yet2.com sees a lot of market interest in encapsulation technologies.

We are having a webinar on 4 that we think are particularly interesting. This live webinar features four new technologies and an overview of the market by Dr. Eugene Buff, yet2.com’s vice president of consulting. Not just a lecture, the webinar format offers ample opportunity for electronic interaction with the principals.

REGISTER NOW
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/310003931

As of the writing of this blog post 84 companies have singed up to participate on Friday December 11, 11:00–12:30pm US Eastern Standard Time.

Moderator:

• Dr. Eugene Buff, yet2.com vice president, consulting

4 New Technologies:

• Microencapsulation for drug delivery, Cory Berkland, Orbis Bioscience
• Efficient membrane coating and production technology, Luc Vanmaele, AGFA
• Microencapsulated, water-dispersbile nanomaterials, Ken Yoon, Vive Nano
• Controlling free radical polymers using “Living Polymers,” Vendy Tomko, DuPont

Dr. Buff will present opening remarks and overview, followed by the four presentations in order at approximately 15-minute intervals. Each presenter will answer submitted questions at the end of his presentation.

Yesterday I had the privilege of of being the keynote speaker at the INDA conference in Chicago.  I really enjoyed presenting 3 macro trends on Open Innovation and what those trends might mean. There were lots of great questions and discussion.

INDA is the trade association representing the  nonwovens industry.  I was surprised at the diversity of technology and innovation on display.   The vendor floor was full of activity.  I was told the conference was a little smaller than previous years, but it did not look that way to me.

I met a wide variety of companies.  Filtration impacts almost every aspect of our lives – it’s critical for our water and air, and the car we drive, the food we buy and products we love – even in hospitals and healthcare is filtration critical.  Innovation in filtration can ripple through our economy  providing a great positive impact – and most of us might never know.  I love events like this

I met a few companies that really impressed me:

www.elmarco.com – Elmarco is the industry’s first supplier of industrial scale nanofiber production equipment.  Nanofibers are very interesting and have broad application in semiconductors and filtration.  This is a firm I’d watch as a source of great innovations.  I’d also watch their customer base.

www.filtrationgroup.com – I met the CEO of this 3rd generation family business.  The Filtration Group sells a wide variety of filters.  They seemed to me to be a market leader in air but they are moving into some new segments.

www.freudenberg-filter.com – I’m told they are the worlds largest nonwovens producer, looking at their product line, it seems accurate.  They manage filtration for the world’s largest ship – the Oasis of the Sea and a host of other challenging applications. This is the 4th family business I found at the show, and clearly a market leader.

A lot of great innovation is going to come out of nonwovens, that will make the world a cleaner safer and nicer place to live.  The venture capital community needs to be watching, so do the the technology scouts – I know I will be watching closely.

Fuel carries water, dirt, and other particulates that can harm your engine. And usually, warranties will not cover damage do to contaminated fuel. And with the cost of fuel now a days, why should you worry about where you fill up? For a long living healthy engine, Dr. Performance would prescribe their Kleen Fuel Filtration System.

The Kleen Fuel Filtration System is the ultimate fuel filtration system with its dual spin on filters consisting of a water seperator and drain, as well as a 2 micron secondary fuel filter. Billit aluminum construction with all mounting hardware for a complete installation, all included. This is what you would call cheap insurance as it is 80% more efficient than a factory system!

Stop by www.OCDiesel.com to get the best price on Kleen Fuel Filtration Systems from Dr. Performance! Do you have a questions regarding the Kleen Fuel Filtration System?? Call 1.888.OC.DIESEL!

I hope you enjoyed your 5 day break.  It was a busy end of the week for the teachers as we were in Nipawin for our teacher’s conference.

Current Events

1. GM lost 1.2 billion dollars  in the past quarter.  (and that’s an improvement for them).  They hope to start being profitable soon and begin repaying the six billion dollar loan from the US government next month.
2. Prime minister Harper is in India to build on trade relationships and investments in Canada.
3. US President Obama was speaking in Shanghai China at a university.
4. Heavy rains may lead to flooding on BC’s coast (north of Vancouver and on Vancouver Island)
5. 15 year old singer Justin Beber
6. Extra story on the Berlin Wall Anniversary
7. Bonus – World Donimo Recorder – for the whole thing check out – Jeff’sVideos on the Canada AM website.

