Genesis Membrane Sepratech Pvt. Ltd.

Introduction :
To maintain high hygienic standards and to ensure proper functioning of the equipments, dairy evaporators, pipe line and other equipments are regularly cleaned after each production cycle. The cleaning solution typically contains 2 to 4% caustic and additional compounds such as antifoams and chelating agents. This solution removes caramelized organics, precipitated proteins, pectins and fats from the surface of tanks, pipes, heat exchangers and evaporators.

The contaminated solution, after cleaning, still contains high concentration of active caustic. This solution is generally reused in one of the following ways :

The solution is reused 7-10 times and then the CIP tank is completely discharged. Approximately 10% of the caustic solution is discharged daily while the remaining volume is recycled to the CIP tank.

In both the cases, discharged caustic solution is heavily loaded with dispersed and soluble organic contaminant which has to be neutralized. It is also difficult to discharge this effluent due to pollution control regulations and also from ecological point of view. As a solution to the above, the spent caustic solution can be passed through membranes for very effective reuse. Membrane system is very compact, energy saving, easy to operate and eco friendly.

In the production of white sugar crystals from cane juice various separation techniques are employed to separate sucrose from those of other components present in cane juice. Since sugar manufacturing is an old process based on conventional techniques the separation efficiency as well as energy efficiency are low. Periodic heating/cooling coupled with adjustments of pH to acidic/basic conditions cause significant loss of the sucrose molecule in to molasses and else where. Incorporation of appropriate membrane technology has been tested to produce sugar with higher yield and with lower energy consumption. The resulting molasses has been found to be of much better quality in terms of colour and salt content. Such molasses will be of very high value for those industries where it is used as feed-stock.

Containerized Water Treatment System based on Reverse Osmosis Membrane Technology for both Water & Waste-water treatment applications.

Key Features:

• Fully assembled in standard 40 ft. shipping container.
• Installed right where treated water discharge is required.
• All components inclusing pumps, piping, dosing, pre-treatment, RO skid & controls installed within the container. No requirement for additional installation space (except feed & collection tanks).
• Fully automatic operation controlled by PLC and Touch Panel (HMI).
• Reduces costs of constructing expensive buildings or sheds and expensive labour & civil works.
• Substantially reduces the lead time for installation & commissioning activities.
  

Concentration & Desalination of Dyes is being done all over the world for production of salt free concentrated high purity product. This has been possible through use of proprietary membranes developed after years of research.

Dyestuff producers require the salt content in the concentrated dye to be reduced to a certain level. The following is an illustration:

Preparative HPLC is used in reverse phase (water/solvent) or normal phase (solvent/solvent) to separate the main product fraction from the contaminating molecules. The waste stream is spent solvent that must be discarded. While the main fraction contains the product that is to be concentrated.

A hydrophilic solvent stable membrane is used for reverse phase separations. In this example, the product stream from the HPLC contains a low molecular weight pharmaceutical compound dissolved in a methanol: water solution (90:10). The compound concentration is 0.5% leaving the HPLC. The product is concentration (0.025%) in the same solvent composition and is processed in the solvent recovery system. The overall solvent recovery is 96%.

Membrane Bio-reactor is a combination of two well tested wastewater treatment technologies. Namely Activated Sludge where bacteria consume pollutants resulting in waste minimisation and membrane filtration where separation of clean water from activated sludge is achieved. Following is a schematic illustration on the working of membrane bio-reactor in association with activated sludge process :

In the production of bulk drugs the main molecule is produced in the reactor/fermenter followed by multi-step separations and purifications involving various types of physical and/or chemical processes. At the penultimate stage often the drug is precipitated and separated by centrifugation or filtration. The centrifugate/filtrate, also known as Mother Liquor (ML), is normally sent to ETP for further treatment essentially to reduce BOD, COD, SS, TDS etc. to acceptable limits fixed by the respective pollution control boards.

Incorporation of suitable RO on the ML can recover the valuable drugs which otherwise causes pollution when drained to the ETP. Typically 0.2 to 3% of the valuable drugs, depending upon their solubility, are lost into the ML as the existing processes are incapable of further recovery. However, this small but significant quantity can be recovered if concentrated through RO. Therefore RO acts as a partial pollution control system besides being a source of additional revenue. Following Illustrations explain the general scheme recovery of specific drug/precursors.

