International Filtration News – Issue 2, 2025

LENZING™ has established the use of its Lyocell bers in various lter media ranging from automotive and industrial lter papers to heavyweight depth lter media for liquid and pharmaceutical ltration.

High performance cellulosic bers for industrial applications

you are invited to explore more at booth 2040

Caryn Smith

Chief Content Officer & Publisher, INDA Media csmith@inda.org

Adrian Wilson International Correspondent adawilson@gmail.com +44 7897.913134

Dr. Iyad Al-Attar Global Correspondent, Technology & Innovation, Visiting Academic Fellow Cranfield University i@driyadalattar.com

Dr. Tanya Shirman

Co-founder & VP of Materials, Metalmark Innovations, PBC tanya@metalmark.xyz

Sissi Liu

Co-founder and CEO, Metalmark Innovations, PBC sissi@metalmark.xyz

CALL FOR COLUMNISTS

International Filtration News is actively seeking viewpoints from qualified industry professionals and those allied to the filtration industry for insightful columns on topics such as trends, innovation, equipment, processes, etc.

Email Caryn Smith, csmith@inda.org with column ideas.

CSMITH@INDA.ORG +1 239.225.6137

VIEWPOINT

Appreciation Well Deserved

“Individually we are one drop, but together we are an ocean.” — Ryunosuke Satoro

The day-to-day publishing of an issue of International Filtration News takes the hard work and effort of a team of contributors of varying expertise. We always aim to bring you the best trending ‘news’ through inspirational, educational, and informational content. From editors, writers, graphic designers, proofreaders and production coordinators, and more, we work tirelessly with the hope that you – the reader, and active participant in this process – will dedicate some of your valuable time to reading IFN

To complete our team, I must acknowledge our Most Valuable Players – our Loyal Advertisers – without whom we would not be successful.

Recently, I was reminded by a longstanding and valuable advertiser that sometimes, in all our best efforts, we fall short. We make mistakes. I am glad that they brought the error to my attention because it matters

that we get the facts right! We cannot be the best at what we do without the faithful and loyal advertisers who support our endeavors. We sincerely value you. As readers, I hope that you take note of the companies that support your industry news in IFN and other publications! In this issue, you will find a list on page 56.

CORRECTION: “Filtration on Display” Issue 1, 2025, page 46 incorrectly listed the machine on display in the A2Z Filtration Specialists stand at FILTECH. The machine on display was the A2Z Intelligent Blade Pleater with hotmelt Pitching system (pictured above). We truly regret the error. Thank you to all our advertisers; we value your support! We will continue to work hard to earn your confidence and trust in IFN.

Caryn Smith Chief Content Officer & Publisher, INDA Media, IFN

International Filtration News Editorial Advisory Board

R. Vijayakumar, Ph.D., Chair

AERFIL

Tel: +1 315-506-6883

Email: vijay@aerfil.com

Tom Justice, CAFS, NCT

ZENE, LLC Filtration

Tel: +1 757-378-3857

Email: justfilter@yahoo.com

James J. Joseph

Joseph Marketing

Tel/Fax: +1 757-565-1549

Email: josephmarketing120@gmail.com

Wenping Li, Ph.D.

Agriltech Research Company

Tel: +1 337-421-6345

Email: wenpingl@agrilectric.com

Rishit R. Merchant

Parker Hannifin

Tel: +1 805-604-3519

Email:rishit.merchant@parker.com

Thad Ptak, Ph.D.

TJ Ptak & Associates

Tel: +1 414-514-8937

Email: thadptak@hotmail.com

MISSION

If you would like to utilize your expertise to help shape the content in the IFN , consider applying for the IFN Editorial Advisory Board. We welcome participation through input on trends and innovations, new story ideas and overall thought leadership. This is a collaborative board that meets quarterly to discuss the state of the industry. Send an email to Caryn Smith at csmith@inda.org for consideration.

SPOTLIGHT TECH

The Game-Changing Innovation of NanoFense

In an era where air quality and public health have taken center stage, the need for advanced filtration solutions has never been more critical. While traditional air filtration systems can trap airborne microbes, they often fail at eliminating these harmful pathogens, leaving the potential for self-contamination and further spread. Applied Nanoscience Inc. (ANI) has developed a breakthrough solution to this long-standing problem – NanoFense™, an innovative antimicrobial filter media coating designed to eradicate, rather than simply capture, harmful airborne pathogens.

Identifying the Problem and Developing the Solution

The deficiencies of conventional air filtration systems became apparent through extensive industry research and real-world observations. At the heart of NanoFense is a deceptively simple idea: Why stop at capturing microbes when you can eradicate them entirely? Protected by U.S. Patent No. 7,807,199, this antimicrobial filter media ‘coating’ transforms any existing filtration system into a proactive defender. Applied as a suspension material, NanoFense uniformly coats filter media with a formulation that acts as a “destructive adsorbent” – a scientific mouthful that translates to a microscopic killing machine. Think of it as a shield that doesn’t just block the enemy – it is obliterated. NanoFense is a proprietary antimicrobial suspension that can be seamlessly applied to virtually any filtration media, transforming conventional air filters into active defense mechanisms against viruses and bacteria. Unlike traditional filters that may become a breeding ground for pathogens, NanoFense ensures that collected microbes are neutralized on contact, preventing bacterial colonization and viral persistence.

Protected under U.S. Patent No. 7,807,199, this technology is poised to enhance air filtration products across multiple industries, including disposable facemasks, room air purifiers, and airline cabin air systems. With verified scalability in production, ANI is positioning NanoFense as a vital enhancement for companies seeking to elevate their air filtration performance.

The Research and Development Journey

The research and development of NanoFense has spanned over a decade, from initial research and formulation refinement to realworld application trials. ANI methodically evolved the validation of its formulation from suspension time-kill studies to aerosolized pathogen testing on aged, coated filter media samples. This ensured that the solution remained effective over time and in real-use conditions.

Scientifically Validated Protection

Comprehensive independent laboratory testing was exclusively conducted at Microbiotest, Inc., a BSL-3 level facility in Sterling, Virginia. This division of Microbac Laboratories, Inc. specializes in microbiology and virology, offering antimicrobial efficacy testing and viral clearance services globally. The studies provided conclusive validation that NanoFense not only kills but eradicates a broad spectrum of viruses and bacteria.

• Avian Influenza virus (H9N2)

• Human Influenza A virus

• Haemophilus Influenzae (H-flu)

• Rhinovirus

• Swine Influenza virus (H1N1)

• Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA strain)

• Streptococcus pneumoniae

Target Market & Industrial Scale Potential

While NanoFense has wide-ranging applications, initial interest has been strongest in the disposable facemask and air purifier segments, where consumer and regulatory demands for enhanced filtration performance are at an all-time high. Additionally, industries such as aviation, healthcare, and HVAC manufacturers are recognizing the potential for NanoFense to add value to their existing filtration systems. These sectors offer the most viable paths for large-scale production and integration due to the critical need for improved air quality in enclosed spaces.

A Vision for Global Impact

As air filtration companies face increasing demands for more effective protective solutions, ANI is positioned as a key partner in advancing public safety. “The ever-growing demand for air filtration companies to provide genuinely protective solutions necessitates ANI’s position as an attractive partner for the introduction of pragmatic value-added products. Public safety is non-negotiable, and air quality is a frontline defense,” says Thomas Allen, President and CEO of ANI.

Bringing NanoFense to market on a global scale requires collaboration with industry leaders who possess extensive distribution capabilities. ANI envisions a future where NanoFenseenhanced filtration becomes the new standard in air quality protection, safeguarding public health in homes, workplaces, transportation systems, and medical environments worldwide. Contact Applied Nanoscience at jointventure@appliednanoscience.com. www.appliednanoscience.com

p S.E.M. images of NanoFense coated filter media. Applied Nanoscience

NOTES TECH

UNC Charlotte Professor Bring PFAS Filter to Public

t Dr. Jordan Poler’s PFAS removal consists of a resin jar reactor filled with natural zeolite that, when combined with other materials, removes PFAS from water.

Poler Research Group

LAM-X: Revolutionizing Filtration with Advanced Antimicrobial Nanofiber Technology

Professor Jordan Poler at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) has been working for eight years to develop new technology to help strip PFAS or forever chemicals and other contaminants from drinking water. PFAS have been linked to health problems – including an increased risk for cancer and can be found in non-stick cookware that contains Teflon, firefighting foam and some makeup.

“They bioaccumulate in your body until they reach a toxic level,” said Poler. “Then you have health concerns including cancer, fetal early childbirth and things like that.”

Poler’s technology could help make those “forever chemicals” disappear. Last year, the chemistry professor received one of eight inaugural grants from the NC Innovation Grant Project. The grant will help Poler scale up his research to partner with a manufacturer that could sell it to the public.

His research involves a process called ion exchange, which works by trading an atom or group of atoms (ions) with ones that do not degrade the quality of drinking water. The chemistry developed in Poler’s lab is all water-based. Poler showed how his technology filters those harmful chemicals out by pouring colored water to represent the PFAS into a tube with the zeolite. After gently shaking for 30 seconds the color/chemicals disappeared.

“As the water’s going through, the molecules are seeing these brushes and they just grab onto them, the brushes grab onto the molecules right away,” he explained in interviews.

Traditional filters like those in refrigerators or under the sink remove PFAS, but Poler says the chemicals are not really gone. “What you’ve done is you’ve concentrated all the impurities onto that filter and then you put it into the landfill and all those impurities leach back out.”

Poler’s research shows his method not only removes the PFAS but it can also be regenerated.

Poler hopes with the grant investment they will be able to sell the filter materials to the public within a year. Since the materials can be regenerated, customers would be able to send in their filter to be cleaned and then replaced without causing any harm to the environment. pages.charlotte.edu/poler-research/research

Bacterial contamination remains a critical concern across industries, particularly in hospitals, where infections pose significant risks to patient safety. LAM-X initially developed a safer, more effective, and environmentally friendly solution for patients. The result was the LAM-X Solution – an innovative antimicrobial nanomembrane that was successfully tested on hospitalized patients reducing the infections rates. Since, the company has successfully adapted that nanomembrane to deal with bacterial contamination in other sectors such as water and air filtration. Existing filtration solutions in these fields often compromise environmental safety, damage equipment, or pose risks to consumers. The LAM-X Solution addresses these challenges head-on.

At the core of LAM-X’s breakthrough is a patented three-step process that delivers superior antimicrobial performance:

1. Trap: Optimized fiber sizing creates a dense nanofiber network capable of efficiently trapping microbes.

2. Prime: Embedded organic photosensitizers, activated by safe blue light (avoiding harmful UV exposure), prime the fibers for antimicrobial action.

3. Kill: Activated nanofibers interact with surrounding oxygen to eliminate microbes in their immediate vicinity, achieving 99.999% bacterial reduction while preventing biofilm formation.

Available in both biodegradable and synthetic versions, LAM-X’s nanofibers meet diverse industry requirements without compromising on environmental responsibility.

LAM-X provide solutions tailored to the evolving demands of the filtration market and their approach centers on three key pillars:

• Innovation

• Flexibility

• Environmental Responsibility www.lamxnano.com

NOTES TECH

LG

Introduces PuriCare AeroHit, a Compact Home Solution for Cleaner Air

LG Electronics has introduced the LG PuriCare™ AeroHit, an advanced air care solution designed to seamlessly integrate into any living space while delivering superb indoor air quality. Boasting advanced purification capabilities, convenient features and a modern, minimalist aesthetic, the AeroHit brings both comfort and style at home.

The LG PuriCare AeroHit delivers fresher, safer air at home with its Aero Series H Filter –a multi-layer “360-degress” filtration system that effectively reduces dust particles, odors, viruses and allergens while also absorbing various airborne pollutants. In addition, its Particulate Matter (PM) 1.0 sensor detects ultrafine dust as small as 0.01 micrometers, enabling real-time air quality monitoring. The AeroHit automatically adjusts its purification performance to maintain optimal indoor conditions.

Setting itself apart from conventional air purifiers, the AeroHit features an ultra-slim, space-saving design that would fit effortlessly into even the smallest rooms. Its muted matte finish complements a variety of interior styles, while the integrated LED display provides intuitive control and air-quality updates. Along with the standard model, LG is launching the PuriCare AeroHit Pet, designed specifically for pet-friendly households. www.lgnewsroom.com

Camfil Unveils Opakfil ES+: Enhanced Design, Enhanced Performance

Camfil, a global leader in clean air solutions, announced the launch of the Opakfil ES+, the latest innovation in compact V-Bank air filters. Designed to meet the growing demand for energy-efficient and sustainable HVAC solutions, the Opakfil ES+ offers superior performance, extended operational life, and significant environmental benefits.

Building upon the success of the original Opakfil ES, the Opakfil ES+ features an increased filter depth, resulting in a larger amount of filtration media. This enhancement leads to a higher dust holding capacity, allowing the filter to last up to 50% longer in HVAC systems. The extended lifespan not only reduces maintenance frequency but also minimizes waste and labor costs, contributing to a lower total cost of ownership.

Energy efficiency is at the core of the Opakfil ES+ design. The filter achieves a 62% reduction in energy consumption compared to the industry average and a 24% reduction compared to other A/A+ rated compact filters. This remarkable performance is attributed to its low pressure drop and aerodynamic radial design, which optimize airflow and reduce energy usage.

The Opakfil ES+ is available in ePM1 and ePM2.5 efficiencies, in accordance with ISO 16890 standards, ensuring high indoor air quality across various applications. Its molded frame, constructed from recycled plastic, underscores Camfil’s commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices. www.camfil.com

Great Lakes Filters Offering Electrocoagulation (EC) Technology to Destroy PFAS

Great Lakes Filters, a leader in industrial filtration solutions, announced the offering of patented Electrocoagulation (EC) technology that destroys PFAS “forever chemicals” in industrial wastewater and landfill leachate streams immediately and on-site. This groundbreaking technology is the most cost-effective solution to meet strict U.S. EPA and Michigan EGLE discharge limits.

PFAS compounds, notorious for their resistance to degradation, pose a significant environmental and health risk due to their stability and bioaccumulative properties. Michigan currently enforces a 12ppt limit. Compliance with these stringent regulations has previously required expensive and complex treatment methods, including pre-filtration and off-site disposal. Great Lakes Filters’ new EC technology destroys PFAS compounds at their molecular level, eliminating the need for secondary processing and reducing liability by preventing the transportation and disposal of hazardous materials.

Unlike existing PFAS capture technologies such as dissolved air flotation, ion exchange resin (IXR), granular activated carbon (GAC), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO), which only separate or adsorb PFAS without fully eliminating them, EC technology breaks the fluorine-carbon bond within the PFAS structure, rendering the chemicals harmless. This process also removes both dissolved and suspended solids, kills pathogens and viruses, and consistently meets water standards, all while significantly lowering operational and capital expenses. www.acmemills.com/greatlakesfilters

p Camfil’s Opakfil ES+.

p LG’s PuriCare AeroHit for cleaner air at home.

p Separation membrane module structure.

High-Efficiency Membrane Doubling Filtration Performance

Toray Industries, Inc., announced that it has developed a high-efficiency separation membrane module for biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes. This module delivers more than double the filtration performance of conventional counterparts by reducing clogging. It should also lift biopharmaceutical yields to more than 90% and enhance purification. The company will initially supply prototypes to diverse customers to evaluate in purification processes for producing gene therapy drugs with a view to swift commercialization.

