excellence in Longford, Ireland. From its first subsea choke supplied back in 1975, Flow Control has become a premier global subsea choke supplier in the oil and gas industry. This position is maintained by an active Research and Development (R&D) vision, combined with New Product Development (NPD) strategies focused on meeting the ever evolving and demanding requirements of subsea production. With non retrievable and insert retrievable 10 and 15ksi rated subsea chokes in nominal sizes up to 8 inch as well as the 20k subsea choke technology which is currently in development, Cameron’s Flow Control division covers market requirements worldwide. Flow Control launched the new CC80SR, an 8” nominal insert retrievable production choke with a 1,000 CV capacity, during Offshore Europe 2011 in Aberdeen. This choke was developed and qualified for large bore gas projects in Australia and elsewhere.

Finance

KSB’s Sales in 2011 Increase 7.2 Percent

During the course of 2011, global growth slowed down considerably. The worsening debt crisis in Europe, the dramatic events in Japan – with their consequences for energy policy – and the political changes in North Africa all had a negative impact on the willingness of many customers to invest in the construction of major new facilities such as power generation plants. Project business with pumps and valves therefore remained difficult. Our general business with standard products, mainly for industry, offered comparatively good opportunities.

Due to the difficult market conditions, the Group’s consolidated order intake increased only moderately by 2.8 percent to € 2,132.3 million. Service orders increased strongly, while order intake for valves also showed good growth. Orders received for pumps remained slightly below last year’s level following the spin-off of a Chinese business segment into a joint venture outside the Group during the course of the year.

Companies in the Americas in particular increased their order volumes considerably in 2011. Outstanding growth was achieved by US subsidiary GIW Industries, Inc., which with its range of slurry pumps benefited from the good order situation in mining.

KSB AG improved its order intake by 4.5 percent to € 819.0 million, a value higher than average for European companies. In several companies in Southern Europe, order intake remained lower than last year.

KSB’s sales revenue increased in the three segments – pumps, valves and service – as well as in all four sales regions. Consolidated sales revenue rose by 7.2 percent to € 2,079.1 million, exceeding two billion Euros for the first time. The companies in the Region Asia/Pacific achieved significant double-digit growth.

In the domestic European market, which also remains KSB’s main market, companies only managed to improve their performance slightly overall. KSB AG recorded an above-average sales revenue increase of 4.2 percent to € 811.3 million. Some subsidiaries in Central, Northern and Eastern Europe also enjoyed double-digit growth rates, while the sales revenues generated by the Southern European companies were largely down on the previous year.

In 2011, ten companies consolidated for the first time also contributed to the positive Group performance. These achieved a total order intake of € 66.3 million and sales revenue of € 63.7 million.

The number of employees in the Group as of December 31, 2011 rose by 6.6 percent year on year to 15,666. The newly consolidated companies, accounting for 527 employees at year end, contributed significantly to this growth. KSB AG, too, increased the number of employees by 91 to 4,329, partly in order to be able to implement initiated and planned strategic projects.

Tyco’s First Quarter Revenue Up 4 Percent

Tyco International Ltd. reported $0.71 in diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations for the fiscal first quarter of 2012 and diluted EPS from continuing operations before special items of $0.84 per share. Revenue in the quarter of $4.2 billion increased 4 percent versus the prior year excluding the Electrical & Metal Products business, which is now reported as an equity investment, and organic revenue also grew 4 percent.

Flow Control segment’s revenue of $923 million increased 12 percent in the quarter with organic revenue growth of 10 percent. Organic revenue growth of 13 percent in Valves and 28 percent in Thermal Controls was partially offset by an organic revenue decline of 15 percent in the Water business.

Okano Valves Announces Valve Sales for Full Year Ended November 30, 2011

Okano Valves presented full year sales for year ending November 30, 2011 of $130.8 M. Okano Valve Mfg Co is a major manufacturer of large high-temperature, high-pressure valves, especially in power plants, both thermal and nuclear.

