VIEWPOINT Starting Off the Year Strong

This famous quote by Francis Bacon projects the idea that intelligent people can actively identify and cultivate new opportunities, rather than waiting for open doors to magically appear. Seeking new avenues of “success is where preparation and opportunity meet,” according to renowned auto racer Bobby Unser. In the race to the top, it is often those who are positioned for the next level that benefit. Another good quote says, “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one, than to have an opportunity and not be prepared,” according to American civil rights leader Whitney Young Jr.

Setting yourself up for new opportunity is best done by pursuing the low hanging fruit. This is often found at the industry’s key events, where researchers, educators, engineers, innovators, end-users and vendors all gather to recognize thought leadership and innovation. This year, we have identified seven shows that we feel are relevant to our readership. On page 37, we preview AHR Expo 2025 (February 10-12, Orlando, FL), FILTREX 2025 (March 25-26, Vienna, Austria), FiltCon 2025 (April 1-3, Louisville, KY), INTERPHEX 25 (April 1-3, New York), FiltXPO (April 29May 1, Miami Beach, FL), 14th World Filtration Congress (June 30-July 4, Bourdeaux, France) and WEFTEC 2025 (September 27-October 1, Chicago, IL). This show guide will help you plan your year, and make sure you are in the right place at the right time!

On page 25 and 42, correspondent Adrian Wilson shares the best of FILTECH 2024 in his insightful show review. Topics such as digital twins, cleaner electrospun media, sustainable polymers, green solvents, PFAS zero solutions and more were highlights of Europe’s key filtration show.

Also insightful, a primer on Fueling for Tomorrow, on page 22, by John D’Antonio, engineering manager at Parker Hannifin’s Industrial Gas Filtration, explains the importance of the growing field of hydrogen refueling filtration, educating on all the aspects of the process.

On page 19, Wilson also explores nanofiltration’s role in re-refining waste oil, stating, “Organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) can now bring major benefits to rerefining operations,” and shares how one company is making headway in this arena.

Scaling Up Lithium Production Using Direct Lithium Extraction (p. 27), Micron Ratings on Media for Metalworking Fluid Filters (p. 31), and Pursuit of Clean Air (p. 33) round out the issue.

In 2025, we encourage you to review the robust editorial calendar on page 4 to explore where YOU might contribute to IFN as a subject matter expert! We welcome your ideas –e-mail me at csmith@inda.org!

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

Rahul Bharadwaj, Ph.D.

Lydall Performance Materials

Tel: +1 603-953-6318

Email: rbharadwaj@lydall.com

Tom Justice, CAFS, NCT

ZENE, LLC Filtration

Tel: 757-378-3857

Email: justfilter@yahoo.com

James J. Joseph

Joseph Marketing

Tel/Fax: +1 757-565-1549

Emai: josephmarketing120@gmail.com

Wenping Li, Ph.D.

Agriltech Research Company

Tel: +1 337-421-6345

Email: wenpingl@agrilectric.com

Robert W. McIlvaine

The McIlvaine Company

Tel: +1 847-784-0013

Email: rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com

Rishit R. Merchant

Parker Hannifin

P: +1 (805) 604-3519

E: rishit.merchant@parker.com

Thad Ptak, Ph.D.

TJ Ptak & Associates

Tel: +1 414-514-8937

Email: thadptak@hotmail.com industry, IFN is the leading source for the dialogues, debates and innovations across the full spectrum of filtration and separation applications and processes.

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.