Additional Current Event (not on your quiz)

Obama tells Burmese military leaders to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Social 9

After current events, the classes worked on different things.

9C was given an extra 30 minutes to complete their assignment on Greek Contributions packages.  They lost this time due to the Remembrance Day program.  After this time, they worked on the theme of what did the Greeks contribute to the advancement of civilization.  Students brainstormed reasons based on the lessons we have spent on Greece and I added information where needed. 

Overhead/Handout on Greek contributions (coming later)

9B and 9E – Since both these classes were ahead of 9C, each of the students was required to complete a ‘practice’ exam question on the question of  ”What did the Greeks do for us?”  After they completed their paragraphs and submitted them , the students shared their ideas on the topic and I added in supplemenatry information.

On Tuesday, all three classes will begin the introduction to ancient Rome.  All morning classes will have a sub tomorrow as I am at a English Languages Arts meeting in the school.

Scanned Textbook pages to help you finish your contributions pacakges

ELA 10b

The large projects on Jurassic Park were due today.  Any outstanding assignments will need to be in tomorrow and study hall will be booked for anything after that.  We spent the first 10 minutes looking at the projects and there were many that were very impressive.

The discussion then focused on the Big Idea question for the day…”Is Shakespeare still relevant in today’s world?”  We spent time discussing why we study Shakespeare and all the connections to his works.  Finally, we spent 20 minutes in the computer lab starting a worksheet that allowed students to explore the question.  Tomorrow we will begin in the computer lab to finish up this topic.

Science 8

We spent today finishing the lab on filtration.  Examples of  4 of the 5 trials were set up again by Mr.Hadwen and we finished filling in the observation chart and timed each filtration trial.  Students were told to complete a conclusion for the lab and complete the analysis questions #2 and #3 on page 23.  Labs are due on Tuesday.

The remainder of the class was spent reading form the textbook and starting to examine how separating solutions is different from separating mixtures.

Current Events

1. Today’s lead story was about the path of Hurricane Ida.  It is moving northward through the Gulf of Mexico heading toward the Alabama and Florida border.  It has been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane.
2. There was a large amount of rainfall in El Salvador over the weekend that lead to mudslides and flooding.  Over 120 people have been killed and 60 people are missing.
3. Canada AM had an interview with a reporter from Fort Hood Texas about the shooting rampage that took place there last Thursday.  A man came onto the military base and killed 13 people. 
4. RCMP warn of scams that are out there regarding prevention and treatment of H1N1.
5. Today is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany.  (A class discussion about the background of this took place.  Be prepared for couple current event questions on this topic)

A reminder – Tuesday is your Current Event Quiz.  The Bonus Question for tomorrow will check and see if you are using this website.  The answer will be “Section 27″

Social 9

Most of the classes are now back in the same spot.  Today started with a review of Alexander the Great and the question sheets that accompany that topic.  The remaining time that the classes had left was spent on looking at the contributions of the Greeks in the area of philosophy, science and art.  The students worked on completing a worksheet package that was handed out back on October 29.  Remember to use the information and the textbook to find your answers.  Also note that there is not an information sheet on the Greek columns.  You can find the answers online though, so it will be a bonus.

philosophers handout package

Contributions of the Greeks Question Package

ELA 10B

Today’s class was spent completing the movie GATACCA. 

On Tuesday, there will be an in class essay to compose.  You will need to create a 5 paragraph essay that will reference the information that we have viewed and read about in class about the Environment and Technology, specifically focusing on the ideas around genetic engineering.  Additional information sheets will be available in class, but will be only used to supplement the ideas you have already generated.

Science 8

We reviewed the changes of state and particle theory to begin class.