Cameron Reports Revenues for 2011 Year Up 13 Percent

Cameron reported net income of $0.40 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, compared with net income in the prior year’s fourth quarter of $0.66 per diluted share. The fourth quarter 2011 results include after-tax charges of $0.37 per share, primarily related to the Deepwater Horizon matter. The fourth quarter 2010 results included after-tax charges of $6.2 million, or $0.03 per share, primarily related to costs associated with Deepwater Horizon and the continued integration of the NATCO Group Inc. Excluding the above items, the Company’s earnings per diluted share were $0.77 for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with $0.69 for the fourth quarter of 2010.

Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2011 were a record $2.03 billion, up more than 12 percent from the prior year, and revenues for the year were $6.96 billion, up more than 13 percent from 2010’s $6.13 billion, also a new record. Excluding charges, earnings per diluted share for 2011 were $2.67, compared to $2.42 for 2010. Including charges, earnings per diluted share were $2.09 for 2011 and $2.27 for 2010.

Cameron Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jack B. Moore commented that each segment saw record revenues in 2011, reflecting the investments Cameron has made in each of its businesses over the last three years.

Orders booked in the fourth quarter of 2011 totaled $1.91 billion, up from $1.71 billion a year ago. Year-over-year orders were higher in all three of the Company’s operating segments. Full-year orders totaled $7.83 billion, up 35 percent from 2010, and represented the highest order year in the Company’s history.

Moore noted that record annual orders in Drilling and Surface Systems drove the year-over-year improvement in Drilling & Production Systems (DPS), while each of Valves & Measurement’s (V&M) businesses saw record annual orders.

Crane’s 2011 Sales Up 15 Percent

Crane Co., a diversified manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products, reported a fourth quarter 2011 net loss of $2.16 per share, compared to earnings of $0.66 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth quarter 2011 results include an after-tax asbestos provision of $157 million and an after-tax environmental provision of $20 million (totaling $3.05

per share). Fourth quarter 2010 results were impacted by net after-tax charges from Special Items of $0.02 per diluted share. Excluding these Special Items, fourth quarter 2011 earnings per diluted share increased 29 percent to $0.88 compared to $0.68 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Fourth quarter 2011 sales of $632 million increased $58 million, or 10 percent, compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, resulting from a core sales increase of $40 million (7 percent), an increase in sales from acquired businesses (net of divestitures) of $16 million (3 percent), and favorable foreign currency translation of $2 million.

Total sales in 2011 were $2.55 billion, an increase of 15 percent from $2.22 billion in 2010, resulting from a core sales increase of $217 million (10 percent), an increase in sales from acquired businesses (net of divestitures) of $60 million (3 percent), and favorable foreign currency translation of $51 million (2 percent). Full year 2011 earnings per diluted share declined to $0.44, compared to $2.59 in 2010. Excluding Special Items, 2011 earnings per diluted share increased 32 percent to $3.43 compared to $2.59 in 2010. Order backlog was $778 million at December 31, 2011 compared to $768 million at December 31, 2010.

Fourth quarter Fluid Handling 2011 sales increased $35.8 million, or 13.7 percent, which included a core sales increase of $29.9 million (11.4 percent), an increase in sales

from the acquisition of W. T. Armatur (WTA) of $4.8 million (1.9 percent), and favorable foreign currency translation of $1.0 million (0.4 percent). Fluid Handling order backlog was $314 million at December 31, 2011, compared to $329 million at September 30, 2011 and $272 million at December 31, 2010.

People

Flowserve Changes Top Leadership

Tom Pajonas, formerly senior vice president and president of the Flow Control Division, assumes the role of chief operating officer and is responsible for both the Flow Control Division and the Flow Solutions Group (including the Engineered Product Division and the Industrial Product Division), which comprise all company operations. He retains the title of senior vice president and continues to report to Mark Blinn.