Recent years have seen the pharmaceutical market shift from conventional small-molecule drugs to biopharmaceuticals. Gene therapies and other treatment modalities are also coming to market in what seems to be an ongoing trend. A prime downside is the high manufacturing costs for these biopharmaceuticals, which are driving up medical expenses.

Gene therapy drugs are made with cultured cells. Purification entails using a depth filter to remove cell fragments from the culture medium, after which an ultrafiltration membrane removes impurities like proteins. Depth filter clogging or gene therapy drug adhesion to the ultrafiltration membrane can cause active ingredient losses, leading to higher costs.

The module comprises a depth filter incorporating multiple types of non-woven fabric and a hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane. www.toray.com

The Shaw Institute Validates CLEANR for Washing Machines Is Over 90% Efficient

The Shaw Institute, a nonprofit science research organization, has tested CLEANR’s external microplastic filter for washing machines and certified it to be over 90% efficient at capturing microplastics as small as 50-microns. CLEANR for Washing Machines will be available for purchase in the U.S. later this year.

CLEANR’s technology, VORTX, is unique among microplastic filtering solutions for washing machines. CLEANR’s design was inspired by manta rays and basking sharks whose unique gill structures allow them to glide through the water and feed passively without clogging their gills. Instead of forcing particles against a filtering surface like conventional filters, VORTX creates vortices which suspend and isolate microplastic particles from washing machine wastewater and channel them into the CLEANR Pod, a microplastic capture unit, which ensures proper disposal of the microplastics.

The Shaw Institute tested the effectiveness of CLEANR for Washing Machines by running a mix of tap water and plastic flock fibers (10 microns in diameter and 300 microns in length) through the filter at various concentration levels to simulate real world laundry conditions. The test was repeated three times in January and February and resulted in 90%, 97%, and 98% microplastic fiber removal rates. www.shawinstitute.org

Pall Corporation and MTR Carbon Capture Partner to Advance Carbon Capture Solutions

Pall Corporation, a leading provider of filtration, separation and purification solutions, and MTR Carbon Capture (MTR) have entered a collaboration focused on providing innovative solutions for carbon capture to diverse industry verticals dedicated to decarbonization. This partnership aims to promote a highly modular, scalable and costeffective integrated solution leveraging MTR’s pioneering Polaris™ membrane system for carbon capture and Pall’s advanced filtration solutions for flue gas pre-treatment as well as innovative coalescer and filter technologies that safeguard critical assets throughout the carbon capture workflow.

The collaboration will help customers make informed decisions about investments in carbon capture, help accelerate deployment and achieve their net zero ambitions. A key objective of the collaboration is to effectively identify, pilot and drive adoption of decarbonization solutions with customers in emissionintensive industries such as cement production, refineries, steel manufacturing, and waste-to-energy facilities. This initiative will also involve engaging with other industry stakeholders, including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) firms, equipment suppliers, project developers and regulatory agencies across the carbon capture value chain.

“Filtration systems play a pivotal role in carbon capture by effectively removing contaminants,” said Greg Sears, VP/GM of the Energy+ business unit of Pall. “As part of the flue gas pre-treatment system, and throughout the entire workflow, Pall’s technology ensures that only clean gases pass through the carbon capture system, maximizing membrane lifetime, safeguarding critical carbon capture equipment from contaminants, and optimizing the performance of carbon capture systems.”

The collaboration is well aligned with Pall’s mission to harness the power of science to deliver innovative solutions to customers and MTR Carbon Capture’s mission to deliver highly modular, scalable and costeffective carbon capture solutions. www.pall.com

Pall/Getty Images

EMERGENCE

Compiled by Caryn Smith, IFN Chief Content Officer

International Filtration News Explores Trending Innovation

IFN highlights significant research from universities and institutions around the world. If you are a part of a project you would like to highlight, email csmith@inda.org. Please write “IFN Emerging Research Submission” in your subject line in order to apply. Please send a completed press release and/or summary of the research as you would want it to be printed, a link to the university online story (if applicable), and all high resolution photographs/charts/graphs, short researcher bio(s). All selections could be edited for length.

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

USC Researchers Discover Method To Fully Recycle Carbon Fibers

The method can upcycle carbon fibers to restore 90% of the strength of original fibers. By

UYashna Dodrajka

SC researchers have developed a study that promises complete upcycling of high-performance composite materials, according to Travis Williams, a professor of chemistry at Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the leader of the study.

Carbon fibers are expensive, highperformance materials largely used in the construction of aircrafts and automobiles. The substance that keeps airplanes together is made up of eight layers of woven carbon fiber held together with a strong type of epoxy resin. Williams said as an aircraft reaches the end of its life, it will turn into waste because there is currently no technology to separate the carbon fibers from the epoxy.

“Trying to un-thermoset a thermoset, un-epoxy an epoxy, is like trying to unboil an egg,” Williams said. “We started inventing reactions to do that for the different kinds of epoxies and different kinds of thermosets that they use in aviation. It worked in a number of cases … you can get it back, still woven as fabric, and nobody else has been able to do that. So this got people’s attention.”

Williams said 99.1% of the composite materials end up in landfills due to the “expensive” process of recycling. He said 1% of the composite that is recycled is subjected to high heat, which damages

p Carbon fibers are expensive, high-performance materials largely used in the construction of aircrafts and automobiles. USC research shows promise to fully recycle these fibers to restore 90% of the strength of the original fibers. Caryn Smith

the fibers, such as polymer. The study has pioneered a method that transforms polymer, one of the cheapest fibers in the composite space, into high-cost, valuable substances, Williams said.

“Nobody had ever asked that about taking aircraft epoxy apart, so we were the first to report if you do it oxidatively, these are the molecular events that happen,” Williams said. “Now, all sorts of people are making all sorts of creative contributions to this [because] we taught them how to think about it like molecules, not like the material … A lot of molecular people are coming up with great ideas to handle all sorts of composites. It’s really cool to watch.”

Williams said in the study, researchers have focused on breaking down the mechanism behind different chemical

reactions. Despite initially being published in lesser-known journals, according to Williams, the study has quickly gained the attention of many.

“I would argue that our method is superior to other methods out there in the literature today,” said Justin Lim, a doctoral student studying chemistry. “Our group is advantageous because we aim to make our methods sustainable.”

Ding-Yuan Lim, a graduate student studying chemistry, said another factor that sets USC’s approach apart is their effort to incorporate common chemical reagents, which helps in cost reduction, ensures safety and makes large-scale application feasible, while most of the studies out there focus on using super critical conditions like high pressure and high temperatures.

The researcher’s process of upcycling carbon fibers from composite material consumes 10.8 to 36 megajoules of energy per kilogram, while the production of new carbon fibers consumes 198 to 594 megajoules per kilogram, said Madison Fette, a graduate student studying chemistry. Fette said the cost of upcycling the carbon fibers is also only a fifth of producing original fibers.

Williams said the carbon fibers upcycled through this method are lighter, stronger and stiffer than aluminum. As a result, they benefit the aviation industry tremendously. Due to their light weight, aircrafts made from recycled carbon fibers require 20% less fuel which also leads to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, Williams said.

Lim said the study also ensures that carbon fibers recycled through their process would maintain nearly the same mechanical properties as original fibers and are at least within 90% or higher of carbon fibers’ original strength, which has been tested by USC researchers through single fiber tensile tests.

New Filter Captures and Recycles

Aluminum from Manufacturing Waste

MIT engineers designed a nanofiltration process that could make aluminum production more efficient while reducing hazardous waste.

By Jennifer Chu | MIT News

than 99 percent of aluminum ions in these solutions.

If scaled up and implemented in existing production facilities, the membrane technology could reduce the amount of wasted aluminum and improve the environmental quality of the waste that plants generate.

U“The thing that’s going to break us are the people who buy these materials philosophically believe that the recycled fiber is inferior,” Williams said. “What’s going to kill us is … the manufacturing community who seem to believe that recycled [fiber] is lower quality.”

Williams said he believes the situation might change as President Donald Trump’s administration shifts national priorities in energy.

“Policy wise, whilst there’s a lot that you can say that’s not real flattering about our current president, I think he might help us as we try to change manufacturing through energy transition, through the transition from traditional metals to composite and modern materials,” Williams said.

© University of Southern California/Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.

Read: https://dailytrojan.com/2025/02/13/ usc-researchers-discover-method-to-fullyrecycle-carbon-fibers/

sed in everything from soda cans and foil wrap to circuit boards and rocket boosters, aluminum is the secondmost-produced metal in the world after steel. By the end of this decade, demand is projected to drive up aluminum production by 40 percent worldwide. This steep rise will magnify aluminum’s environmental impacts, including any pollutants that are released with its manufacturing waste.

MIT engineers have developed a new nanofiltration process to curb the hazardous waste generated from aluminum production. Nanofiltration could potentially be used to process the waste from an aluminum plant and retrieve any aluminum ions that would otherwise have escaped in the effluent stream. The captured aluminum could then be upcycled and added to the bulk of the produced aluminum, increasing yield while simultaneously reducing waste.

The researchers demonstrated the membrane’s performance in lab-scale experiments using a novel membrane to filter various solutions that were similar in content to the waste streams produced by aluminum plants. They found that the membrane selectively captured more

“This membrane technology not only cuts down on hazardous waste but also enables a circular economy for aluminum by reducing the need for new mining,” says John Lienhard, the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Water in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) at MIT. “This offers a promising solution to address environmental concerns while meeting the growing demand for aluminum.”

Trent Lee

Lienhard and his colleagues report their results in a study appearing today in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. The study’s co-authors include MIT mechanical engineering undergraduates Trent Lee and Vinn Nguyen, and Zi Hao Foo SM ’21, PhD ’24, who is a postdoc at the University of California at Berkeley.

A Recycling Niche

Lienhard’s group at MIT develops membrane and filtration technologies for desalinating seawater and remediating various sources of wastewater. In looking for new areas to apply their work, the team found an unexplored opportunity in aluminum and, in particular, the wastewater generated from the metal’s production.

As part of aluminum’s production, metal-rich ore, called bauxite, is first mined from open pits, then put through a series of chemical reactions to separate the aluminum from the rest of the mined rock. These reactions ultimately produce aluminum oxide, in a powdery form called alumina. Much of this alumina is then shipped to refineries, where the powder is poured into electrolysis vats

containing a molten mineral called cryolite. When a strong electric current is applied, cryolite breaks alumina’s chemical bonds, separating aluminum and oxygen atoms. The pure aluminum then settles in liquid form to the bottom of the vat, where it can be collected and cast into various forms.

Cryolite electrolyte acts as a solvent, facilitating the separation of alumina during the molten salt electrolysis process. Over time, the cryolite accumulates impurities such as sodium, lithium, and potassium ions – gradually reducing its effectiveness in dissolving alumina. At a certain point, the concentration of these impurities reaches a critical level, at which the electrolyte must be replaced with fresh cryolite to main process efficiency. The spent cryolite, a viscous sludge containing residual aluminum ions and impurities, is then transported away for disposal.

“We learned that for a traditional aluminum plant, something like 2,800 tons of aluminum are wasted per year,” says lead author Trent Lee, who carried out the new work as part of the MITEI Energy UROP program. “We were looking at ways that the industry can be more efficient, and we found cryolite waste hadn’t been well-researched in terms of recycling some of its waste products.”

A Charged Kick

In their new work, the researchers aimed to develop a membrane process to filter cryolite waste and recover aluminum ions that inevitably make it into the waste stream. Specifically, the team looked to capture aluminum while letting through all other ions, especially sodium, which builds up significantly in the cryolite over time.

The team reasoned that if they could selectively capture aluminum from cryolite waste, the aluminum could be poured back into the electrolysis vat without adding excessive sodium that would further slow the electrolysis process.

The researchers’ new design is an adaptation of membranes used in conventional water treatment plants. These membranes are typically made from a thin sheet of polymer material that is

perforated by tiny, nanometer-scale pores, the size of which is tuned to let through specific ions and molecules.

The surface of conventional membranes carries a natural, negative charge. As a result, the membranes repel any ions that carry the same negative charge, while they attract positively charged ions to flow through.

In collaboration with the Japanese membrane company Nitto Denko, the MIT team sought to examine the efficacy of commercially available membranes that could filter through most positively charged ions in cryolite wastewater while repelling and capturing aluminum ions. However, aluminum ions also carry a positive charge, of +3, where sodium and the other cations carry a lesser positive charge of +1.

Motivated by the group’s recent work investigating membranes for recovering lithium from salt lakes and spent batteries, the team tested a novel Nitto Denko membrane with a thin, positively charged coating covering the membrane. The coating’s charge is just positive enough to strongly repel and retain aluminum while allowing less positively charged ions to flow through.

“The aluminum is the most positively charged of the ions, so most of it is kicked away from the membrane,” Foo explains.

The team tested the membrane’s performance by passing through solutions with various balances of ions, similar to what can be found in cryolite waste. They observed that the membrane consistently captured 99.5 percent of aluminum ions while allowing through sodium and the other cations. They also varied the pH of the solutions, and found the membrane maintained its performance even after sitting in highly acidic solution for several weeks.

“A lot of this cryolite waste stream comes at different levels of acidity,” Foo says. “And we found the membrane works really well, even within the harsh conditions that we would expect.”

The new experimental membrane is about the size of a playing card. To treat cryolite waste in an industrialscale aluminum production plant, the

researchers envision a scaled-up version of the membrane, similar to what is used in many desalination plants, where a long membrane is rolled up in a spiral configuration, through which water flows.

“This paper shows the viability of membranes for innovations in circular economies,” Lee says. “This membrane provides the dual benefit of upcycling aluminum while reducing hazardous waste.”

© MIT News Office, part of the Institute Office of Communications. Read: https://news.mit.edu/2025/new-filter-capturesand-recycles-manufacturing-waste-aluminum-0107

UNIVERSITY OF DUISBURG-ESSEN

I-based Predictions: Early Warning System for Drinking Water Suppliers

By Juliana Fischer

About 12% of drinking water in Germany comes from lakes and reservoirs. Their water quality is significantly influenced by the organisms living within them. However, climate change, environmental pollution, and invasive species such as blue-green algae threaten biodiversity –and thus the quality of drinking water. In the research project IQ Wasser,* an interdisciplinary team at the University of Duisburg-Essen is examining microbial biodiversity using environmental DNA analyses. The goal is to develop an AIbased early warning system that detects changes in water quality.

“Many organisms contribute to water quality in drinking water reservoirs,” explains Dr. Julia Nuy from Environmental Metagenomics at the Research Centre

One Health. “Mussels filter particles out of the water, freshwater amphipods break down organic matter, and certain bacteria metabolize nitrogen or carbon.” A key principle is: the greater the diversity of species, the more stable ecosystem services such as water filtration remain. However, the role of biodiversity – particularly microbial diversity – has so far been largely overlooked when assessing water quality. Microorganisms like bacteria play essential roles in the ecosystem but also pose risks, search as cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), which proliferate as temperatures rise.

Over the next three years, the interdisciplinary team will collect samples four times a year from the Wahnbach Reservoir and the Kleine Kinzig Reservoir. “After filtration, we extract and fully sequence the DNA,” says Dr. Julia Nuy, who leads the subproject on microbial ecology and biodiversity. “By working genome-

resolved, we can reconstruct nearly complete genomes from small fragments, providing precise insights into microbial diversity and the ecosystem’s services,” she explains. “From the genomes, we can identify whether bacteria metabolize nitrogen or carbon – a core function for the ecosystem.”

Another area of focus is the potential for pathogenicity. “We are examining how antibiotic resistance develops over time, whether specific resistance genes are only found in certain bacteria or across a wide range of microorganisms. Additionally, we analyze whether current trends in antibiotic use are detectable in the bacteria we study,” says Dr. Nuy.