General
6-Amino Penicillanic Acid (6 APA) is an intermediate, in the manufacturing of synthetic penicillus, with
a molecular weight of 216. It is manufactured by enzymatic hydrolysis of Pen-G salt. The typical mother liquor from a chemical reaction contains 0.3 to 0.4% of dissolved 6 APA, 15% Methanol, 2% Methylene Chloride and 3 - 4% salts. The membrane process concentrates the 6 APA to 3 - 4% using the solvent stable SelRO membranes. These membranes being solvent stable are not affected by organic solvents. The concentrated 6 APA solution thus obtained, can be added upstream before solvent extraction for additional recovery, the permeate stream obtained from the membrane system goes to the effluent with reduced pollution load to the extent of 6 APA recovery. Typically 70% recovery is possible, which makes the membrane process extremely attractive with pay back period of less than 6 months.

Pervaporation is a process in which a specific component in a feed mixture passes through a dense, non-porous membrane by solution – diffusion transport mechanism. Then, the permeate is collected as a vapour at the other side of the membrane while being kept under vacuum conditions.

Some of the Applications include Dehydration of Organic Solvents. The PV process can easily dehydrate solvent mixtures. The binary or ternary azeotropes can be dehydrated without the use of entrainers. In some cases, where distillation is not possible, pervaporation is the only alternative to costly incineration of waste solvent streams.

In addition to above a wide range of organic solvents can be extracted from waste water such as hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, esters, ketones, ethers, alcohols. The PV systems can also reduce COD requirement of waste water streams going to biological treatment units, or pre-concentrate organic wastes to incinerators.

Advantages :

• Superior for azeotropic mixtures·
• Pollution free process
• Energy efficient
• Flexibility
• Modular construction

In electrocoat paint systems, the permeate produced by the ultra filter contains water and paint solubilizers. The permeate is used in the paint line rinse section. This recycling method provides a closed-loop rinse system for recovering paint drag-out. The permeate can also be diverted to drain to reduce the conductivity of the paint.

Genesis supplies complete system for the recovery of oil from machine shop using proprietary tubular membranes manufactured by Koch Membrane Systems INC. The system is suitable for :

• High suspended solids/oils and grease concentration in untreated waste water.
• High cost of concentrate handling or disposal.
• Need for rugged, durable and reliable membranes capable of withstanding a variety of conditions.
• Requirement for highest possible concentration factor.

The primary benefits and features are :

• Ability to be mechanically cleaned with sponge balls, which permits removal of foulants not possible with other membranes. This feature yields reliable and consistent performance in difficult applications.
• Ability to operate at maximum suspended solid concentrations without plugging, which minimizes prefiltration and retentate handling expenses.

Due to stability in acidic and basic conditions, NF membranes can be applied in the processing of inorganic acids and in the treatment of acid waste streams. The membranes can be used in the entire pH range (0 – 14) and at temperatures reaching 70°C.

The mineral acid product quality is effectively enhanced by the use of the membrane system in the down stream processing. The membranes allow the product (acid) to pass with practically no retention (0-4%). The contaminants, such as dissolved organic molecules, which give the acid a characteristic coloration, are retained by the membrane with high retention values (>98% - 99%). In this manner a colourless acid

Generally primary and secondary effluent treatments are given by industries to meet the statutory requirements set by State & Central Pollution Control Boards for disposal of industrial effluents. The import parameters which are deciding criterion to evaluate the quality of treated effluents are total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), pH, Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), Chemical oxygen demand (COD), Oil & grease, colour, many heavy metals etc.

The major effort in primary and secondary effluent treatment is

directed towards meeting the above-mentioned parameters. Even though it may be possible to achieve necessary disposable quality by primary and secondary treatments the treated water never becomes reusable and therefore it is discharged into sewer/water bodies such as canal/creek/sea/rivers. It is also difficult to monitor the quality of the effluent discharged by individual units about their consistency in meeting the required parameters. As per the existing law water cess is being levied on all the industries which are disposing treated/untreated effluents out of their factory premises.