"Since joining the company in 2004, Tom Pajonas' proven track record in producing operational process improvements to drive earnings growth makes him an ideal choice to become chief operating officer," Blinn said. "In this new position, Tom will play a pivotal role in leading our focus on margin improvement and on-time customer deliveries."

Tom Ferguson, formerly senior vice president and president of the Flow Solutions Group, will remain with the company until his retirement at the end of the year in a special advisory role to Mark Blinn to assist with the transition and certain strategic initiatives.

Singer Valve Adds New Business Development and Marketing Manager

Singer Valve, a leading manufacturer of control valves, has appointed Mark Gimson as the new Business Development & Marketing Manager. Gimson is responsible for strategic development in new markets, launching of new products and overall marketing efforts worldwide. Singer Valve is poised to enter new markets and add to its product line in 2012. Gimson has worked in the valve industry for 35 years, in many different parts of the world and has worked with consultants, reps and manufacturers. He studied Mechanical Engineering in the UK as well as Marketing Management at the University of British Columbia.

Neway Valve (Europe) Adds New Managers

Neway Valve (Europe) B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Neway Valve (Suzhou) Co. Ltd, announced that Richard Baars joined as Managing Director. In this function Richard will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, further development of the corporate culture and establishing long term business plans. With his background in the valve industry and experience working for international companies, management, marketing and business development he will bring a valuable contribution to the company. Paul Verheij has been appointed to the role of Sales & Business Development Director. Paul joined Neway Valve (Europe) B.V. in 2007. Previously he held a variety of key positions. Richard and Paul assumed their new roles from January 1, 2012.

Projects

Rotork Actuators Used on Offshore Oilfield Wind Farm

An offshore platform in the North Sea that is the first of its type to serve a power generating wind farm is home to fifty Rotork IQTPro intelligent electric valve actuators. The Borwin Alpha platform is the first offshore installation designed to convert AC power into high voltage direct current (HVDC) for onward transmission. Built and designed by the Heerema Fabrication Group on behalf of ABB, the facility can transfer a power of 400MW at a bipolar voltage of 150kV. The converted current is carried by a 200 kilometer cable for onshore connection to the European power grid.

The BARD Offshore 1 wind farm that is served by the Borwin Alpha platform is situated 100 kilometers northwest of the German island of Borkum. Eighty wind turbines will be installed when the farm is completed in 2012. The 200 kilometer cable connection to the mainland is the longest in the world for an offshore wind farm, as well as the first to utilize HVDC transmission.

The majority of the Rotork IQTPro actuators are controlling the operation of butterfly valves in applications on the cooling system for the power conversion plant and the fuel systems for emergency generators. Some of the valves are installed within the platform superstructure while others are outside and exposed to the harsh North Sea environment. Reliable operation is enhanced by the double-sealed actuator enclosure design, combined with non-intrusive commissioning and data transfer technologies that permanently eliminate the need to remove any covers once the actuators are wired-up. Rotork IQTPro actuators also incorporate increased functionality features as standard for improved long term asset management. For example, an integral data logger stores historical operating data, including the sequence of valve torque profiles. This information can be downloaded and analyzed with Rotork’s PC-based IQ-Insight software to establish predictive maintenance schedules or identify potential problems.

Oliver Valve Wins Australian Offshore Valve Contract

Oliver Valves will be paid £1.7 million to supply valves for two gas projects in Australia. The Cheshire, UK-based company has been awarded a £1 million contract to supply 100 double block and bleed valves for a construction project being led by a US company. It will also be paid a further £700,000 for 4,200 low-temperature valves for a liquid natural gas project overseen by an Australian firm.

The Australian deal is just the latest in a long list of overseas contracts secured by the company. In September, Oliver Valves was paid £12.6 million to supply valves for three new oil platforms off Qatar. This money-spinning deal came hot on the heels of a £7.2 million contract with a Brazilian energy company which was signed in August.