The data collected feeds into AI models that predict environmental changes and their impact on biodiversity. “Our aim is to create an early warning system for drinking water suppliers,” emphasizes Nuy. “This will enable the early detection

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of potential hazards, such as algal blooms or antibiotic-resistant pathogens, allowing targeted countermeasures to be implemented.”

Juliana Fischer, Editor, University of DuisburgEssen, can be reached at +49 203/37 9-1488, juliana.fischer-uni-due.de.

*The IQ Wasser project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with approximately two million euros and coordinated by the TZW: DVGW Water Technology Center under Prof. Dr. Andreas Tiehm. At the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), Prof. Dr. Alexander Probst is a consortium partner. Other partners include the Fraunhofer Institute IOSB (Dr. Christian Kühnert), the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (Dr. Sabrina Kirschke), Moldaenke GmbH (Christian Moldaenke), and Ident Me GmbH (Anne Findeisen).

More information: https://tzw.de/projekte/ project details/projects/iq-water-ki-bioiversitate

Contact: Dr. Julia Nuy, Environmental Department, Research Centre One Health, Tel. +49 201/18 3-4109, mail julia.nuy.uni-due.de

Read: https://www.uni-due.de/2025-01-14-iqwasser-ai-based-early-warning-system-for-drinkingwater-suppliers

UNIVERSITY OF DUISBURG-ESSEN

Fighting Chemical Pollution: Water Purification Using Algae

By Juliana Fischer

Europe’s water bodies are in poor condition: more than half of them are heavily polluted with chemicals. This is hardly surprising – every day, up to 70,000 different chemicals are used in Europe’s industries and agriculture. Researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen have now

developed a new method for purifying polluted water. Their recent study demonstrates* that the fossil remains of diatoms (a type of algae) can efficiently remove contaminants from water after being chemically modified.

Researchers have identified more than 500 chemicals in Europe’s rivers, originating from industrial and agricultural sources, threatening aquatic habitats. The team led by Junior Professor Dr. Anzhela Galstyan aims to remove these chemicals using algae. “Diatoms are microscopic single-celled organisms that live in water and possess a cell wall made of silica (silicon dioxide). Thanks to its porous structure, it can absorb a wide variety of pollutants,” Galstyan explains.

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pollutants commonly found in rivers and groundwater due to the textile industry: methylene blue and methyl orange. To enhance the adsorption capacity, the diatomaceous earth was chemically modified by adding specific functional groups to its surface. “This could easily be implemented on an industrial scale,” emphasizes the junior professor for nanomaterials in aquatic systems.

The diatomaceous earth was tested in the lab under various conditions, such as different salt concentrations and pH levels. The results are promising: regardless of the conditions, the material consistently removed pollutants effectively. For comparison, the researchers evaluated silica, a material already established in water purification. Diatomaceous earth performed significantly better: within an hour, up to 100 per cent of methylene blue was removed, whereas silica removed only 88 percent of the dye in the same period. For methyl orange, both silica and diatomaceous earth absorbed about 70 percent of the pollutant.

“We see diatomaceous earth as an ecofriendly and cost-effective solution for water treatment,” Galstyan concludes. The significant advantage is that algae are a renewable resource and can be cultivated with minimal energy input –unlike the commonly used filter material, activated carbon.

The researchers are now examining how diatomaceous earth can be used in membranes for water purification. Thanks to the world’s largest algae collection, housed at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the conditions for developing this environmentally friendly technology are ideal. Juliana Fischer, Editor, University of DuisburgEssen, can be reached at +49 203/37 9-1488, juliana.fischer-uni-due.de.

*C. A. Ojike, V. Hagen, B. Beszteri, A. Galstyan, Surface-Functionalized Diatoms as Green NanoAdsorbents for the Removal of Methylene Blue and Methyl Orange as Model Dyes from Aqueous Solution. Adv. Sustainable Syst. 2025, 2400776.

More information: https://doi.org/10.1002/ adsu.202400776.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Anzhela Galstyan, Analytische Chemie, Tel. +49 201/18 3-3963, anzhela.galstyan@ uni-due.de

Read: https://www.uni-due.de/2025-01-24-waterpurification-with-algae

q Analytical determination of PFAS samples by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry coupling after filtering.

TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH (TUM)

TUM Researchers Develop Highly Effective Filter Material

Removing hazardous PFAS chemicals from drinking water.

The chemicals known as PFAS are considered a severe threat to human health. Among other things, they can cause liver damage, cancer, and hormonal disorders. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now developed a new, efficient method of filtering these substances out of drinking water. They rely on so-called metal-organic framework compounds, which work much better than the materials commonly used to date. Even extremely low concentrations of PFAS in the water can still be captured.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are considered “forever chemicals:” they generally do not decompose on their own even after centuries and, therefore, pose a long-term threat to humans and animals. PFAS have been used in numerous products such as textiles, firefighting foams, and food packaging, and have thus been released into the environment. The substances can accumulate in the body via food and drinking water, and thus cause serious health issues.

The team led by Nebojša Ilić from the TUM Chair of Urban Water Systems

Engineering and Prof. Soumya Mukherjee, a former Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral researcher at the TUM Chair of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry during the study period and now Assistant Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of Limerick, identified water-stable metal-organic framework compounds made of zirconium carboxylate as particularly effective PFAS filters. The bespoke class of materials is characterized by the adaptable pore sizes and surface chemistry. The materials are water-resistant and highly electrostatically charged. By specifically designing the structures and combining them with polymers, the filter capacity has been significantly improved compared to materials already in use, such as activated carbon and special resins.

Prof. Jörg Drewes, Chair of Urban Water Systems Engineering, emphasizes the great social significance of the research results: “PFAS pose a constant threat to public health. For too long, the negative effects of the chemicals, which, among other things, ensure that rain jackets are waterproof and breathable, have been underestimated. The industry has now started to rethink this, but the legacy of PFAS will continue to affect us for several generations to come.”

Researchers from the TUM School of Natural Sciences worked together with colleagues from the TUM School of

Chair for Urban Water Systems

Engineering and Design and simulation experts from the TUM School of Computation, Information, and Technology to develop and research the new filters. Prof. Roland Fischer, Chair of Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry, emphasizes: “When solving such major challenges, experts from a wide range of disciplines have to work together. You simply can't get anywhere on your own. I am delighted that this approach has again proved its worth here.”

However, it will be some time before this new filter material is adopted at large scale in waterworks. The newly discovered principle would have to be implemented with sustainably available, inexpensive materials that are safe in every respect. This will require considerable further research and engineering solutions.

© Technical University of Munich

Read: https://www.tum.de/en/news-and-events/all-news/press-releases/details/ removing-hazardous-pfas-chemicals-from-drinking-water

SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Memsift Innovations Partners with Singapore Institute of Technology to Pioneer Nanofiltration Membranes for Chemical Recovery

Memsift Innovations Pte Ltd has announced a pioneering research collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) to develop innovative chemical-resistant hollow fiber nanofiltration (NF) membranes. These advanced membranes are designed to recover valuable chemicals from spent acids and bases in liquidwaste produced by the microelectronics and semiconductor industries, offering a sustainable alternative to existing practices.

The semiconductor industry, a cornerstone of modern technology, faces significant environmental challenges due to its intensive use of water and chemicals. Wastewater generated from semiconductor manufacturing processes is often laden with high concentrations of spent acids, bases, and heavy metals, making treatment both technically complex and financially burdensome. Current solutions, such as neutralization and incineration, are energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, creating an urgent need for more sustainable alternatives, especially as global regulations tighten.

“The collaboration between Memsift and SIT addresses the urgent need for innovative liquid-waste treatment solutions that prioritize sustainability and circular economy principles,” said Dr. J Antony Prince, the founder and CEO of Memsift Innovations.

This partnership focuses on developing a new generation of NF membranes with enhanced chemical resistance, selective permeability, and robust performance. Advanced materials such as functionalized graphene and hybrid organic-inorganic nanomaterials will be utilized to ensure the membranes can withstand the harsh chemical environments found in semiconductor wastewater. The membranes are tailored to recover over 90% of valuable chemicals, such as those used in stripping baths for removing photoresist and organic residues from wafers. The performance of these membranes will be optimized through cutting-edge characterization techniques and tested rigorously with real industrial wastewater. The technology will also undergo an onsite demonstration at a global microelectronics manufacturing facility in Singapore by the end of 2025.

The adoption of these NF membranes is expected to significantly reduce the volume of waste requiring downstream treatment and disposal, delivering tangible benefits such as lower operational costs, minimized energy consumption, and a reduced environmental footprint. Beyond the semiconductor sector, these membranes hold potential for broader industrial applications where resource recovery from high-strength wastewater streams is essential.

SIT will contribute its expertise in membrane design, formation and fabrication, along with property characterization and performance analysis. This complements Memsift’s industrial experience and intellectual property (IP)

in advanced membrane technologies, creating a strong synergy for the development and optimization of advanced nanofiltration membranes. This exemplifies the impactful interplay between academia and industry to address an important problem in waste management.

Furthermore, SIT students will gain invaluable hands-on experience through this partnership, preparing them for future roles in sustainable engineering. At least three students from the Pharmaceutical Engineering and Chemical Engineering degree programmes will be involved in polymer processing, membrane fabrication, filtration equipment operation, and process analytical techniques.

“This partnership showcases SIT’s deep expertise in membrane technology and commitment to sustainability and innovation. By combining our research capabilities with Memsift’s industry experience, we are developing advanced solutions for high-value manufacturing sectors, while equipping students with hands-on skills to drive real-world impact,” said Associate Professor Zuo Jian, the principal investigator leading the research team from SIT.

This initiative reinforces Memsift Innovations’ position as an emerging player in sustainable water management

technologies. The chemical-resistant NF membranes developed through this collaboration promise to redefine liquidwaste treatment in the semiconductor industry, setting new benchmarks for efficiency, sustainability, and resource recovery.

Memsift Innovations is an emerging leader in membrane-based separation and purification solutions. Their innovative technologies include Improved Membrane Distillation (IMD), which efficiently recovers valuable materials from industrial effluents while reducing environmental impact. Additionally, their Chemical-Resistant Ultrafiltration/Nanofiltration (CR UF/NF) systems set new standards for purification, with the capability to withstand harsh chemicals and selectively separate components.

The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) offers industry-relevant degree programs that prepare its graduates to be work- and future-ready professionals. Its mission is to maximize the potential of its learners and to innovate with industry, through an integrated applied learning and research approach, so as to contribute to the economy and society. Its focus on applied research with business impact is aimed at helping industry innovate and grow.

 Dr. J Antony Prince, the founder and CEO of Memsift Innovations. and Associate Professor Zuo Jian, the principal investigator leading the research team from SIT. Photos from Dr. J Antony Prince

Eco-Friendly Filter Media with Lignin

The fact that the automotive industry is constantly pushing the boundaries of technical limits is also reflected in the introduction of sustainable filter solutions as a natural continuation of this drive for innovation. GESSNER’S cellulose media with plant-based resin saturation is currently used in automotive applications such as engine air, oil and fuel filters.

Their lignin saturated cellulose filter media is designed to reduce your product carbon footprint. Unlike traditional filter media, their cellulose filter media is saturated with an eco-friendly plant-based resin, ensuring that your filter element offers best performance, while taking a step into more sustainable filtration solutions.

Filtration Powered by Nature

As a natural polymer which can be found in the cell walls of plants, lignin provides structural support and rigidity. In their filter media they use it for its natural properties, offering an eco-friendly alternative to replace fossil-based resins.

Sourced as a by-product in the processing of wood, it is the perfect, sustainable alternative to phenolic resins in the saturation of cellulose media. Furthermore, the curing process generates significantly lower emissions compared to conventional methods with phenolic resins.

Highest Filter Performance

With their eco-friendly lignin saturation for cellulose filter media, GESSNER developed a more sustainable product that does not compromise filtration performance nor its mechanical properties. By maintaining the same functionality and material characteristics lignin can directly replace phenolic resins in the saturation.

With more than 35 years of experience in flame retardance GESSNER has now added a more sustainable solution for market demands. Like with phenol-

based media, their new lignin saturated filter media can be equipped with a flame retardant meeting the highest industry standards.

Reduced PCF with Eco-Friendly Resin Solution

Compared to standard media, initial calculations show that with the new ecofriendly saturation the cellulose filter media offers a reduced product carbon footprint.

Furthermore, the crude oil that is saved by using a lignin modified resin can be up to 100 kg per one ton of filter material, promoting a more sustainable product lifecycle of the filter media.

Versatility in Application

The application of their lignin modified saturation is not limited to automotive - any cellulose filter media, which is currently using phenolic resins can be replaced. Whether in liquid or air filtration, their eco-friendly filter media can be easily integrated into existing filter systems, regardless of the application.

GESSNER’s lignin saturated filter me-

p GESSNER’s cellulose filter media with lignin saturation.

 The eco-friendly saturation is based on the natural polymer lignin

dia proves that sustainability and performance can indeed go hand-in-hand. By combining excellent filtration performance, a reduced carbon footprint, and fewer emissions, this filter media solution bridges the gap between high performance and sustainability. Whether in automotive or industrial applications, this eco-friendly filter media offers a seamless transition to a more sustainable filtration, helping industries meet their environmental goals without sacrificing performance.

Tailored Filtration Solutions

With a broad portfolio of filter media, pleat support and a wide range of filter components, GESSNER became a trusted partner in the filtration and separation industry. By delivering best service and high-quality filter materials into transportation, air and water filtration as well as into different industrial and life science applications. Backed by decades of experience, continuous product innovation and a global supply chain, GESSNER tailors state-of-the-art filtration solutions to the market needs and individual customer requirements.

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The Role of Filtration in Upcycling Fish Byproducts

In a world where sustainability and efficiency are paramount, the fish industry faces significant challenges. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), over four billion people rely on fish and fish products as their primary source of protein. Additionally, the growing health consciousness among consumers has increased the demand for fish oils like omega-3, omega-6, and krill oil. By 2030, aquaculture (widely referred to as fish-farming) is expected to account for over 57% of food fish production, surpassing wild-caught fishing.

Increasing production volumes however is not a sustainable solution to meet growing demand. Instead, the industry must adopt climate-friendly approaches, such as ‘upcycling,’ to recover high-value nutrients from existing production ecosystems.

Upcycling

Upcycling involves processing byproducts or waste streams into high-value ingredients, such as proteins. Food manufacturers often hesitate to upcycle because of the high financial investment needed to repurpose what is traditionally viewed as waste or sometimes simply due to lack of knowledge on the possibilities. Therefore, it’s essential to find efficient, reliable, consistent, and costeffective ways to extract as much high-

quality protein as possible from these byproducts.

Sustainable solutions like membrane processing can help the industry recover high-quality fish protein hydrolysates, a highly premium ingredient used in aquaculture and other feed industries. Products such as Pall’s Membralox® ceramic membranes have been proven on a large scale to provide the most efficient protein transmission, separation, and extraction systems for producing high-value, safe, and functional upcycled protein ingredients.

These crossflow filtration systems are fully enclosed, automated, self-cleaning and operate at optimal temperatures to prevent thermal denaturation of the product. Their modular design allows any feed flow rate, continuous 24/7 operation, sequencing batch processes and the membranes’ lifetime extends over years of continuous operation with consistent separation performances and capacity.