Today’s lesson focused around the second topic in our current unit.  We have spent a lot of time looking at classifying matter into 1) pure substance or mixtures and then breaking them down further into elements compounds and homogeneous and heterogeneous.

Topic 2 focuses on the idea of how you separate mixtures.  We then completed the assignment in the textbook on page 19 and went over it in class together once everyone was completed.  We then focused on our first major separation technique: filtration.  We brainstormed lists of where filters are used in our lives and emphasized how filtration works.

Filtration works by allowing smaller particles to pass through the filter and larger particles to be trapped on the filter.  We used the terms residue and filtrate and finished the class by reading pages 20 and 22 in the textbook.

Here’s a link to a short article about how common houseplants can be very effective at filtering the air indoors: roughly the same quality filtration as human-built devices costing ten times as much. (Their source wasn’t the University of Georgia study directly, but Science Daily.)

Of the 28 species tested, Hemigraphis alternata (purple waffle plant), Hedera helix (English ivy), Hoya carnosa (variegated wax plant), and Asparagus densiflorus (Asparagus fern) had the highest removal rates for all of the VOCs introduced.

Also these plants were suggested for their capacity to remove the chemicals in parenthesis:

green spider plant (formaldehyde)
peace lily (benzene)
gerbera daisy (trichloroethylene)
areca palm (capacity to be a humidifier)

Aquarium algae control is an important task in the maintenance of an aquarium, fresh or salt water. Algae can grow and penetrate into an aquarium for many reasons. In general, poor water quality or poor maintenance practices for the growth of algae, not the blame of control.

Every aquarium owner knows that to grow algae in their aquarium is a natural thing. It is difficult, an aquarium, which is completely free of algae, but it is not difficult to keep algae growth to a minimum.

So, howYou can control the growth of algae in your saltwater aquarium? First things first. Make sure the main aquarium filtration system is strong enough to effectively filter the water in your aquarium.

If your aquarium filtration is not powerful enough to effectively clean the water in your aquarium on a continual basis, you may need to improve the performance of your filter. Check the specifications for the filter system, ensure you use to make sure it is rated to filter theAmount of water in your aquarium.

If you have a high load of fish in your aquarium you may need to use more water than normal filtration. Evidence of too many fish in your aquarium are ammonia and nitrate levels, which are hard to control.

In addition to the power of the filter, how to maintain your filter system also has an effect on algal growth will have. Let sit for weeks without your filter inspection and cleaningit.

A canister filter can easily become a nitrate factory if left unchecked. Regular cleaning of the inside of the container or tray and replace all the media, as needed. They all waste from the physical filter pads will remove this junk feed algae if left intact to help. Your junk filters are removed from the aquarium water, but we must, in turn, that remove it from the junk mail filters regularly.

With a skimmer in combination with the canister or sump filter is alsoa must. A protein skimmer will be physically removes impurities and wastes from the water, help prevent your biological filtration have to revise break huge amounts of waste into the water.

According to the World Health Organization’s fact sheet about arsenic in drinking water, there are between 46-57 million people globally who are exposed to levels of arsenic higher than the “safe” 0.01 mg/l. Many of those are in poor countries where expensive filtration systems are out of reach, which is why Jeremiah Jackson’s invention is so important! The civil and environmental engineer created a cheap filtration system based on cattails, and he didn’t patent it so that it is more accessible. Read on for more details on how it works.

It all started when Jeremiah’s brother told him about the big problem of arsenic in drinking water in eastern India and Bangladesh. These areas were encouraged to stop drinking surface water years ago because it was contaminated by various pathogens, so people started drinking water from wells. What wasn’t known at the time was that the ground water was naturally contaminated by arsenic (“about six times the world recommended [safe] maximum amount of arsenic”).

Jackson says:

In India, it chronically shortened people’s life spans to 55 years, which is about 35 years less than what we have; and primarily that’s attributed to the arsenic poisoning. It’s a terrible way to live and die. You eventually get cancer and it affects a whole series of organs in your body.