Speaking about the Australian contracts, David Cornwell, Oliver Valves Managing Director, said: “These are significant contracts for Oliver Valves, not only because they are our biggest single orders to date in the Australia region but also because they were secured entirely by the Malaysia team. Previously, sales support and customer services were provided by the Kuala Lumpur team and the technical work was done in the UK. This is a key part of our strategy to get closer to our customers in overseas territories and remove any delays caused by time zone differences.”

Metso Valves to Be Supplied in Polish Containerboard Production Line

Metso has received an important automation order for Stora Enso Narew Sp.zo.o new containerboard production line at Ostroleka in Poland. The production line will produce 455,000 tonnes of light-weighted testliner per year. The EUR 285 million investment project is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2013.

Metso´s delivery scope includes MetsoDNA Automation System, Process Info Management System, latest Web Inspection technology integrated with high speed Web Break Analysis system, control and on/off-valves as well as consistency transmitters and field instruments. The main shipments will take place during the third quarter of 2012.

China Valves Passes Test for Valves in Ultra-Supercritical Thermal Power Plant

China Valves Technology, Inc., a leading Chinese metal valve manufacturer, announced that its prototype valves for the localization of valves used in ultra-supercritical thermal power plants passed the acceptance inspection conducted by experts from the Bureau of National Energy of China, China General Machinery Association, the Shanghai Electric Group, Dongfang Electric Group and relevant power plants. The valves were manufactured by the Company's subsidiary Henan Kaifeng High Pressure Valve Co., Ltd. ("Kaifeng Valve").

As disclosed previously, Kaifeng Valve had been approved by the State Council as one of key providers for the localization of high-performance valves for thermal power plants. Currently, there are 11 research projects for valves to be manufactured by local companies for ultra-supercritical thermal power plants, out of which Kaifeng Valve has undertaken seven.

After the inspection and test, the experts concluded that the main steam gate valve filled the domestic industry gaps and led the international industry, the turbine vacuum butterfly valve led the domestic industry and reached the advanced level globally, and the electric three-way valve for high pressure heater, hydraulic inlet three-way valve, hydraulic outlet three-way valve, high pressure discharge check valve, and one-piece extraction check valve led the domestic industry and also were very competitive globally.

New Products

AKO Armaturen Brings Out New Pinch Valve

Air operated pinch valves of the VMC series are available in nominal diameters of DN010-DN080. The new VMC series is based on a multi-functional modular system which enables flexible exchange of the two types of body available (aluminum and stainless steel) and a wide range of different collar caps/flange types. The different connection options are:

· Flange connection according to DIN EN 1092-1 PN 10/16 or ANSI B 16.5/150lbs

· Internal thread connection according to DIN EN ISO 228 (G) or ANSI/ASME B1.20.1 (NPT)

· Tri-clamp connection according to DIN 32676

· Weld-on ends according to DIN 11850 series 2Threaded spigot (RJT connection) according to DIN 11851

· Alternatively, aseptic pipe connections, aseptic flange connections or aseptic clamp connections can be welded on according to DIN 11864 and DIN 11853.

This wide range of different connection options and a selection of 12 different elastomer pinch sleeve qualities provide a very wide and almost unlimited range of use for the air operated pinch valves of series VMC. The design specifications and focal points of AKO lay in an extremely compact and lightweight construction of the air operated pinch valves. With the aid of the latest CAD software and intensive, economical fabrication, it was possible to achieve a weight reduction of up to 65 percent compared to previous series.