Case Study: Pall Membralox® Ceramic Membrane Technology

The Challenge

Fish oil and fishmeal is produced by cooking fish meat and pressing it to separate the liquid. This generates two streams: fish oil and aqueous stick water. Stick water, so-called due to its sticky consistency, is recycled, and evaporated before being

mixed with fish meal. However, stick water contains impurities like suspended solids and trace amounts of fat, which if not removed can lead to fouled pipes, fluid movement interruption, additional cleanings, and operational downtime. Traditional processing can also cause equipment scaling, higher energy costs, and larger waste discharge volumes.

The Solution

Pall offers a sustainable filtration solution using its Membralox ceramic membranes. Tangential Flow Filtration (TFF) or Crossflow Filtration (CFF) systems clean the fish stick water before evaporation to remove unwanted suspended solids and oils. This improves drying efficiency and produces a superior quality, more valuable final product.

The stick water, rich in proteins, is then further processed through membranes and evaporators to generate thick liquid fish hydrolysate (up to 80% protein) and dried hydrolysate powder (up to 85% protein), generating a considerable return on investment.

By adopting membrane filtration technologies, processors can upcycle fish byproducts into high-value protein hydrolysates, enhance profitability, sustainability, and product quality, and help meet the growing global demand for fish and fish products. www.pall.com

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The principals of “PSE” have owned and operated the largest privately owned filter manufacturing facility in the United States from 1996, while simultaneously owning the most successful pleating machine distributorship for over 25 years. We are experts in filter manufacturing, pleating machinery and accessories and understand the challenges manufacturers face. At PSE, we are third-generation filtration family and continue to provide outstanding solutions for our customers.

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Innovating Water Treatment for a

Sustainable Future

An Interview with John Barelli, Founder of WaterSurplus

By Caryn Smith, Chief Content Officer, IFN

The sustainability story of WaterSurplus began before it became a trending topic. The concept of recycling and redeploying idle water treatment assets has been the core business model of the Illinois-based company since 1999. CEO John Barelli saw an opportunity to deploy recycled surplus water and wastewater treatment systems to the farthest corners of the globe to address water filtration demands and solve emergency, short- or long-term filtration challenges. Today, the vast majority of the company’s business involves new and rental equipment, but WaterSurplus still maintains the largest marketplace of surplus and used water treatment equipment, membranes, and resin.

The company’s case studies illustrate its ability to not only respond to customers’ operational needs but also deploy equipment to address emergency situations such as the following natural disasters.

In the summer of 2024, the firm responded quickly to a natural disaster in Louisiana. Lower than normal water volumes flowing down the Mississippi River led to a saltwater surge moving north from the Gulf of Mexico. This so-called salt wedge put at risk many water treatment systems that were designed to draw in and treat fresh surface water from the lower Mississippi River. In coordination with the Army Corps of Engineers and other organizations, WaterSurplus deployed and held in reserve enough state-of-the-art reverse osmosis (RO) filtration systems to produce

Q+A

IN THIS ISSUE:

JOHN BARELLI Founder of WaterSurplus

more than 4 million gallons of potable water per day to address the crisis.

In response to the September 2024 Hurricane Helene disaster, the University of North Carolina, Asheville called upon WaterSurplus to help restore essential water treatment services to reopen their campus to UNCA’s 1,600 students. Extensive flooding had caused significant disruption to water infrastructure in western North Carolina. The company sent an advanced mobile water treatment system, in collaboration with Onsite Water Management, LLC, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The system, when connected to the

campus’s water distribution network, provided up to 280,000 gallons of potable water.

Another area of focus for the company is providing rapid response water treatment equipment for municipalities that identify per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in their water supply. Despite the urgent desire to stop delivering PFAS contaminated water, the lead time for the capital equipment that removes PFAS is typically more than three years. In anticipation of this crisis, WaterSurplus spent the last several years investing in the development of a fleet of mobile PFAS treatment systems that can be rented for temporary use or purchased for permanent use and can be delivered within a matter of weeks.

The company recently sold a PFAS removal system to the city of Kalispell, Montana to treat forever chemicals detected at their Grandview Wells site, which surpassed EPA established limits. In August 2024, Kalispell Public Works Director Susie Turner said that the system can treat up to 2,000 gallons per minute.

“We’re able to keep our wells online, provide that treatment and not jeopardize capacity,” Turner said to the local news outlet, Daily Interlake. The paper had reported that in 2023, “officials detected forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, at the two Grandview Wells located near the Flathead Valley Community College, a residential community, and a park.”

WaterSurplus also has proprietary innovations to offer. To learn more, we spent

p WaterSurplus sent an advanced mobile water treatment system, in collaboration with Onsite Water Management, LLC, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers to restore water services to 1,600 students at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.

time with Barelli to discuss the company’s innovative approach to supplying water filtration systems, and the innovations that keep them responding to the immediate needs of the industrial water and wastewater filtration marketplace.

International Filtration News: Give us a brief history of the company.

John Barelli: After working in water treatment at the beginning of my career, in 1989, I founded Pure Solutions, Inc., which served as a manufacturer’s representative company selling new equipment focused on water treatment for large industrial users. In 1998, sensing a void in the marketplace, we developed a market-wide sustainability strategy of repurposing surplus water treatment assets and renamed the company Surplus Management, Inc. Then in 1999, I ultimately rebranded the company as WaterSurplus.

We gradually began serving many markets, including the municipal mar ket. As water quality and scarcity issues grew, water availability and water reuse became more important and, to us, more interesting.

Now, through thirty-five years of continued investment in the industry, we have established

a foundation of consistent growth and more recently, rapid innovation with our excellent team of over sixty people working to replenish the world’s water and serve customer needs, collaborating with important industry partners where we have established key relationships.

Contaminants on the rise like iron, manganese, radium, and arsenic became pressing concerns, and then, of course, the big one – PFAS. We were fortunate to have already been working in this space when PFAS became a major issue.

Recognizing the growing demand for solutions, we continued investing in the municipal sector, and over the last 10 years, we’ve been very focused in that marketplace.

Municipal Water Challenges

IFN: What common problems do new customers typically need solved or customized to their unique challenges?

Barelli: There’s definitely a common requirement of having to meet drinking water standards. As people drill wells and need more water, problems may arise – such as a well failing to provide water within standards. We often deal with common groundwater contaminants regulated by drinking water standards. One area where we excel is radium removal. Jim Groose, our municipal groundwater expert, has a lot of experience treating radium. Other issues include iron and manganese.

We approach projects by building relationships with engineering companies and municipalities. We take our time to understand the problem in its entirety and act like a consultant for our customers. Typically, we run pilot plants to ensure proposed engineering designs work as planned. Quite often, we learn things from the pilot that help the customer operate more efficiently and sustainably. By doing our research upfront, we can optimize our systems for customers.

Rise of Emerging Contaminants

IFN: Is there an increase in different kinds of contaminants over the last 10 years?

Barelli: For sure. There are various emerging contaminants we keep an eye on. Even existing contaminants behave differently over time. For example, someone might have a well where the iron level is within safe limits, but two years later, changes in well structure or water quantity push it out of compliance.

PFAS are now newly regulated, and that’s a dynamic issue. If a municipality has multiple wells and one is out of compliance, shutting it down can lead to PFAS appearing in other wells. It’s a complicated problem – not just from a chemistry and treatment perspective, but also in terms of hydrology, pumping, and water management. We work closely with government agencies, operators, and engineers to provide optimized solutions rather than just quoting to specifications.

p Kalispell PFAS Rapid Response System.

Photo Courtesy of UNC Asheville/Rafael Aguilera

Expanding Beyond Municipalities

IFN: Besides municipalities, what other kinds of customers do you serve?

Barelli: We have a strong presence in multiple industries. Food and Beverage is a big market for us – we do a lot with bottled water, carbonated beverages, and alcohol production.

Our expertise in filtration and membrane separation leads us to projects across different industries. We’ve built strong relationships with major beverage companies. If you treat them right, they keep sending you projects, and you build a pattern of success. The same happens in the municipal world – our good reputation keeps bringing in more projects from different communities and engineering firms.

PFAS and the Future of Bottled Water

IFN: With PFAS concerns, what is the state of plastic bottled water packaging?

Barelli: What we are seeing is a trend toward glass and aluminum cans in the beverage industry. A lot of drinks that could be in plastic bottles are moving toward cans. The canning sub-sector is very dynamic. The microplastic issue seems incredibly overwhelming, but it’s an emerging contaminant that might be even more regulated with time. However, at this time, our treatment methods don’t change based on packaging. The shift toward non-plastic options seems to be more about consumer awareness and brand positioning.

Product Innovation

IFN: Can you give us an overview of your innovations?

Barelli: Many of our innovations are rooted in improving efficiency. That can mean different things in different situations. It can mean less water to drain, fewer chemicals, a reduction in energy consumption, a smaller building to house the equipment, or fewer membrane elements and filtration media to the landfill over the life of the system. That said, our portfolio of IP falls into two major categories, filtration and reverse osmosis.

For filtration, we have developed a family of catalytic media, OxiPlus75TM, OxiPlus12TM, and SandPlusTM that improve efficiency in treating radium, arsenic, iron, and manganese. For reverse osmosis, our flagship patents are ImpactROTM and NanoStack TM. NanoStack is a bio-inspired, superhydrophilic-coated membrane resistant to scale and fouling, which extends membrane life and reduces offline cleaning needs. ImpactRO is a revolutionary multi-stage brackish RO with several patented innovations, optimized to deliver the smartest and most efficient RO performance in the world. ImpactRO delivers up to 96% recovery, reduced energy consumption, significantly reduced membrane fouling, and increased system uptime. membranes, lengthening the time between offline clean-in-place (CIP) Occurrences, improving the recovery of flux after each CIP, and decreasing antiscalant consumption, water to drain, and energy use, and thereby, operational expenditures.

Rapid Response System

IFN: What does it mean to offer a PFAS Rapid Response System?

Barelli: It is interesting how we entered the PFAS market. We were already in the rental market and recognized that communities were struggling with PFAS compliance while waiting for regulations, permits, and funding. The lag time from identifying the problem to potential solution was significant.

Our first entry into the PFAS space was through temporary rental assets using an ion exchange resin to capture PFAS, and quickly return the water to compliance. We were the first to bring PFAS solutions

like this to Wisconsin and completed the first PFAS temporary rental in Canada. We even deployed one to a military base in California.

IFN: What is the company’s “rapid response” capability in emergencies?

Barelli: Our project in Kalispell, Montana, is a great example. They called us, and we had a system on-site within two to three weeks. Two weeks later, it was operational. So, in about five weeks, they had a solution. That requires a big capital investment – we stock specialized resin and keep equipment ready to deploy.

For some smaller communities, renting the system indefinitely makes more sense than building a permanent one. We offer that flexibility and work with customers to find the best solution for their needs.

Our approach is really driven by our core values – being proactive and resourceful. We aren’t necessarily a disaster relief company, but because we have such a large inventory of equipment and expertise, we can respond quickly when communities are in need.

For example, during the Asheville situation with the University of North Carolina, it wasn’t part of a strategic plan for disaster relief. But when we saw we had the right equipment to help, we jumped in. That mindset is what guides us – being ready and willing to help where we can.

Ongoing Research and Development

IFN: What research projects are you currently working on?

Barelli: We are conducting a lot of PFAS research, testing different media and pilot programs. Every pilot is essentially a research project because each scenario presents unique challenges. Additionally, we recently completed a grant-funded study with the Bureau of Reclamation on ImpactRO and NanoStack for groundwater contaminants in high-recovery RO applications. Another major project is with Orange County, California, a leader in water reuse. They are testing our NanoStack membranes and seeing great results with lower pressure and energy use.

We’ve also just patented NanoScopeTM, a predictive monitoring system integrated into our ImpactRO. NanoScope detects membrane fouling up to 15 times faster than traditional RO monitoring systems, allowing proactive interventions. With over 30 installations, we continue collecting data to improve performance.

IFN: You mentioned your large inventory a few times. How important is that to your ability to respond quickly in these situations?

Barelli: It’s absolutely critical. Our rental fleet, combined with our ability to build and customize systems quickly, is what allows us to respond in days or weeks, not months. For example, in April and May of 2024 two tornados hit the town of Minden, Iowa. One destroyed the town’s only water treatment plant. We had filtration systems on the road within 48 hours. Without that inventory, the people of Minden would have been without clean water for much longer. It’s all about having the resources on hand and mobilizing them immediately.

IFN: Can you talk a bit more about how that project unfolded?

Barelli: That one hit close to home – both literally and figuratively, Minden is only a few hours away from our headquarters in Illinois. The first of two tornados ripped through the small town and took out their water treatment plant. The Iowa Rural Water Association (IRWA), in partnership with the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, reached out to us for help. Our VP of Municipal Water, Jim Groose, was on the phone with our mobilization team throughout the weekend. Because we had the right equipment ready to go, we loaded a filtration system onto a truck and had it there within days of the storm. The contractors connected it quickly, despite a second tornado hitting the town and within a week or two, they had potable water flowing again. It’s one of those moments where you see directly how your work impacts people’s lives.

q Emergency filtration system installed in Minden, IA to mitigate damage from back to back tornados in 2024. WaterSurplus

And an interesting note about that project is that they are still deciding whether to purchase that system for permanent use or commission a new system. But either way, it’s a win. If they return it, we can redeploy it to another town. If they buy it, they have a great long-term solution. It’s about flexibility –helping communities when they need it, but also making sure our assets are ready for the next call.

of spending millions and waiting months to build something new, they came to us and got what they needed in weeks for a fraction of the cost. That means they can test their ideas faster and bring solutions to market sooner. So, sustainability, for us, isn’t just about conserving resources –it’s about accelerating progress.

IFN: How do you see water treatment challenges evolving?

Barelli: They’re accelerating – faster than people realize. Groundwater depletion is a real and growing problem. We’re seeing more communities fall out of compliance with water quality standards because their water sources are shrinking and becoming more concentrated with contaminants. At the same time, climate change is driving more extreme weather events – floods, droughts, hurricanes –that disrupt water supplies. All of this is pushing demand for innovative solutions like water reuse, mobile treatment units, and advanced filtration systems.

IFN: Why is sustainability such an important value for your company?

Barelli: For us, sustainability is practical and intelligent business. It’s not just about ESG or reducing our carbon footprint – though those are important. It’s about efficiency. Reusing and repurposing equipment reduces waste and costs. For example, if we can take a system from a closed facility and repurpose it for another company at a fraction of the cost, that company can invest the savings into job creation or innovation. Sustainability isn’t just good for the environment – it’s good for businesses and communities.

IFN: Talk more about how repurposing assets creates opportunities beyond costsavings.

Barelli: One of the things people often overlook is that repurposing assets drives innovation. We’ve worked with a lot of startups and innovators who needed water treatment systems for pilot projects. Instead

IFN: Do you think that public awareness is keeping pace with the urgency of the problem?

Barelli: Not yet. Water tends to be invisible until there’s a crisis. People don’t think about it until it’s gone. But I do think awareness is growing – especially after events like the Mississippi salt wedge or the recent wildfires in California. People are starting to understand how fragile our water systems are. But there’s still a lot of education needed.

Water issues are global, but they’re also local. Every community faces its own challenges –whether it’s scarcity, contamination, or disaster recovery. That’s why we take a flexible, solution-oriented approach. Sometimes that means providing emergency equipment after a tornado. Other times, it means helping a company reuse its wastewater to reduce demand on local supplies. Our goal is always the same: solve water problems and help communities thrive.