How to Get that Arsenic Out?
First he started by looking at what was already known about arsenic removal by aquatic plants, and found pretty much nothing. So he set up an experiment on his patio, with some buckets containing cattails. In some buckets he added arsenic, and in others he didn’t (as a control). After taking regular measurements, he found that the cattails were absorbing the arsenic and cleaning up the water.

The next step was to build a prototype cheap enough that an average Indian family could build it to filter about 50 liters of drinking water each day. No moving parts, nothing fancy. He built it out of a kiddie pool: “about 18 inches deep and about 3.5 feet in diameter or about 12 square feet of surface area accommodating about 12 cattails.”

After 6 weeks of running the experiment, he found that the filtration system removed about 89% of the arsenic in the water and brought it below levels considered safe.

He said: “The cattail actually thinks the arsenic is a nutrient. It absorbs it as if were a nutrient, a fertilizer. And I found the plants actually flourished.”

If that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is. This could help millions of people cheaply and in an environmentally friendly way. Of course, the cattails probably will have to be disposed of properly at some point after they have absorbed a certain amount of arsenic, but that’s a much smaller problem than drinking arsenic-poisoned water on a daily basis.

And this is just a start! Maybe other plants are even better at removing arsenic from water.

Via Rancho Santa Fe Review, Blue Living Ideas

Alternative intéressante à l’installation d’un adoucisseur, le kit de filtration a un double intérêt.

Economique d’abord puisqu’il coûte beaucoup moins cher que l’adoucisseur. C’est une solution gain de place ensuite puisque son encombrement est très réduit.

Cela dit, le kit de filtration ne remplace pas l’adoucisseur, car il ne supprime pas le tartre présent dans l’installation mais empêche son dépôt sur les installations (tuyauterie, sanitaires, baignoires, vasques, parois de douche…).

Il est constitué d’un réservoir rempli de cristaux de polyphosphates que traverse l’eau lors de son tirage. Il est généralement précédé d’un filtre sédiment qui bloque le passage des impuretés présentes dans l’eau.

Le filtre et les cristaux sont à remplacer périodiquement. Un système de bipasse, à créer ou intégré au kit, permet d’isoler ce dernier et éviter ainsi de couper l’eau pour intervenir sur le système.

Demandez conseil à votre plombier.

Considering it has been at least a post removed, I’ll bring us back to our situation. We have a local Noetherian ring . Our notation is that is the least number of generators of an -primary ideal (which was shown to be independent of choice of ideal here). The goal for the day is to show that .

Suppose is -primary. We’ll prove something more general. Let be a finitely generated -module, a non-zero divisor in and . Then the claim is that .

Since is not a zero-divisor, we have an iso as -modules: . Define . Now take . Since is a stable -filtration of , by Artin-Rees we get that is a stable -filtration of .

For each we have exact.

Thus we get . So if we let , we get for large : .

But is also a stable -filtration of , since . We already showed that the degree and leading coefficient of depends only on and and not on the filtration. Thus and have the same degree and leading coefficient, so the highest powers kill eachother which gives .

In particular, we will need that as an -module gives us .

Now we prove the goal for today. For simplicity, let . We will induct on . The base case gives that is constant for large . In particular, there is some such that for all . But we are local, so and hence by Nakayama, . Thus for any prime ideal , we have for some , so take radicals to get . Thus there is only one prime ideal and we actually have an Artinian ring and hence have .

Now suppose and the result holds for . Let be a chain of primes. Choose . Define and be the image of in .

Note that since is an integral domain, and is not 0, it is not a zero-divisor. So we use our first proof from today to get that .

Let be the maximal ideal of . Then is the image of , so which is precisely . Plugging this into the above inequality gives .

So by the inductive hypothesis, . Take our original prime chain. The images form a chain in . Thus . Since the chain was arbitrary, .

A nice corollary here is that the dimension of any Noetherian local ring is finite. Another similar corollary is that in any Noetherian ring (drop the local) the height of a prime ideal is finite (and hence primes satisfy the DCC), since which is local Noetherian.

Let’s start applying to some specific situations now. Suppose is a Noetherian local ring with maximal ideal . Let be an -primary ideal. Let be a finitely-generated -module, and a stable -filtration of .