In addition to having a compact and very lightweight air operated pinch valve construction, greater value was also placed on very customer-friendly, simple assembly/dismantling of the pinch valve. This makes it possible for every customer to replace the pinch sleeve on-site in just a few minutes without needing any special tools. The new converted design features of the VMC series pinch valve, in combination with a very economic price, open the door to many new applications in diverse branches and sectors of industry, such as food, drinks, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Tyco Develops New Body for Ball Valves

Tyco Flow Control has improved the pipeline integrity, performance and safety characteristics of its ball valve range with the launch of the brand new KTM Unibody EB700 series. The KTM Unibody is designed and certified to meet the exacting standards and service requirements of the petrochemical, chemical and oil & gas industries. The one-piece, cast body minimizes potential leak paths, making it safer and more environmentally friendly than split body designs.

The valve comes with the addition of dual body-insert seals and shaft seals. The EB700 series feature a PTFE/PFA co-polymer “E” seat similar to the OM2 (EB11/12) series. The valves in sizes above DN25 (NPS 1) also provide an additional safety feature incorporating cavity self-relieving seats to relieve potential ball cavity over-pressure when the valve is in the closed position. The new KTM Unibody ball valves are available in dual certified carbon steel to ASTM A216 WCB/WCC and in stainless steel, certified to ASTM A351 CF8M. Standard trim material is 316 stainless steel for maximum corrosion resistance.

WORLD WATER AND WASTEWATER DESALINATION

INDUSTRY NEWS

Brazilian Filtration Company Acquired By MANN+HUMMEL

Headquartered in Jundiaí near to São Paulo, Brazil, Fluid Brasil's 80 company employees generated a turnover of approximately €25 million in 2011.

"Fluid Brasil enables us to expand our system expertise and gives us access to the local water market. The company complements our portfolio very well," explains Alfred Weber, CEO MANN+HUMMEL. The new subsidiary serves notable industrial national and international customers in Brazil and has approximately 600 reference projects. MANN+HUMMEL develops systems for the re-use, preparation and conservation of water and runs research and development locations to develop membranes and membrane technology used in water treatment, to localize products, and to develop applications. "Fluid Brasil is an important step in the expansion of our water business on the American continent."

"I founded and built up the company 20 years ago. Now I am really happy to be able to pass on the company to a well-known global filtration specialist which will enable it to grow," noted Fluid Brasil's founder and Managing Director José Eduardo Rocha at the contract signing. "Right from the start it was very important for me that the employees are in the hands of a reliable employer with good future prospects."

In 2009, MANN+HUMMEL, in the course of its growth and diversification strategy, founded the water filtration division with its headquarters in Singapore. In 2010 the company took over membrane specialist Ultra-Flo in Singapore and has steadily expanded its water business activities in the markets of Asia-Pacific, NAFTA and Europe.

MANN+HUMMEL plans to increase its sales to 3.4 billion euros (2010: 2.18 billion euros) by 2018. The percentage of sales for the non-automotive business is expected to grow more than the equivalent figure for the automotive business, which is currently at around 87 percent.

Amiad Inks US$2.85 Million Deal for Korean Steel Project

It is reported that Amiad has entered into an agreement to develop the next stage of a water filtration project at one of South Korea's largest steel factories.

This agreement is worth US$2.85 million and is expected to be implemented in 2012. It follows the successful completion of the initial two phases of the project, valued at approximately US$3 million, that were carried out between 2007 and 2011.

As part of the project, Amiad will install its micro fiber filtration system to treat wastewater and protect the factory’s reverse osmosis membranes. The micro fiber filtration process is chemical and polymer free, and designed to provide continuous performance even under difficult water and weather conditions. It enables Amiad to offer finer filtration that meets the standards set by membrane manufacturers, the standard for drinking water, such as the British DWI, and standards for tertiary treatment of wastewater. It can help save energy and space, and reduce the need for rinse water and maintenance.

Mr Arik Dayan CEO of Amiad Water Systems said that "We are pleased to be continuing to provide innovative solutions to the Korean industrial sector, something we have been doing since 1993, and to be strengthening our position in the provision of reverse osmosis membrane protection, one of our key growth areas."