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The 0.3-Micron Blind Spot in IAQ

Far-Reaching Implications for Airborne Pathogen Transmission and Climate Adaptation

By Tanya Shirman Ph.D and Sissi Liu

Particulate matter (PM) is typically classified into three categories: coarse (2.5–10 microns, μm, aka PM10), fine (≤2.5 μm, PM2.5), and ultrafine (≤0.1 microns, PM0.1 UFP). PM2.5 and UFP are of particular concern because they can penetrate deep into the respiratory system, causing welldocumented health problems. While these classifications provide a useful framework, realworld particle size distributions are more complex. In particular, PM2.5 is often assumed to consist primarily of 1–2.5 μm particles, especially given the way mass concentration (e.g., μg/m³) is measured and reported. However, studies show that in many cases, including in the indoor environment, particle distributions tend to skew toward much smaller sizes – often 10 to 100 times smaller than expected.

For example, when it comes to airborne pathogen transmission, current infection control policies are based on the premise that most respiratory infections are transmitted by large respiratory droplets, >5 μm, produced by coughing and sneezing, then deposited onto exposed fomite or mucosal surfaces. However, emerging research increasingly indicates that routine respiratory activities – such as speaking, coughing, and even breathing – release a complex spectrum of particle sizes, including a substantial fraction of submicron particles. Notably, a bimodal distribution in the 0.1–0.3 μm range has been observed, with these particles capable of carrying viable viruses and remaining airborne for prolonged periods. Similarly, wildfire smoke – an escalating global concern – is largely composed of particles in the 0.1–0.3 μm range. They can remain suspended in the air for extended durations (days and weeks), travel across continents, and infiltrate indoor environments. High-end particle sizing instruments used to measure particles in

schools, offices, and other indoor spaces also reveal a dominance of these superfine particles. Yet, this size range remains largely overlooked – from measurements and removal solutions to health impact. Underestimating or mis-characterizing these pollutants could have detrimental implications for public health and building resilience.

Airborne Pathogen Transmission: Rethinking Bioaerosol Size and Its Impact

Infectious aerosols are suspensions of pathogens in particles in the air. Figure 1A illustrates the typical size distribution of viruses, highlighting their nanometerscale dimensions.1 Most recent data show that infectious aerosols from various human respiratory activities co-exist in a wide range of particle sizes that are strikingly consistent across studies, methods, and pathogens (Figure 1B).1,2

There is no strong evidence supporting the notion that most respiratory infections are primarily transmitted through large droplets. In fact, small-particle aerosols are the norm rather than the exception, contrary to what current guidelines suggest.2 Recent studies employing highresolution, size-resolved measurements – spanning from a few nanometers to tens of microns – have revealed that respiratory particles exhibit multimodal size distributions, with a substantial fraction in the 0.08-0.3 μm (80–300 nm) range (Figure 1B).1 For example, multiple virus types have been identified in exhaled breath aerosols, exhibiting a bimodal particle size distribution with median diameters of approximately 0.1-0.3 μm. Given knowledge of particle size ranges of relevant indoor pollutants with significant health threats, a key question remains: Are viruses viable in such small aerosols and are they responsible for causing the spread of diseases?

Addressing this requires further research, as high-resolution particle size studies

p Figure 1. (A) Size distribution of selected viruses typically found indoors (physical diameter).1

(B) Compilation chart emphasizing the relevance of the multimodal character of the exhaled particle size distribution in airborne disease transmission. Size distribution of particles emitted during coughing, speaking, and breathing, with color intensity indicating median size and corresponding higher concentration.1

(C) The blue trace represents the typical particle size distribution measured by the Metalmark science team at a middle school during pilot studies (February 2025), highlighting the multimodal nature of PM and the prevalence of particles smaller than 0.3 μm. The pink box denotes the typical size distribution of wildfire smoke as measured based on the literature review.5-7 The gray box highlights the limitations of commercial sensors in detecting the most relevant particle sizes for indoor environments.

have only recently gained attention, and investigations into submicron particle sizes remain limited. However, some studies already suggest this possibility. For instance, one study found that viral aerosol size distributions were typically unimodal within the 0.25–10 μm range, with significant amounts of SARS-

CoV-2 RNA detected in sub-0.3 μm particles.3 This raises the possibility that the enveloped SARS-CoV-2 virus could spread through the air without requiring attachment to larger carrier aerosols. Additionally, researchers detected a notable fraction of COVID-positive samples in <0.25 μm particles. Another

finding indicated that resuspension of particles from contaminated surfaces consisting of a range of particle sizes, including those in the <0.3 μm size range, played a significant role in the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA of hospital air, highlighting an overlooked transmission route.3

Data on viral particles in the submicron range remain scarce, yet this information with an understanding of particle size distributions is essential, as smaller particles are more likely to reach the alveoli, where deposition efficiency increases as particle size decreases.1,2,4 Their relevance has significant implications for environments beyond healthcare settings where studies typically take place. School students and staff are among some of the most vulnerable and likely spreaders.

Particle Size Distribution in Indoor Spaces: Field Studies

As part of our ongoing research, we conducted air quality measurements in a middle school, sampling air in different classrooms, including science and math classes. We utilized both a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) and an Optical Particle Sizer (OPS) to obtain and compare high-resolution size distribution data (publication in preparation). Our findings reveal that almost all of the airborne particles were below 0.3 μm, with a median diameter of approximately 0.12 μm (Figure 1C, blue curve). This trend was consistent across different classroom activities (science vs. math) and varying occupancy levels.

Note that seasonality plays a role in particle sizes. In this case, measurements were taken during the winter at relatively low humidity which is known to contribute to the reduced particle sizes. For comparison, we also measured air quality in office settings and on a university campus during different seasons. Across all locations, the results were strikingly similar: the airborne particle population was dominated by submicron particles, primarily below 0.3 μm.

A critical issue identified in our study is the inability of commercial air quality sensors to detect particles in important

size ranges. In the school environment, commercial sensors recorded particle counts approximately <5% of the total number of particles as measured by the high-resolution instrument. This difference varies depending on the space measured. The problem is especially significant since most commercial and even industrial PM sensors and detectors rely on laser-scattering, a technique that is simply blind to particles smaller than 0.3 μm – leaving a critical gap in our understanding of air pollution and health risks (gray box in Figure 1C). These findings highlight a major gap in current air quality monitoring, particularly in indoor environments with human occupancy.

IAQ Under Pressure: Climate Adaptation and Resilience for the Built Environment

Numerous studies have demonstrated that respiratory infections spread via a broad range of particle sizes, with a significant portion of pathogen-laden aerosols measuring around or below 0.3 μm. At the same time, wildfires – an escalating global concern and climate adaptation challenge – release vast quantities of fine particulate matter that easily infiltrates buildings. These particles, predominantly in the 0.1–0.3 μm range,5-7 are small enough to bypass many conventional air filtration systems yet remain larger than UFP.

A major challenge in addressing this issue is the triple-blind spot surrounding particles in the 0.3 μm range:

Blind Spot #1:

Measurement limitations:

Commercial PM sensors are blind to <0.3 μm particles.

As highlighted in our recent school pilot study, commercial PM sensors fail to detect particles smaller than 0.3 μm. These sensors reported “healthy” air quality, showing little to no change in PM levels under 0.5 and 1 μm, even as human occupancy increased in a classroom. In fact, on a mass concentration basis, PM 0.5, 1.0, and 2.5 were reported consistently as <5 μg/m3, suggesting excellent indoor air quality conditions from a PM perspective. The misleading implications? 1) Existing HVAC operations are perfectly adequate; and, 2) Higher occupancy did not generate more airborne particles, including those capable of carrying viruses.

The translation of particle counts to mass concentrations is also laden with problems, especially in typical commercial PM sensors. Furthermore, because they are so small, particles <0.3 μm barely contribute to overall PM2.5 mass concentration estimates, so even if detectable, they would not move the needle of PM2.5 μg/m3 by much. To better protect human health, however, better measurements and understanding of sub-0.3 μm particles are required.

Blind Spot #2:

Filters are least effective at ~0.3 μm.

The Most Penetrating Particle Size (MPPS) of filters falls in the 0.1–0.3 μm range, where filtration is least effective – exactly where airborne pathogens, wildfire smoke, and other super fine pollutants are concentrated.8 Despite its significance, this size range is largely overlooked by academia, industry, and regulations. While MERV 13+ filters provide some protection against bioaerosols (>50% removal in this range), the vast majority of HVAC systems use MERV 8–10 filters, which can be ineffective. Given the lack of testing requirements and the often steep efficiency drop near MPPS, many buildings remain vulnerable to airborne transmission risks and poor indoor air quality.

Blind Spot #3:

Filter tests don’t account for <0.3 μm organic aerosols.

n MERV Ratings Start at ≥0.3 μm –Leaving a Critical Gap MERV ratings, the industry standard for filter performance, do not assess how well filters capture particles below 0.3 μm. Given that wildfire smoke, viral aerosols, and other indoor pollutants often fall within the 0.1–0.3 μm (or smaller) range, the gap in testing raises concerns about real-world filtration efficiency in schools, hospitals, and workplaces.

n Inorganic Test Particles vs. Real-World Organic Aerosols

Most filter tests rely on inorganic salts (e.g., NaCl, KCl), which are chemically stable, uniform in size, and easy to capture. However, these particles fail to represent the complex, dynamic nature of organic aerosols – such as bioaerosols and wildfire smoke, which is composed of >90% organics and has been shown to

degrade filter performance.9 In essence, even the common MERV 13+ filters may be ineffective in protecting against wildfire smoke10 and other relevant indoor air pollutants.

To improve air quality protection, new testing methods are needed that simulate the complexity of airborne pollutants, ensuring filtration technologies are truly effective against the growing air quality challenges we face today.

Conclusions and Future Outlook

While PM2.5 and UFPs (PM0.1) receive growing attention, the 0.1–0.3 μm particle size range remains largely overlooked –both in detection and filtration. They are rarely discussed in research on air quality and health risk assessments, yet they make up a critical component of concerning particles. In turn, their under-recognition and inadequate measurement can compromise health studies, leading to misleading conclusions and ineffective

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mitigation strategies. These <0.3 μm particles (particularly organic aerosols like wildfire smoke and viral-laden particles) are successfully sneaking past sensors, filters, and the people who study, test, make policies and decisions about building operations that greatly impact health. Meanwhile, the widespread commercial use of PM sensors, coupled with misconceptions about their capabilities and the significance of their measurements, is exacerbating the issue.

Anyone can buy a low-cost sensor today or look at the AirNow map and feel assured of the health of their air from a PM perspective. However, the reality is more complex, even as substantial health risks could still be present. To advance air quality management and health protection, these critical blind spots must be addressed through improved detection technologies, filtration solutions, standards, and regulations that better reflect the complexities of air pollution.

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References:

1. Pohlker, M.L. et al. Respiratory aerosols and droplets in the transmission of infectious diseases. Rev. Mod. Phys. 2023, 95, 045001. https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.95.045001

2. Fennelly, K. P. Particle sizes of infectious aerosols: implications for infection control. Lancet Respir Med. 2020, 8, 914-924.

3. Groma, V. et al. Size distribution and relationship of airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA to indoor aerosol in hospital ward environments. Sci Rep. 2023, 13, 3566.

4. Gralton, J.; Tovey, E.; McLaws, M.L.; Rawlinson, W.D. The role of particle size in aerosolised pathogen transmission: a review. J Infect. 2011, 62,1-13.

5. James R. Laing, J.R.; Jaffe, D.A.; Hee, J. Physical and optical properties of aged biomass burning aerosol from wildfires in Siberia and the Western USA at the Mt. Bachelor Observatory. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 2016, 16, 15185–15197.

6. June, N.A. et al. Aerosol size distribution changes in FIREX-AQ biomass burning plumes: the impact of plume concentration on coagulation and OA condensation/evaporation. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 2022, 22, 12803–12825.

7. Joo, T. et al. Aged and obscured wildfire smoke associated with downwind health risks. Environ Sci Technol Lett. 2024, 11, 1340-1347.

8. Azimi, P.; Zhao, D.; Stephens, B. Estimates of HVAC filtration efficiency for fine and ultrafine particles of outdoor origin. Atmos. Environ., 2014, 98, 337e346.

9. Holder, A.L.; Halliday, H.S.; Virtaranta, L. Impact of do-it-yourself air cleaner design on the reduction of simulated wildfire smoke in a controlled chamber environment. Indoor Air, 2022, 32, e13163.

10.Shirman, T.; Shirman, E.; Liu, S. Evaluation of filtration efficiency of various filter media in addressing wildfire smoke in indoor environments: importance of particle size and composition. Atmosphere 2023, 14, 1729.

Dr. Tanya Shirman Ph.D. is a chemist and material scientist with over a decade of experience leading multidisciplinary R&D teams. Her expertise extends to nanostructured materials design and synthesis for catalytic and air-purification applications and extends to translating transformative technologies from lab to market. Tanya is co-founder and VP of Materials in Metalmark Innovations, PBC - Harvard startup focuses on improving indoor air quality and balancing energy and climate goals through developing and integrating innovations in materials science, engineering, data analytics, and machine learning.

Sissi Liu is passionate about solving complex societal problems with cutting-edge technology. She has 20 years of experience in climate tech and sustainability, entrepreneurship, and venture investing. Sissi co-founded Metalmark Innovations, where she is CEO, to tackle the global air pollution crisis and climate change challenges.

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Beyond Particle Capture The Urgent Evolution of Filtration

A

Conversation with Nick Agopian to Explore the Potential of Technologies

By Dr. Iyad Al-Attar, Global Correspondent, IFN

As the world faces the invisible threat of ultrafine airborne pollutants, the need for advanced filtration has never been more urgent for both people within the built environment and the planet. Traditional systems focus on PM10 and starting to focus on PM2.5 removal. Still, research now highlights the dangers of matter smaller than PM2.5 like PM1.0, PM0.5, wildfire smoke, bioaerosols, and even submicron pathogens: particles and pathogens that bypass respiratory defenses, enter the bloodstream and impact vital organs, including the brain. These include both reversible and irreversible illnesses, including premature death.

In this compelling discussion for International Filtration News, Dr. Iyad Al-Attar and Nick Agopian explore the limitations of current filtration technologies and standards/code with an exciting discussion of the potential of next-generation solutions. They emphasize the need to move beyond particle capture to neutralize microbial threats, reduce their viability and infectivity, and enhance standard capture technologies to be more efficient.

Nick Agopian is President of Reviveaire, a cutting-edge disinfection mechanism that neutralizes various airborne pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and allergens. This system combines advanced technologies using a confined Plasmic field to protect occupants indoors. With over 30 years of HVAC and energy-recovery experience, He sets the company’s strategic vision, leads all sales and marketing efforts, and manages a comprehensive team of directors in all functional areas of the business. He works closely with all R&D efforts and third-party validation.

Agopian is highly involved in the engineering and HVAC communities. He’s been an active member of the American

Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) since 1983, where he sits on numerous technical committees.

Their conversation delves into breakthrough materials, optimized filter design, and smart technologies that can revolutionize air purification. As science deepens our understanding of airborne transmission and health impact, the future of filtration lies in sustainable, high-performance solutions that protect the trifecta of air quality, human health, and the planet.

Dr. Iyad Al-Attar: When air filtration is addressed, the first thing that comes to mind is particle capture. Why is it that we do not see multiple stages like molecular (gaseous) and pathogen (bioaerosols) and only see singular filters focusing on particles?