Don’t panic from the set-up. I think I haven’t talked about filtrations. All the stable -filtration means is that we have a chain of submodules such that for large .

The goal for the day is to prove three things.

1) has finite length for all .

Define and . We have a natural way to make into a finitely-generated graded -module. The multiplication in the ring comes from the following. If , then let the image in be denoted . We take . This does not depend on representative.

We’ll say is the n-th grade: . Now is an Artinian local ring and each is a Noetherian -module annihilated by . Thus they are all Noetherian -modules. So by the Artinian condition we get that each is of finite length. Thus .

2) For large , is a polynomial of degree where is the least number of generators of .

Suppose generate . Then in generate as an -algebra. But is an additive function on the filtration, so by last time we saw thatfor large there is some polynomial such that , and each has degree 1, so the polynomial is of degree .

Thus we get that . So from two posts ago, we get for large that is some polynomial of degree .

3) Probably the most important part is that the degree and leading coefficient of depends only on and and not on the filtration.

Let be some other stable -filtration with polynomial . Since any two stable -filtrations have bounded difference, there is an integer such that and for all . But this condition on the polynomials says that and , which means that . Thus they have the same degree and leading coefficient.

That seems to be enough for one day. Unfortunately, I haven't quite got to the right setting that I want yet.

Aquaovo est un système de filtration d’eau en provenance du Canada ; c’est un objet au design étonnant et dont les exigences écologiques sont très poussées. La philosophie de cette entreprise : « observer, comprendre et imiter la nature ».

La forme de l’œuf n’évoque pas seulement la plénitude et la perfection mais est aussi utile pour l’objet en lui-même ; il contient une cartouche aquacristal filtrante et revitalisante composée de plusieurs éléments ;

1. Le cuivre filtre les métaux lourds, les algues, les champignons, bref toutes les « grosses » impuretés de l’eau du robinet
2. Les charbons actifs vont enlever les COV (qui ne sont pas nos copains, voir l’article de Céline), le chlore, les résidus pharmaceutiques (en hausse considérable dans l’eau dite potable). Pour ceux qui aime le goût de l’eau, ces charbons vont aussi lui enlever son mauvais goût et ses mauvaises odeurs.
3. La céramique microporeuse adoucit et revitalise l’eau en réduisant la taille de ses molécules (là, je ne pourrais pas vous expliquer le processus…)
4. Les cristaux de quartz permettent une dernière filtration, le quartz est un amplificateur d’énergie.

En souscrivant au programme Ovo +, les cartouches sont échangeables contre de nouvelles à un prix réduit et vous avez l’assurance qu’elles seront correctement recyclées.

L’aquaovo a été conçu avec des matériaux durables, renouvelables ou recyclables, et il en est de même pour son emballage.

Dans un environnement professionnel, dans un restaurant ou si vous avez une famille nombreuse aquaovo est une solution nomade de filtration de l’eau très chic ! Pour en savoir plus : http://www. aquaovo.com

Dedicated to providing detailed information about water treatment methods and to building a community for sharing information, we’ve created this blog for homeowners, businesses, equipment vendors and others interested in water treatment, purification and filtration to collaborate and communicate. If you have questions about your water, about water treatment methods and/or systems or simply want to share information about water, please submit a comment or question, to which we will respond quickly.

• Ask questions on our blog.
• Post comments.
• Inquire about how to treat a particular water issue.
• Request a contact from one of our water treatment specialists.

Stylish and matches the armchairs.

Equipment Type - Canister filter designed to remove impurities from aquarium water.

Purpose -To improve water quality and clarity through biological, mechanical, and chemical filtration.

Specs -There are four different size options for the standard Hagen Fluval canister filter.  The 105 can be used on aquariums up to 25 gallons; the 205 can be used on aquariums up to 50 gallons; the 305 can be used on aquariums up to 75 gallons; the 405 can be used on aquariums up to 100 gallons.  A separate line of Fluval canister filters is available for larger tanks: I use a 305 on the 65g.