Mahle Industry GmbH Acquires InnoWa Membrane GmbH

On January 31, 2012 Mahle Industry GmbH, in Stuttgart, Germany, acquired InnoWa Membrane GmbH in Schwaikheim.

InnoWa Membrane specializes in the development, application and manufacturing of high-performance filter systems based on membrane technology. The company emerged from the former EBG GmbH.

InnoWa Membrane will operate under the name Mahle InnoWa GmbH, which will be headquartered in Stuttgart. InnoWa Membrane, a technology leader, manufactures hollow fiber membranes for ultrafiltration. Ultrafiltration is used for the treatment of drinking water from the rivers, surface waters, or springs, while taking preliminary steps in seawater desalination. The technology allows even minuscule particles such as germs, viruses, and bacteria to be filtered and opens up additional areas of applications in home and building services engineering.

With its industrial filtration division, Mahle Industry is an established manufacturer of filtration solutions for a broad spectrum of industrial applications.

"By acquiring InnoWa Membrane, we are opening up new areas of applications for our company in the field of filtration, such as the important segment of water treatment," said Dr Michael Matros, corporate executive vice-president and general manager of Mahle Industry.

"This acquisition strengthens our core markets of food & beverages, power generation, and general industrial applications," added Matros.

Mahle Industry enjoys a globally active sales network with an excellent reputation. The integration of InnoWa Membrane into the industrial filtration division creates a new business opportunity for Mahle Industry to focus on water treatment.

The Mahle Group is one of the 30 largest companies in the automotive supply industry worldwide.

With its two business units - engine systems & components and filtration & engine peripherals, Mahle ranks among the top three systems suppliers worldwide for piston systems, cylinder components, as well as valve train, air management, and liquid management systems.

The industry business unit coordinates industrial activities of Mahle Group, which includes the areas of large engines, industrial filtration, as well as cooling and air-conditioning systems.

The aftermarket business unit serves the independent spare parts market with Mahle products in OE quality.

In 2011, sales of Mahle were expected to reach approximately 6 billion euros ($7.83 billion).

It has more than 47,000 employees working in over 100 production plants and eight R&D centers.

Dow Products Win Environmental Awareness Award

Dow Water & Process Solutions’ ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis products were utilized by electronics specialist Spansion Inc in winning the 2011 City of Austin, Texas, USA Environmental Awareness Award in the large business category.

Spansion is a provider of NOR Flash memory and had started a multi-year water conservation project beginning in 2001. The award recognizes the efforts of individuals and groups that are making significant contributions to the protection and enhancement of the city’s environment.

“Part of being a responsible corporate citizen is respecting the environment,” said Randy Blair, vice-president of Spansion’s Wafer Fab 25 Operations in Austin. “Our multi-year water conservation project reduced our water usage by 60 percent and saves the equivalent of 7,150 soda cans full of water per minute.” Since Spansion uses less water, Austin Water Utility requires a smaller amount of electricity to produce more clean water. Consequently, ground-level ozone and other ground-level pollution are reduced. “We are elated to see our customer win the Austin Environmental Awareness Award and Spansion illustrates how good corporate citizenship resonates across the community,” said Ian Barbour, general manager, Dow Water & Process Solutions. “This award also reinforces how clean water and energy are intimately intertwined and showcases how Dow products and technologies enable our customers to increase efficiency across their operations.”

The company installed an integrated DOW Ultrafiltration module and FILMTEC reverse osmosis membrane system to treat more than 400 gallons per minute (gpm) of their fabrication wastewater.

NEW PLANT CONSTRUCTION NEWS

H2O Innovation India Announces Commissioning of Water System for Larsen & Toubro

Less than 24 months after its foundation, H2O Innovation India announces the commissioning of its first major water treatment system, for Larsen & Toubro.