Nick Agopian: ASHRAE standards, as adopted by codes used for MEP and construction, focused on the minimum standard requirement for HVAC systems design. As written and adopted by standards committees, traditional filtration standards were developed not for human health but to protect HVAC cooling and heating coils and equipment components from dust buildup and operational inefficiencies. There was no intent to mitigate airborne health risks at that time. The written standards focused on filtration MERV levels to be rated at MERV 8 or even MERV 6. This was to ensure the coils never experienced deposition of large particles plugging up coil fins. These low-efficiency MERV levels allowed fine particles, ultrafine particles, and all pathogens to be delivered into the occupied space and right around the breathing zone of occupants in these spaces.

Post-pandemic, indoor air chemistry has received a fair amount of attention due to its impact on air quality and public

health, and our understanding of the true impact of airborne particles has evolved.

The concept of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY), which quantifies the health burden of air pollution, underscores the severe consequences of both fine (PM2.5, PM1.0, even PM0.5) and coarse (PM10) particles on respiratory and cardiovascular health (Figure 2).

Findings from the University of Nottingham further confirm that these particulates penetrate deep into lung tissue, enter the bloodstream, and distribute to critical organs, including the brain, exacerbating conditions such as asthma, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders. Research such as this has prompted committees in ASHRAE to elevate minimum standard filtration efficiencies.

Recognizing these risks, ASHRAE standards are evolving, shifting from equipment-centric filtration to human health-focused solutions.

Q+A

NICK AGOPIAN President, Reviveaire

The move toward higher MERV-rated filters (MERV 11 and higher) reflects this change, emphasizing the need to capture smaller, more hazardous particles that contribute to long-term health deterioration.

In fact, Title 241 in California mandates minimum MERV 13 filtration under certain conditions. With heightened awareness of IAQ’s role in public health, workplace productivity, and overall well-being, HVAC design is no longer just about efficiency, but it is now a critical component of human health protection. As research continues to shape our understanding, industry standards must continue to rise above the minimum, prioritizing

cleaner, healthier indoor air for all. This is not just because of the need for human health; the market is now demanding healthier spaces and willing to pay for healthier spaces. In addition, consumers actively search for spaces accordingly.

Recent studies emphasize the critical need to focus on ultrafine particles, particularly PM0.5 and PM1.0. These smaller particles remain suspended within indoor air and move with spaces in a Brownian movement, always around the breathing zone of occupants. Particles in this range pose a greater health risk than we previously understood.

Unlike larger particulates, these submicron particles can evade the body’s natural defenses, entering the bloodstream within the alveoli deep within the lungs, where they are transported to vital organs, including the heart, liver, and brain. Research has shown that chronic exposure to these ultrafine particles contributes to the following:

• Systemic inflammation

• Oxidative stress

• Cardiovascular disease

• Respiratory conditions

• Neurological disorders

The University of Nottingham’s2 latest findings confirm that inhaled PM0.5 and PM1.0 particles not only trigger inflammatory responses in the lungs but also cross the blood-brain barrier, leading to neuroinflammation, which is linked to Alzheimer’s,

Images Provided By Dr. Iyad Al-Attar. Top Art:

t Figure 1: Typical expression

Parkinson’s, and cognitive decline. This is a considerable concern and must be taken into immediate consideration, especially in young children, where Asthma attacks increase by 34% with only 10 micrograms per cubic meter, and the elderly increase dementia by 46%3

Filtration strategies must go beyond ASHRAE’s minimum standards to combat these health risks and adopt advanced air purification technologies. High-efficiency filtration, such as MERV 16 and HEPA filters, is essential for capturing ultrafine particles and preventing their circulation in indoor spaces. Additionally, non-thermal plasma (NTP) technology (ASHRAE Journal December 2023 issue) 4 is emerging as a powerful complement to traditional filtration, as it actively agglomerated submicron airborne particles, including PM0.5, PM1.0, and bioaerosols. Advanced filtration technologies that offer sustainable performance should be researched and developed.

Combining high-efficiency filters with NTP ensures a more comprehensive approach to IAQ, significantly reducing the health

risks associated with ultrafine particulate exposure. Given the overwhelming evidence of the harm caused by PM0.5 and PM1.0, future IAQ standards must prioritize human health, not just equipment protection, by integrating these advanced filtration solutions into building ventilation systems. This is a critical consideration as most standards, as adopted by code, use a singular filter when filtration is never singular in nature and requires multiple stages.

Al-Attar: How can we raise the bar of IAQ if air filter performance is inconsistent and the filter loading conditions are transient?

Agopian: Things aren’t what they seem! Understanding filter performance is a variable that will require more focus from standards committees to harmonize how filters perform in situ.

ASHRAE Appendix J in Standard 52.25 is designed to provide a more realistic evaluation of air filter performance by accounting for the loss of electrostatic charge in synthetic media filters. Many MERV-rated filters rely on an initial electrostatic charge to enhance particle capture efficiency, particularly for submicron particles. However, this charge naturally dissipates over time due to exposure to humidity, airflow, and particulate loading, leading to a decline in filtration efficiency. Appendix J introduces a conditioning step that neutralizes this static charge before testing, ensuring the filter’s performance is measured based on its mechanical filtration capabilities rather than temporary electrostatic enhancement. When dealing with health, as described above, we need to know the actual filter efficiency for the life of the filter. In EPA testing, they found that a tested and rated MERV 13 drops to MERV 9 after four weeks.

The typical reduction in filter efficiency for charged media is:

• 2 to 3 MERV ratings with salt pre-conditioning

• 4 to 5 MERV with IPA pre-conditioning

Once tested appropriately, the MERV rating would be presented with an “A,” meaning a true MERV 13 would be a MERV 13A, and a true MERV 11 would be represented as MERV 11A.

This adjustment provides a more accurate and consistent assessment of filter efficiency throughout its lifespan, reinforcing the need for higher-quality mechanical filtration.

Al-Attar: How do airborne pathogens in indoor environments contribute to the spread of respiratory infections, and what role does ventilation play in mitigating their impact?

Agopian: Airborne pathogens, including viruses (influenza, SARSCoV-2), bacteria (tuberculosis, Legionella), and fungal spores (Aspergillus), move easily through the air. Humans complicate the problem through talking (Fomite), coughing, and sneezing,

p Figure 3: Aerodynamic diameter of dust particles (μm) and the areas they may deposit in the human body.

p Figure 2: Particle size distribution and visualization (2).

spreading via aerosols and droplets that remain suspended in air and distributed around via the HVAC system. In poorly ventilated spaces, these pathogens accumulate, significantly increasing infection risks.

Effective ventilation mitigates this threat by diluting (lowering concentration) and removing contaminants through enhanced air exchange rates. However, dilution will not be the entire solution. Properly ventilated spaces should be used in concert with highefficiency filtration (e.g., HEPA) and air disinfection technologies (e.g., UV-C, non-thermal plasma). These measures reduce airborne pathogen concentrations, lowering transmission rates and improving indoor air quality. The concept of using disinfection is superior to simple entrapment because pathogens such as viruses are still active.

Al-Attar: What are the long-term health consequences of prolonged exposure to indoor air contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and fungal spores, especially for individuals with pre-existing conditions?

Agopian: Prolonged exposure to contaminated indoor air increases the risk of chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Individuals with weakened immune systems, including the elderly, children, and those with chronic conditions (COPD, cardiovascular disease), are especially vulnerable to severe infections and complications to particles smaller than PM2.5. Additionally, mold spores and bioaerosols can trigger allergic reactions, worsen existing lung conditions, and contribute to persistent

p Figure 4: Inhalation pathway of acute particle matter impacting cognitive function8

inflammatory responses, leading to long-term health deterioration. Maintaining high indoor air quality (IAQ) through adequate ventilation, advanced filtration, and air disinfection is essential to mitigating these risks.

Al-Attar: How do modern building designs and HVAC systems influence the proliferation or reduction of indoor airborne pathogens, and what advancements are being made to improve indoor air quality?

Agopian: Many modern buildings prioritize energy efficiency over ventilation, leading to reduced air exchange and increased pathogen accumulation. Standard HVAC systems, often equipped with essential filtration, struggle to effectively capture sub-micron particles or neutralize airborne pathogens. Even increased ventilation using energy recovery technologies crosscontaminates at higher levels than previously understood6.

However, indoor air quality (IAQ) technology advancements are transforming pathogen control. ASHRAE 241 compliant solutions, high-efficiency filtration (e.g., HEPA, MERV 13A+), non-thermal plasma, ionization, and UV-C sterilization are enhancing air disinfection capabilities. Additionally, smart HVAC systems with real-time monitoring and adaptive ventilation are optimizing airflows based on occupancy and pollutant levels, ensuring safer, healthier indoor environments.

Al-Attar: Beyond infectious diseases, what other physiological and cognitive effects do airborne microbial contaminants have on human health, productivity, and overall well-being?

Agopian: Poor indoor air quality, laden with microbial contaminants, VOCs, and bioaerosols, is a key contributor to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS), causing headaches, fatigue, brain fog, and

respiratory irritation. Research shows that exposure to polluted indoor air impairs cognitive function, reducing focus, decision-making ability, and overall productivity.

Long-term inhalation of microbial toxins and ultrafine particles (as shown in Figure 5) can trigger chronic neuroinflammation, potentially increasing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Maintaining clean indoor air through advanced filtration, ventilation, and air disinfection is crucial for enhancing cognitive function, workplace efficiency, your family’s health at home, and long-term health. Acute particulate matter exposure diminishes executive cognitive functioning after four hours regardless of inhalation pathway. We find that quick exposures to high concentrations of air pollution affect the selective attention of participants. sThis can affect an individual’s ability to concentrate on tasks and avoid distractions7.

The Shift

These insights indicate a significant paradigm shift in the field of air filtration. This shift transcends the conventional emphasis on particle capture and equipment protection, highlighting the critical necessity of prioritizing human health. The discussion underscores the hazards associated with ultrafine particles and airborne pathogens and the limitations inherent in current regulatory standards. Furthermore, it advocates for the adoption of advanced filtration and ventilation technologies. The vital importance of accurately measuring filter performance is emphasized, particularly in relation to the potential cognitive and physiological effects of poor indoor air quality.

This transformation is propelled by the imperative to safeguard public health and an increasing consumer demand for healthier and safer building environments, not simply providing shelters. We seek buildings that are good for us, not simply good-looking!

References:

1. CEC, California Energy Commission: 2019 What’s New for Residential.

2. University of Nottingham, Harm from indoor contaminants: Harm from Indoor Air Contaminants by Giobertti Morantes, Benjamin Jones, Constanza Molina, Max Howard Sherman, SSRN.

3. National Research Council, CNR-IRIB, Italy, Imperial College, London, UK, during the WHO webinar, 20th March 2024, “Toxic air is fueling Noncommunicable diseases – NCD’s. Why are we not taking action.

4. Research conducted by Timothy Lau, Ph.D, is lecturer in Sustainable Energy Engineering at The University of South Australia, Australia. Martin Belusko, Ph.D., is an executive consultant at Mondial Advisory, Parkside, South Australia, Australia, and published in the ASHRAE Journal –December 2023: Lau_Belusko_ASHRAE_Paper_ver_Submission.pdf

5. ASHRAE Standard 52.2 Appendix J: ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2-2017.

6. ASHRAE RP 1780 RP - Test method to evaluate cross-contamination of gaseous contaminants within total energy recovery wheels.

7. Paper by Francis Pope Thomas Faherty, Gordon McFiggans and Jane Raymond, from research funded by NERC: Natural Environment Research Council.

8. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56508-3.pdf.

p Figure 5: Scanning electron microscopic images of atmospheric dust particles.

q Preserving a wine’s taste and intensity of flavor while maintaining its uniqueness involves a series of processes to remove contaminants.

Raising a Glass to the Internet of Things

By Adrian Wilson, International Correspondent, IFN

It has been estimated that over a trillion liters of wine have been filtered using the flat filter cellulose sheet media of Seitz, a company founded by the two brothers of that name specifically to address the issue of the secondary fermentation of wine in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, back in 1887. Since the 1990s, Seitz has been part of New York-headquartered Pall Corporation, which now leads the field in the supply of crossflow wine clarification systems, with over 1,500 of its Oenoflow installations around the world.

Clarification

Preserving a wine’s taste and intensity of flavor while maintaining its uniqueness involves a series of processes to remove contaminants including crystals, treatment residues, organic aggregates, bacteria and yeast, that can all significantly impact quality.

Clarification is the primary filtration step in the winemaking process in which yeasts and other particles from fermentation and fining are removed to reduce turbidity and improve downstream processing.

Designed for initial clarification and protein stabilization, the latest Oenoflow

PRO XL-A unit meets the needs and requirements of large wineries and bottlers in a single step process, without the need for filter aids and centrifugation and with no significant impact on the organoleptic characteristics of the wine. By increasing yields, reducing waste volumes and maintaining more consistent filtrate quality, the fully automated system provides a cost saving and sustainable alternative to traditional wine clarification methods. It is based on Pall’s hollow fiber membranes which have the mechanical strength and chemical resistance enabling high productivity and repeated exposure

Image Courtesy of Pall

The sediment at the bottom of juice, fermentation or fining vessels is known as lees and can represent up to 10% of a winery’s total volume. Its recovery from wine and juice represents one of the most challenging forms of filtration faced by wineries.

nation of surface, depth and adsorptive filtration.

If a wine has recently been clarified with a crossflow filter or other clarifying filter, polishing may not be needed prior to final filtration, but when the time between the wine clarification and bottling longer it is necessary.

Protein stabilization and clarification are two further critical steps to satisfying consumer expectations for a bright wine. While both steps prevent haze formation, one to remove heat sensitive proteins, the other suspended solids, the traditional commercial processes are typically carried out in consecutive phases. With Pall’s latest Oenoflow PRO XL System and Oenofine fining agents, wineries can now combine these operations in a single cost saving process step.

Final Filtration

to aggressive cleaning regimes. The large surface area modules enable compact systems to be configured with low water and chemical consumption in line with winery conservation programs.

Lees Filtration

The sediment at the bottom of juice, fermentation or fining vessels is known as lees and can represent up to 10% of a winery’s total volume. Its recovery from wine and juice represents one of the most challenging forms of filtration faced by wineries.

Pall’s Oenoflow HS unit has been specifically designed for this process, again exploiting the properties of hollow fiber membranes.

Traditionally, lees filtration is performed with Diatomaceous Earth (DE)-based filtration systems such as rotary vacuum drum (RVD) or chamber press filters.

While DE systems can handle high solids, however, their open design allows for oxygen pick up which can affect quality and the recovered wine often needs further processing. Typically, it will be

downgraded in value and used in blends instead of being added back to the original batch. In many small and mid-size wineries, the lees volume from a single batch is also often too small for processing with an RVD and in such cases the wineries will delay processing the lees and wait to accumulate an appropriate volume, missing the opportunity to recover high value product.

DE-based technologies can also involve the generation of significant waste which is avoided using Pall’s hollow fiber membrane alternative.

Polishing

Even after primary clarification, stabilization and maturation, fining agents, crystals, colloids and bacteria may still be present in the wine and a polishing filtration process step is designed to remove these particles and ensure that a final filtration step – to remove unwanted microbial contaminants immediately prior to bottling – is successful.

The polishing step is carried out with Seitz K Series filter sheets for a combi-

Final filtration ensures the removal of wine spoilage organisms that can cause refermentation, off flavors or turbidity post bottling. The typical wine spoilage organisms include yeasts, lactic bacteria and acetic bacteria.

This last filtration step prior to bottling is the most critical and filter media of pore sizes between 0.45 μm and 0.65 μm are employed.

DE-Free Brewing

Pall’s expertise also extends to brewing beer, and in recent years the technologies in use for beer filtration and clarification have also been switching from old style kieselguhr DE systems to modern crossflow membrane filtration, bringing major advantages.

