Ionics, Inc.

Odex, Inc.

Thomas J Susa

William W Carson

Russell James MacDonald

Richard D Godec

Keith James Sims

Wayne A McRae

Oleg Grebenyuk

Robert J Ritz

Tam V Tran

Hilda R Zanapalidou

An improved apparatus and operating method related thereto for deionizing water to produce substantially pure water using electric field and ion exchange materials are disclosed, including embodiments incorporating one or more of the novel features of brine and electrode streams flowing in a direction counter-current to the stream being deionized, a filling of the brine stream with stratified ion exchange materials, a stream mixing feature for mixing the stream being deionized, a gas removal feature for removal of gases, a spiral-wound embodiment of an electrodialysis device according to the invention, and a method for determining the preferred operating current for electrodialysis systems according to this invention.

Device and method for electrodialysis

A water treatment system and method including a membrane-based boron removal unit includes a boron analyzer for detecting the concentration of boron in a treatment stream. The boron removal unit can be a reverse osmosis (RO) or electrodeionization (EDI) treatment unit. A controller responds to the detected boron concentration to control an operation of the RO or EDI units. In an EDI system, the controller may adjust current or voltage supplied to match current to changes in ionic load and maintain a portion of the dilute cell in a substantially regenerated state. In an RO system, the controller may control the high pressure side flow rate, the brine blowdown rate, the product water permeation rate, pH, or feed rate of chemicals in response to the detected boron concentration value.

Control of water treatment system with low level boron detection

A system for simultaneously increasing combustion efficiency and reducing pollutant emissions. Oxygen enriched air (i.e., air from which a portion of the nitrogen has been removed so that the oxygen concentration is higher than in normal air) and water droplets of predetermined size are both present in the cylinder of a four cycle internal combustion engine during the power/combustion stroke. Oxygen enriched air may be mixed with normal air drawn into the combustion chamber during the intake stroke. Also, and alternatively, the droplets may be water or H.sub.2 O.sub.2 bubbles filled with normal or oxygen-enriched air.

Internal combustion

A process for preparing assymetric polyvinylidene fluoride microporous membranes using novel pore forming agents of an ammonium salt which is a non-solvent for the polymeric casting solution; such agents for example being ammonium hydroxide, ammonium chloride and the like.

Process for preparing microporous polyvinylidene fluoride membranes

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West Roxbury, MA, United States of America

Thomas J Susa