H2O Innovation Inc. announces today that its Indian joint-venture H2O Innovation India Limited ("H2O Innovation India"), based in Mumbai, India, is presently completing the water treatment system which it has designed, assembled, and installed for the nuclear forging facility of Larsen & Toubro Heavy Engineering ("Larsen & Toubro" or "L&T"), an India company located in Hazira, Surat Metropolitan Region, State of Gujarat, India. Combining state-of-the-art ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis technologies, this world-class water treatment and reuse system is unique in India. It has been designed and assembled on site for Larsen & Toubro, an Indian multinational manufacturer counting over 29,000 employees and generating US$ 11.7 billion in sales.

Fed with Tapi River's water, the membrane filtration system developed by H2O Innovation India has a total capacity exceeding 7,000 m³/day (approx. 1,321 gpm). The water purified through reverse osmosis is then used as process water for the steel forging facility, but subsidiary treatment systems have also been provided for steam boilers, compressors and cooling towers. The system's global recovery rate reaches 90 percent, which reduces losses in this arid region of India. The system uses Amiad automatic pre-filters, Dow PVDF ultrafiltration membranes and Hydranautics high-tech ESPA2-LD reverse osmosis membranes with low fouling potential.

Pall Corp. to Supply Advanced Water Treatment Technology for Qatar Petroleum

Pall Corporation has been selected by contractor SEG (Societe d'Entreprise & de Gestion) Qatar to supply a state-of-the-art water treatment solution for Qatar Petroleum's (QP) premier Ras Laffan Emergency and Safety College (RLESC). The complete Pall Aria(TM) AP-Series packaged membrane system will filter the facility's treated sewage effluent and remove bacteria, viruses, turbidity and suspended matter. Pall is a global leader in filtration, separation and purification.

"Pall was selected for this project because it offers advanced membrane technology in a very small footprint," says Steve Connor, technical project director at SEG. "Equally important was Pall's ability to provide a complete custom water management solution and dedicated engineering support from a local office."

The use of membrane filtration systems for removing contaminants from water sources across the globe continues to gain momentum. An alternative to practices such as coagulation and flocculation and sand filtration, membrane-based systems offer enhanced performance and operational efficiencies. Additionally, membrane systems typically require 50 -- 70 percent less space than conventional technologies.

The fully-automated Pall Aria packaged system for QP features hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes. It is designed to filter 3,500 m³/day of treated sewage effluent that will be used for make-up water for firefighting training exercises.

TECHNOLOGY/NEW PRODUCT NEWS

Nanotechnology Removes Organics from Produced Water at up to 200 GPM

After 15 years of development and with research help from Rice University, a Houston company is ready to offer its produced-water reclamation procedure to the oilfield for treating produced water.

Molecular Filtration Inc. president Felipe Lembcke said, "Our technology is going to be the first in the world to clean water -- I'm talking about removing all organic presence from the water," without the use of chemicals, ultraviolet light, electro-deposition or other processes that change the constitution of the water itself. Lembcke said they classify organics as crude oil and every "single element of organics including bacteria and viruses."

"Nobody can do what we can do in one single pass in removing all the organics and leaving brine water," he added. While the process does not remove salt, that is not an issue, Lembcke stated. "In fact, the heavier the water, the better for them because it floats the oil."

The proprietary system basically filters water at the molecular level, Lembcke explained, without the use of chemicals that would deionize the water. "We're producing the same water except without bacteria and organics," he said. By capturing the organics, particularly oil solids, these substances can be collected and sold, adding to the producer's revenue stream. The substances are not damaged by a chemical process.

Rice's Dr. Andrew Barron, at the school's Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, which contributed significantly to the research, compared the process to passing the water through a T shirt with large pores. "This would separate the organics from the water." He explained that the use of nanotechnology in those large pores would perform the separation as if they were the tiny pores used in reverse osmosis, but would allow higher flow rates because the pores are much larger.

Lembcke noted the filter membranes are made out of a special oxide that use nanotechnology to reject any organic material that passes through them. He stated that the output water quality is the same regardless of the quality of the feed water.