The PROFi system, developed by Pall in a cooperation with GEA Westfalia Separator in Germany, combines a high performance centrifuge with a zero retentate crossflow membrane filter unit to provide efficient, DE-free clarification of beer.

Stabilized beer from fermentation/ maturation is pre-clarified with the high efficiency centrifuge which ensures gentle treatment of colloids and minimal oxygen pick-up. Bulk yeast is separated from the beer and discharged with a high percentage of dry solids. This membrane

q Pall’s Oenoflow XL-A System for wine clarification.

Image Courtesy of Pall

pre-clarification delivers longer filtration cycles and enhanced system economics.

Fine filtration of beer in the membrane unit is continuous, due to membrane blocks alternating in filtration and regeneration. This ensures constant filter availability and smaller system sizing, reducing both capital and operating expenses.

Pall Crossflow membrane systems for beer filtration and clarification provide breweries today with a sustainable process that keeps the beer characteristics unchanged from keg to keg and bottle to bottle.

Smart Beer

Following success in achieving enhanced efficiency and cost savings for winemakers with its latest Internet of Things (IoT) developments, a recent Pall introduction for breweries, is BeerIoT, a powerful tool for collecting and handling data and information.

Historically, it has been difficult to access and evaluate meaningful data in breweries in real-time, in order to address potential issues before they impact product quality.

The beer-making process is complex, with high-quality standards set to preserve the specific taste and flavor of a particular brew and large-scale breweries have the added challenge of maintaining consistency across multiple sites.

Pall BeerIoT provides easy access to accurate, quantifiable data on various devices to enables real-time decision-making for process optimization.



Typical examples of digital data analytics include specific consumption in terms of water, cleaning agents, electricity, membrane life and performance data such as the degree of utilization, efficiency and downtime.

Pall’s IoT tool also provides data on quality in respect of oxygen uptake, color, original extract and haze, as well as cost values for water, cleaner, membranes, electricity and beer loss.

Along with quality and efficiency gains, IoT can support sustainability initiatives by tracking volumes of water used during the process, helping identify where to reduce water usage. By pairing IoT with a membrane filtration system, brewers are able to identify more areas to optimize machine performance which leads to a

reduction of overall energy usage during production.

In addition to the real-time data, the IoT tool can analyze trends such as historical reviews, brand-related influences, raw material impacts and other factors influencing production. The ability to benchmark against other installations within a brewery group and the industry average are also available.

Adrian Wilson is an international correspondent for International Filtration News . He is a leading journalist covering fiber, filtration, nonwovens and technical textiles. He can be reached at adawilson@gmail.com.

www.appliednanoscience.com jointventure@appliednanoscience.com

Pall crossflow membrane filtration process stages for beer filtration.

CLEAN AIR Tales from Two Cities

FILTREX & FiltXPO 2025 Bring the Best of Filtration on Different Continents

By Adrian Wilson, International Correspondent, IFN

Advancements in nonwoven filter media will take center stage at two major upcoming events on both sides of the Atlantic..

EDANA’s two-day FILTREX™ 2025 Conference will be held in Vienna, Austria, from March 25-26, followed by INDA’s FiltXPO 2025 Conference & Exhibition on April 29-May 1 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida, held alongside the broader triennial IDEA® 25 show. Over 600 exhibitors are expected at the IDEA/FiltXPO show.

The converging themes of these two conferences reflect a recently-announced closer cooperation between the two leading industry associations – EDANA, based in Brussels, Belgium, and INDA of Cary, North Carolina.

Automotive Focus at FILTREX

A key theme at FILTREX 2025 will be the applications of nonwoven filter media in the automotive industry. Frank Möbius, former head of technology scouting and forecasting at BMW Group, will be the keynote speaker. His presentation, entitled Open Innovation, the Key to Future Success for Your Company, will explore how automotive industry leaders like BMW realize open innovation in their organizations and outline ten essential steps in adopting similar approaches.

A new session announced for the meeting in Vienna will also specifically explore media developments for automotive filtration, bringing together experts from three leaders in this field – Ahlstrom, Freudenberg FT, and Neenah Gessner.

Air Intake

Ahlstrom Italia’s Simone Cerminara will outline the various types of standard air intake media for engines and explore their benefits for filter manufacturers.

Among recent Ahlstrom introductions in this area is a range of renewable, ligninbased filter media called Ahlstrom Eco. Lignin, a natural polymer found in plant cell walls, offers structural support while significantly improving the product’s carbon footprint.

Currently used in automotive applications such as engine air intake, oil, and fuel filtration, lignin-based media also reduce formaldehyde emissions during the curing process, making them a more sustainable option. Using a significant amount of bio-based, renewable lignin

rather than fossil-based resins, Ahlstrom Eco is said to maintain its mechanical properties and durability even in challenging environments.

This lignin-based impregnated filter media has a lower carbon footprint than standard fossil-based resin media. Additionally, the recipe significantly reduces formaldehyde emissions by 5070% during the curing process.

Media Options

Freudenberg FT’s Christian Ewald will further explore the advantages and limitations of new European Union standards such as ISO 10121-3 and Eurovent 4/26 relating to automotive emissions and air quality, how they impact ensuring a safe work environment and superior corrosion protection, and how to select the best cost-performance filtration solution while accurately calculating the most economic filter lifetimes.

The Freudenberg Group as a whole supplies a wide range of technologies aimed at helping engines work reliably, including vibration control technologies, durable bearings, specialty chemicals and surface treatment and galvanization technology, as well as filter media.

PCF

Christof Keppler of Neenah Gessner will then outline the importance of a filter media’s product carbon footprint (PCF) and how lowering it impacts on both performance and cost structure, paving the way for more sustainable filtration solutions.

Like Ahlstrom, Gessner, a Mativ company, is replacing commonly used phenolic resins with lignin-based resins in its wet-laid nonwoven cellulose filter media and is also behind other innovations.

Unlike many nonwovens that incorporate delicate layers of continuous electrospun fibers, for example, MecNa is a filter media with individual nanofibers directly integrated into its structure. Alphastar and NeenahPure nonwovens feature activated carbon layers for pleated media and bag filters. These layers capture and neutralize impurities such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), odors, and other contaminants.

Healthy Buildings & Nonwoven

Innovation at FiltXPO

INDA just announced the FiltXPO 2025 Conference program, developed jointly with the American Filtration and Separations Society (AFS), that explores some key end-use markets for nonwoven filter media, including their applications in buildings and living spaces for guaranteeing cleaner indoor air quality (IAQ), and intriguingly, the increasing significance of this in data centers.

Options for Better Buildings

Healthy Buildings: Transforming IAQ –Strategies, Technologies, and Innovations for Healthy Living Spaces kicks off the educational sessions, moderated by Mark Clark, Division President of Filtations Solutions, Hollingsworth and Vose Company, and Rahul Bharadwaj, Senior Applications Engineering Manager, Alkegen. Erlab USA’s Lisa Greenfield, CAFS, Director and Jesse Coiro, Director/General Manager, explores assessing and assuring quality indoor air with strategies. The various dimensions of indoor air pollution and its significant impact on our daily lives, especially for children who are more vulnerable to poor air quality due to their developing respiratory systems. Asthma is a leading cause of school absenteeism in our younger generations. Other groups at risk are the elderly, immunocompromised and people of color. Tools for accurate monitoring, comprehensive filtration systems, and strategic interventions must be employed to improve IAQ, and health and wellness.

Adding to the discussion, Bruce Lorange, Global Marketing Manager, H&V,

presents a recent company multi-month case study in Delhi, India, exploring enhanced filtration for human health. “Indoor air quality is the world’s leading environmental health threat, especially in cities, where 70% of the global population will live by 2050,” notes Lorange. The study illustrates with real-world data that effective HVAC filtration does, in fact, greatly improve IAQ.

Maria Figols, Chief Scientific Officer, and John Oliver, International Business Development Manager of InBiot Monitoring SL, share their knowledge of real-time indoor air quality monitoring. They share how integrating InBiot’s real-time IAQ data with Building Management Systems (BMS) enhances the control and responsiveness of indoor environments. By feeding precise IAQ metrics directly into BMS, facility managers can automate ventilation, filtration, and HVAC adjustments based on current air quality needs. Tyler Smith, Vice President, Healthy Buildings, HVAC & Controls, Johnson Controls Inc. says, “Buildings account for 40% of global CO2 emissions, and we spend 90% of our time indoors. As leaders, we have a responsibility to design, construct, and operate buildings in a way that optimizes for the planet’s health AND for the health of occupants.” He emphasizes that smart building technology using artificial intelligence are a necessary component of any sustainability strategy.

Presenting a new topic – Air Quality in Data Centers: People vs. the Machines – Chris Muller of AAF International notes that IAQ is mostly associated with the health, well-being, and comfort of

humans in an occupiable space. However, in mission-critical facilities such as data centers, it is being scrutinized less for the human occupants and more for the “health” of the critical informational technology (IT) and datacom equipment.

“Regulatory changes in place since 2006 resulted in much higher failure rates for IT and datacom equipment in facilities located in regions with high air pollution levels,” he explains. “The use of outdoor air for free cooling as a way to reduce energy costs has reached the mainstream of data center design, and for many companies, it is now a standard design approach for all new facilities. However, as free cooling expands, many locations are experiencing higher equipment failure rates due to gaseous pollutants, higher temperatures, and fluctuating humidity inside the data center.”

As data centers evolve to support increasing computational demands, he adds, the need for effective management has never been more critical.

Following his presentation, an expert panel will explore the intersection of airflow, filtration, and energy efficiency, examining how contamination control impacts equipment reliability and operational sustainability. The challenges posed by rising heat loads, the effects of outdoor air integration, and the industry’s response to regulatory changes will be fully discussed. Participants include moderator Michael Chen, Ph.D., President, Midwest Filtration; Jon deRidder, VP of Innovation, Data Clean; and Christopher Muller.

Innovating Nonwovens

Nonwovens media is the star of the next set of sessions, and innovation is not lacking amongst these presentations.

Kimberley Espinosa, VP - Sales & Marketing, CEREX Advanced Fabrics, Inc. and Martin Lehmann, Ph.D., Principal Expert Research Network and Public Funding, Mann + Hummel GmbH each serve as moderators.

American Truetzschler’s Lothar Kaierle, VP Sales Nonwovens, delves into the importance of superior needle-punched nonwovens quality for enhanced fabric uniformity, strength, and overall performance.

Math2Market’s Andreas Wiegmann, Ph.D., explores how using CT scans for fiber length distribution determination offers a novel, digital, non-destructive method that is more efficient, reproducible, and accurate.

Samia Moore, Global Marketing Management, H&V, shares their recent innovation, filter media that offers a more intuitive and comprehensive design and production solution for P100 respirators without relying on fluorochemistry. NanoWave® ESA is an all-synthetic media, that can achieve P100 efficiency without pleating and with higher user comfort, and is getting positive reviews from RPE producers.

PFAS concerns and increasing regulatory pressures are to be discussed by Ping Hao, Ph.D., Sr. Nonwoven & Filtration Scientist, Superior Felt & Filtration. She addresses innovative filtration technologies that provide PFAS-free solutions, focusing on advanced nanofiber technologies, bio-based polymers, and composite materials engineered for high filtration efficiency and sustainability.

Then. Kevin Guo, Ph.D., COO, Matregenix showcases his company’s PFAS-free HEPA and ULPA nanofiber filter technology designed for healthcare, cleanrooms,

and industrial manufacturing, among other settings.

Presenters from Ahlstrom – Kent Williamson, Head of Product Development & Quality and Magnera– Saravanan Andan, Principal Engineer Scientist round out this topic.

Williamson shares the two main aspects of sustainability, which include materials sourcing and high-performance design. Andan gets technical on spun-bond web methods to improve the uniformity and consistency. Methods to employ include using different fiber cross-sections, fiber sizes, electrostatics, laydown air handling, throughput, and multiple beams.

Moderator Koen Bastiaens, Principal, will then bring together panelists to discuss sustainable innovations, circularity, advanced materials, and eco-friendly practices, as well as new government regulations, cutting-edge filtration technologies, and the impact of improved filter media on performance and sustainability.

Exposition Miami

Miami Beach, Florida is the backdrop for FiltXPO/IDEA 25 this year. The almost sold-out expo floor features over 600 companies, a Miami-Vice-themed lounge sponsored by Kimberly Clark, and lightning talks on sustainability at the INDA booth. The IDEA 25 Show’s “Sustainability Conference,” will run concurrently with FiltXPO’s educational track.

Awards Program

Rounding out the excitement, winners of the 2025 FILTREX and FiltXPO Innovation Awards, decided upon separately by expert judging panels and delegate votes, will be announced during the conferences, along with significant networking opportunities. Find more details and registration information at www.edana.org/ events/filtrex and www.filtxpo.com.

Adrian Wilson is an international correspondent for International Filtration News . He is a leading journalist covering fiber, filtration, nonwovens and technical textiles. He can be reached at adawilson@gmail.com.

April 29-May 1, 2025

Miami Beach Convention Center

Miami Beach, Florida USA

New for 2025! The American Filtration & Separations Society (AFS) is partnering with INDA to create a world-class FiltXPO™ conference program.

The two-day FiltXPO conference program will share technical insights in filtration innovations and technologies from industry professionals all over the world. Conference program details will be released in the fall of 2024.

Immerse yourself in the next generation of filtration technologies and innovations. Discover the latest developments from world-class exhibitors. Gain new intelligence on what is driving the filtration market.

Unlock business opportunities, gain exposure to new products, and build connections with key players in the filtration industry. Your next success story starts here.

MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND OR SPONSOR TODAY!

AHR Expo 2025 Vision: HVACR Innovation, Sustainability, and Future Trends

By Iyad Al-Attar

The AHR Expo 2025 is a pivotal gathering for the HVACR community, providing a platform to showcase the latest innovations and technologies. Engaging with industry experts during the event facilitates opportunities for sustainable business development. It addresses a range of pertinent themes, including indoor air quality, HVAC systems, automation and control, as well as tools and instruments, all aimed at delivering sustainable solutions and insights that elevate the standards of the HVACR industry. Furthermore, the expo highlights the unprecedented commitment of industry leaders and innovators to prioritize public health and well-being by adopting technologies that promote sustainable living and enhance energy efficiency.

The AHR Expo 2025 attracted attendees numbering 50,807 (39,609 visitors, 11,198 exhibitors) and was spread over 516,060 sq. ft., with 1,878 exhibiting companies from 37 countries. The educational sessions were not lacking, with 340+ on different tracks, and for varying degrees of expertise. The show highlighted several prominent themes, each driving significant changes and innovations within the HVACR sector.

Decarbonization & Energy Efficiency: The most dominant theme was the drive for carbon reduction. This is achieved through high-efficiency heat pumps, low-GWP refrigerants, and advanced automation. Propelling carbon reduction dominated discussions, with manufactur-

ers unveiling high-efficiency heat pumps, low-GWP refrigerants, and advanced automation. Regulatory changes, specifically ASHRAE 241 guidelines, are further influencing sustainable design practices in pursuit of AIA Challenging 2030.

Heat Pump Innovations: Heat pumps are becoming more attractive as alternatives to traditional gas-powered heating. Advancements include improved performance in extreme temperatures and increased reliability. Danfoss, Mitsubishi, and Samsung showcased systems capable of efficient operation in extreme temperatures, improving performance and reliability across diverse climates. This innovation is particularly crucial for states focused on electrification efforts.