The company currently has three standard units, with flow rates of 50, 100 and 200 gallons per minute. Lembcke said these rates translate to approximately one, two and four barrels per minute. The units can be parked on a well site.

By requiring only one pass for the water through the units, Lembcke said the process is more cost-effective than disposal. "Our costs are shockingly low," he said. He feels this would eliminate the need for transporting water to disposal sites, which would reduce dust and wear on oilfield roads. Plus, by collecting the organic matter, the process would not only cost lest, it would create a new revenue stream for producers.

Reflecting on the culmination of 15 years of research and development, Lembcke said, "It was a very long trip. It started when I was at Washington University in 1998" working on a degree in chemical engineering. "Finally, we were able to achieve our goal. Our goal - the science of Molecular Filtration Inc. -- is the science of the small particles and the large molecules. For years, we worked to achieve one specific goal."

While educated in the United States, Lembcke was born in Peru, the offspring of a German father and a Peruvian mother.

The company is planning a well site demonstration later this month in the Eagle Ford Shale near San Antonio. "We want to show the world what we have accomplished," he said.

Nanopores Created by Osmosis

Pore structures that could be used as filters, for instance, can be created in block copolymers through the action of UV radiation and solvents. This is the result of investigations into the phenomenon of "collective osmotic shock" conducted at the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

The experiments used film containing spherical regions of PMMA surrounded by a PS matrix. The film was irradiated with UV light, which caused the PS to cross-link and the PMMA to break down into low-molecular-weight oligomers. Then, the researchers immersed the film in acetic acid, a good solvent for oligomeric PMMA. Since the PS matrix acts as a semi-permeable membrane, the solvent penetrates into the PMMA oligomers, generating the so-called "collective osmotic shock" - in this case, this means that cracks and fractures suddenly appear in the PS matrix as the PMMA swells in the solvent and the PS matrix expands. Perforated layers with pores in the nanometer range are left behind after removal of the PMMA.

To trigger the collective osmotic shock, the solvent used must meet three conditions: it must dissolve the oligomeric material selectively, and it must not act as a solvent for the matrix material. The third condition is that it must penetrate the microscopic barriers located between the individual layers. The researchers report that it is also possible to create layered nanopore structures in block copolymers of PS and polybutadiene. Separating small particles from liquids such as drinking water could be a future application. Use of a surface layer of porous copolymers might, in this way, considerably increase the effectiveness of membranes for ultrafiltration.

Oasys Water Raises $10 Million

ShareOasys Water, a Cambridge, MA-based startup, has wrapped up a $10 million financing led by venture firms Advanced Technology Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Flagship Ventures to develop its technology for converting salt water into potable drinking water, the Boston Globe reported over the weekend. Oasys tells the daily broadsheet that its forward osmosis technology, initially developed at Yale University, uses 90 percent less energy and costs about a third or half as much as current desalinization methods that rely on reverse osmosis.

Abu Dhabi Environment Agency Completes 22 Solar PV Powered Desalination Plants

On January 18th, 2012 the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.) announced the completion of 22 solar desalination plants, each of which can produce roughly 25,000 liters per day of clean water from brackish sources.

The units are comprised of 300 square meter solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays which generate 35 kW of electricity to power a pump that pulls groundwater from a well. A reverse osmosis system uses pressure to separate clean water from brackish water through a semi-permeable membrane. A subsurface irrigation system then pumps the clean water to a pond, with the brine pumped into a separate evaporation pond.

The announcement was made at the World Future Energy Summit 2012 in Abu Dhabi. EAD states that it is still testing the solar desalination technique and working on improving the efficiency of this method through a pilot project in Umm Al Zamool, United Arab Emirates.

McIlvaine Company

Northfield, IL 60093-2743

Tel: 847-784-0012 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 847-784-0012 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; Fax: 847-784-0061

E-mail: editor@mcilvainecompany.com