AI and Smart HVAC Controls: The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming HVAC systems. AI enables real-time data analysis, predictive maintenance, and adaptive airflow control for optimized indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy efficiency. Remote monitoring, IoT-connected systems, and AI-driven diagnostics are key features. The market is pushing for more integration between the user in the space and the mechanical equipment.

Refrigerant Transition & Compliance: The shift towards low-GWP refrigerants is a major focus due to increasing environmental regulations. Educational sessions covered safety, compliance, and necessary system adaptations. With increasing environmental regulations, the transition to low-GWP refrigerants was a hot topic.

Educational sessions focused on safety, compliance, and system adaptations as the industry exited high-GWP options. While larger manufacturers are adapting, smaller ones face more significant challenges, with some even exiting the refrigeration systems market. The AL2 shift is particularly challenging.

Air Filtration Technologies: Filtration technologies within HVACR systems, when coupled with intelligent building automation, are paramount for fostering sustainable and healthy living environments. These systems work synergistically to purify indoor air by removing harmful particulates, allergens, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), thus mitigating respiratory issues, and enhancing overall well-being.

Modern filtration, encompassing technologies like HEPA filters and advanced molecular filtration, allows for capturing increasingly smaller and more dangerous airborne contaminants. Furthermore, building automation systems enable precise monitoring and control of these filtration processes, optimizing energy efficiency by adjusting ventilation rates based on real-time air quality data.

The expo has highlighted the industry's commitment to advancing beyond traditional particulate filtration and has underscored the necessity of addressing gases and bioaerosols within the filtration process. Industry leaders have demonstrated the critical importance of air filtration technologies by adopting a proactive

approach that reduces energy consumption while ensuring optimal air quality in indoor environments. This initiative contributes significantly to a more sustainable and healthier future.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): Concerns stemming from the pandemic continue to drive advancements in IAQ technologies. High-efficiency filtration, air disinfection (UV-C, non-thermal plasma), and smart ventilation strategies are increasingly important. The demand for PM1.0 filtration, wildfire smoke mitigation, and pathogen control has grown, with IAQ solutions now addressing health risks beyond PM2.5. The demand for enhanced IAQ is becoming a baseline expectation for all HVAC systems.

Advanced Hydronic Cooling for Data Centers: With increasing data center cooling needs, hydronic cooling systems with intelligent pump technology are gaining traction. Hydronic cooling is expected to receive significant attention in future expos, particularly given its wide spectrum of

ai17399781169_2025

applications in residential homes, commercial buildings, and industrial facilities.

Workforce Development & Industry Training:

Recognizing the growing skills and knowledge gaps, the AHR Expo highlighted training sessions on emerging technologies, refrigerant transitions, and AI-driven HVAC management. Workforce education remains a critical industry focus. The courses that ran alongside AHR, as well as the ASHRAE technical conferences, saw high attendance.

Outlook: The AHR Expo highlighted the HVACR industry's commitment to sustainability, intelligent systems, and a focus

on human health. The sector is moving towards adaptive, data-driven solutions that minimize environmental impact. AHR 2025 set the direction for a more sustainable, intelligent, and health conscious HVACR industry. Furthermore, the growing importance of dehumidification was noted, with discussions about potentially evolving the acronym HVACR to HVACRD to explicitly include dehumidification as a core function.

Dr. Iyad Al-Attar is the IFN Global Correspondent, Technology and Innovation.

Thermo Fisher to Acquire Solventum’s Purification Unit

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., a global leader in serving science, announced a definitive agreement to acquire the Purification & Filtration business of Solventum for $4.1 billion in cash. This strategic move is set to enhance Thermo Fisher’s bioproduction capabilities and expand its presence in the rapidly growing bioprocessing market.

Solventum’s Purification & Filtration business, which generated approximately $1 billion in revenue in 2024, is recognized for its purification and filtration technologies. These technologies are essential in the production of biologics, medical technologies, and various industrial applications. The business employs about 2,500 people across multiple regions, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific.

Marc N. Casper, chairman, president, and CEO of Thermo Fisher, emphasized the strategic fit of the acquisition, stating that it will deliver significant value to customers and shareholders. He highlighted the anticipated mid- to high-single digit organic growth and strong margin expansion expected from the integration of Solventum’s business into Thermo Fisher’s Life Sciences Solutions segment. www.thermofisher.com

Veralto Enters Agreement to Purchase AQUAFIDES

Veralto Corporation, a global leader in essential water and product quality solutions dedicated to Safeguarding the World’s Most Vital Resources™, announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Austria-based Ultraviolet (UV) treatment company AQUAFIDES for approximately $20 million. This transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025.

AQUAFIDES designs, manufactures and supports high-quality UV treatment systems that meet the stringent requirements for drinking water, treat wastewater for reuse and provide high purity water for a variety of industrial applications, including food and beverage, and pharmaceuticals.

“AQUAFIDES enhances Trojan Technologies’ ability to serve European customers with strong local support and excellent service while also expanding our UV treatment portfolio with high-quality, efficient, fit-for-purpose systems,” said Melissa Aquino, Senior Vice President of Water Quality at Veralto. “We look forward to welcoming the AQUAFIDES team to Veralto and unlocking new growth opportunities together.”

“AQUAFIDES and Trojan Technologies share complementary technologies with similar cultures inspired by the mission of bringing clean water to communities who depend on it,” said Friedrich Stadler and Wolfgang Ecker, Founders at AQUAFIDES. “We are excited to join Veralto and share in their purpose of Safeguarding the World’s Most Vital Resources.™” www.veralto.com

ANDRITZ Acquires LDX Solutions

International technology group

ANDRITZ has acquired LDX Solutions, a leading provider of emission reduction technologies and related services in the North American industrial market, with annual revenues of about $100 million.

This acquisition further strengthens ANDRITZ’s offering of environmental technologies and its presence in the growing North American market.

Comprising the strong legacy brands of Dustex®, Geoenergy® and Western Pneumatics, LDX Solutions offers a wide range of technologies and engineered solutions for a cleaner environment. The company’s wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP) and regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTO) will further complement ANDRITZ’s comprehensive clean air technologies portfolio. With a team of 250 experts, decades of experience, and an installed base of more than 2,000 systems, LDX Solutions also enhances the service offering for ANDRITZ customers throughout North America. www.andritz.com

FLSmidth to Expand Global Service Center Network in 2025

Leading mining technology and service supplier FLSmidth will open or expand seven service centers in strategic locations across the globe in 2025. These facilities are in direct support of FLSmidth’s CORE’26 mining strategy that includes targeting service growth and adds to the company’s already comprehensive global network of service centers that can enhance mining customers’ productivity. New facilities will open in Accra, Ghana; Surabaja, Indonesia; and Dammam, Saudi Arabia, whereas the current operations in Mackay, Australia will relocate to a larger facility. Expansions are planned in Parauapebas, Brazil; Karaganda, Kazakhstan; and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Operations in each of these new locations will begin within the coming months with official opening details to be announced locally at a later date. In addition, an expansion of the service center in Chloorkop, South Africa is already ongoing and will be completed in 2026. www.flsmidth.com

Thermo Fisher Scientific

p WESP and RTO systems at a pellet plant in Hamlet, NC, USA. LDX Solutions

Sonoco Industrial & Specialty Plastics Increases Filtration Core Production at Chatham, New York Plant

Sonoco Industrial & Specialty Plas-

tics announced a significant increase in the production of filtration cores at its Chatham, New York, plant. The strategic move is in response to the growing global demand for highquality filtration core plastics, driven by advancements in industrial and consumer applications.

Global demand for plastics, including those used in filtration cores, has substantially increased. The apparent consumption of plastics industry goods in the United States alone rose by 13.7% to $393.3 billion in 2022. The surge underscores the critical role that plastics and plastic products play in the global economy.

The company is ramping up production to meet the heightened demand. In addition to increasing production, they are implementing seasonal efforts to optimize filtration core production. The plant’s stateof-the-art facilities and advanced manufacturing processes ensure that our filtration cores feature superior structural strength, chemical resistance, and thermal stability. www.sonoco.com

Ahlstrom Expands in Life Sciences Filtration with Acquisition of ErtelAlsop

Ahlstrom has acquired ErtelAlsop, a New York-based manufacturer of high-performance liquid depth filter media serving end-markets in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, flavors and fragrances, and chemical industries.

The acquisition strengthens Ahlstrom’s position in the life science filtration market and allows the company to enter the depth filtration space.

ErtelAlsop will become part of Ahlstrom’s Filtration and Life Sciences business and will be key to the company’s lab and life sciences filtration growth strategy.

The acquisition brings production and engineering capabilities that meet a broad range of demanding product specifications, adding value for existing and new customers worldwide. www.ertelalsop.com

Filter King LLC Opens Filter Manufacturing and Distribution Facility in Las Vegas

Filter King LLC, specializing in high-quality HVAC and furnace filters, announced the opening of its new manufacturing and distribution center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new facility, which includes production, warehousing, and distribution capabilities, will enhance the company’s ability to rapidly supply air filters across the Southwest and West Coast, including key markets in California.

With its established presence as the number one filter producer in Florida, Filter King has successfully expanded its footprint throughout the Southeastern United States, supplying products to homeowners, HVAC service providers, condominiums, hotels, schools, hospitals, and various commercial sectors. The Nevada expansion comes after several years of rapid growth for the company, which has experienced a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 83% since 2021. In 2024, the company’s revenue surged by 118%.

“We’ve established ourselves as the ‘go-to’ manufacturer of standard and custom-sized filters in the Southeast, and now we’re setting our sights on dominating the California and greater Southwest U.S. market,” said Filter King Founder and CEO Rick Hoskins. “The timing is right, and Nevada is the ideal location to support this expansion. Our investment in plant upgrades, equipment, inventory, and process optimization is expected to create approximately 120 new jobs by 2027, with significant opportunities for future growth.”

The new Las Vegas facility will benefit from the area’s skilled labor force and its proximity to major air and ground shipping infrastructure, ensuring that Filter King can quickly meet demand and deliver products efficiently to customers throughout the region. www.filterking.com

Grundfos Starts Construction of New Global Headquarters

Grundfos has signed a contract with the construction company MT Højgaard for the building of a new global headquarters in Bjerringbro, Denmark.

The new headquarters will serve as a hub for Grundfos’ activities, equipped with their own energy-efficient solutions and designed to inspire creativity and collaboration. This project reflects the company’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and roots in Bjerringbro. The building is located on Poul Due Jensens Vej near the Poul Due Jensen Academy and the Grundfos Center.

“Our headquarters will be an excellent setting for a modern workspace. We are meeting the highest sustainability standards, and the building will represent our relentless pursuit of quality featuring our own smart technologies to minimize environmental impact and optimize performance,” explained Mikael Geday, CFO at Grundfos and continued:

“Together with existing Grundfos buildings we are creating a campus for colleagues to work, learn and grow. In the design phase we have taken inputs from employees across many functions to create the best possible workspace, and we will continue this collaboration throughout the building phase,” Geday said.

The new global headquarters are scheduled to be ready by mid-2027, allowing for the first employees to move in in Q3 2027. www.grundfos.com

Toray Signs Agreement with Korea Water

TCERAFILTEC and xAI Cooperate in Sustainable Water Management

The world’s largest ceramic membrane bioreactor (MBR) is set to be built by xAI to enable reuse of 49.2 MLD (13.0 MGD) of municipal wastewater for cooling its supercomputing data center in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. CERAFILTEC will deliver its most advanced ceramic membrane technology in a fast-track project set for completion in 2025.

The enormous scale of this MBR project highlights the growing demand for advanced ceramic solutions in mission-critical applications of wastewater treatment such as data center cooling. xAI, an artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, who has stated this will be “the most powerful AI training cluster in the world,” selected CERAFILTEC for its technological competence, advanced ceramic membrane solution, and ability to meet an accelerated delivery schedule. CERAFILTEC’s technology provides superior reliability and efficiency, overcoming common membrane issues such as fiber breakages and delicate cleaning regimens. In a rapidly expanding data center industry, effective, sustainable water management is essential to maintain high operational performance. CERAFILTEC’s solution is designed to meet these stringent requirements.

The project underscores xAI’s commitment to sustainable water management by utilizing municipal wastewater for cooling, thereby conserving precious drinking water and protecting the Memphis Sands Aquifer for the benefit of local communities. With its capacity to treat more wastewater than xAI requires, the plant will also provide surplus treated water to local industries, thus dramatically reducing the aquifer impact from existing users and setting a precedent for green practices in tech. This not only optimizes water reuse but also marks a milestone in environmental leadership, urging high-tech companies towards sustainable water solutions.

CERAFILTEC’s technology provides a durable, reusable solution that supports a circular economy, effectively eliminating plastic waste from conventional polymeric membranes and significantly minimizing negative environmental impact. www.cerafiltec.com

oray Advanced Materials and the Korea Water Resources Corporation recently signed a business agreement to promote the wastewater reuse industry and research field.

With this agreement, the two companies decided to cooperate, including joint research, throughout wastewater reuse technology.

Specifically, the two companies will cooperate on technology to concentrate concentrated water generated in the process of reuse of wastewater to the extreme through ion exchange membranes. It also collaborates on elemental technologies that save energy and recover useful resources. Through this, it is expected to realize “free wastewater treatment” by discharging all residue into concentrated solid sludge without generating wastewater and recycling clean water. www.toray.com

p Kim Byung-ki, director of the K-water Research Institute of the Korea Water Resources Corporation (right), and Kang Chang-won, director of the Toray Advanced Material Filter Division, at the signing ceremony of a business agreement to promote the wastewater reuse industry and research field on the 11th.

p The new Grundfos headquarters in Bjerringbro, Denmark.

p CERAFILTEC will provide its most advanced ceramic membrane technology for the world’s largest AI supercomputer data center and ceramic MBR.

BUYER’S GUIDE

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Filtration Technology Expands

Manufacturing Facility to Meet Growing Demand

F

iltration Technology Corporation® (FTC) is expanding manufacturing headquarters in Houston, Texas to meet escalating demand for its innovative filtration and separation solutions. The new facility will increase manufacturing and operations space by 55,000 square feet, bringing the total footprint to 130,000 square feet. This growth underscores FTC’s commitment to scaling for future demand while strengthening its global presence, marked by the transition of its website to FTCFilters.com. The expansion was recently completed in December 2024.

“This expansion gives us the capacity and flexibility to continue delivering highquality solutions to our customers while preparing for sustained growth,” said Tyler Johnson, President and CEO of FTC. “The added space allows us to stay ahead of market demand and uphold our commitment to innovation and excellence in serving the industrial fluid processing industry.”

By investing in duplicate and triplicate equipment, such as automated seaming, cutting, capping and pleating machines, storage technologies, and additional generator capacity, the new facility minimizes the risk of downtime and ensures steady production for their customers. Additionally, an expanded R&D center now includes a state-ofthe-art Scanning Electron Microscope to support the development of next-generation filtration solutions. www.ftcfilters.com

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p FTC is expanding its Houston headquarters by 55,000 square feet to meet rising demand and strengthen its global presence.

STRONGER TOGETHER

Beverlin Specialty Tube is proud to announce the acquisition of Perforated Tubes. This exciting partnership brings together over 100 years of combined expertise in perforated cores, filter elements and welded assemblies, forming a unified powerhouse poised to set new industry standards. By joining forces, we are now able to offer an even broader range of exceptional products and services, while continuing to deliver the unparalleled experience our customers expect. Together, we’re expanding our reach across sectors and increasing our impact on the market.

To learn more, visit beverlin.com and perftubes.com or call us at 616.949.5990.

616.949.5990