Background -Canister filters force water through three different types of filtration.  Mechanical filtration removes larger impurities (aka: the chunky stuff); chemical filtration absorbs smaller impurities (aka: fish waste, some pollutants and toxins); biological filtration converts toxic organics (aka: ammonia and nitrites) into nitrates as occurs with live rock filtration.

Environmental Impact - Wattage varies according to model, and all of the filter media will likely end up in the trash.  The body of the filter and the baskets are solid and durable, and there are replacement parts available if internal components break or wear out.

Should I Put It In My Tank? -Depends on personal preference.  Many hobbyists argue that canister filters are unnecessary and provide inferior filtration when compared to that offered by live rock; this is especially true as some of the biological filtration gets discarded each time the media is changed.  Others say that running a little carbon is always a good thing, and that a larger overall amount of livestock can be kept in a tank that has multiple filtration systems.  I’m in this latter group and run a sump, refugium, skimmer, and a 305 Fluval in addition to the primary filtration provided by live rock.  As there are several different media baskets, it is possible to experiment with multiple types of media to find the combination that best meets the filtration needs of your livestock.

What Do I Need To Know? – Hagen has over-engineered this thing so it is ridiculously simple to operate.  The device comes with a primer that can be used to flood water into the canister prior to operation.  When changing the media, there is a water flow locking system that allows the canister to be removed while the hoses remain in place.  Media goes in the chambered baskets; filtration pads go in the filtration slots.  Hagen has a wide variety of filter media designed to fit in both baskets and slots, and media from other companies can be  substituted if you have extra media baggies and the Fluval-sized media is not to your liking. Hagen recommends changing the media once a month, but this is generous as changing filter media doesn’t depend as much on the lifespan of the media as the type of livestock and the bioload of the tank (note: the benefits of carbon are exhausted in days, not weeks, and after that it becomes just a couple extra ounces of super-porous live rock).  When operating properly, these filters are delightfully quiet and the input and output can be used to enhance water circulation.

How Will It Piss Me Off? – READ THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL.  The filter comes with a booklet and an illustrated poster that shows how each component is assembled according to a step-by-step process.  If, hypothetically speaking, you thought to yourself that you don’t need no stinkin’ booklet and you set up the thing without guidance, you would probably miss the little detail where you needed to tighten the hose gaskets.  Then, hypothetically speaking, you’d be a tad flummoxed the first time you changed the filter media and the hoses shot clean off their moorings and whipped a couple of gallons of water across the walls, the floor, the bookcases, the dogs, in your open mouth…

What Can I Expect To Spend? -These are a decent piece of equipment and can be costly.  Do some comparison shopping for the best deal.  Don’t forget that media will cost between $15 to $45 each month, depending on the size of the filter, the type of media you choose to use, and the frequency of media changes.

Where Can I Buy It? -The Hagen Fluvals are in big-box stores, so even if you buy the filter online you won’t have any problem finding replacement media.

Any Health Hazards? – Uh… keep the media away from small children and pets, watch out for frayed electrical cords, and don’t swallow if a lot of salt water suddenly happens to end up in your mouth.

Did sound for another VCA shoot on the weekend, just one day for pickups, and they were shooting on 35mm film. The process of shooting on film is completely new to me, and one of the obvious differences compared to shooting digital is the huge importance of filters. You can’t change the film mag every time the sun goes behind cloud, so your ASA is fixed, and changing the aperture between takes would result in a different depth of field, which is undesirable for both aesthetic and continuity-related reasons… also you can’t just “do another white balance” — hence filters.

Now, it’s easy to find a typical photography website that explains “this is a polarising filter, this is an ND filter, this is a warming filter, etc etc.”, but then you go onset and find that this is just the tip of the iceberg. You’ve got an 81A, B, C, EF, an 80, an 85, an 85 ND6, 85 ND9, regular ND9… and it seems difficult to find a guide to how all these filters are named and organised (or perhaps I haven’t tried very hard.. yet).

So today I’ve found a couple of online books, via google, and I’m going to make notes in this blog, immortalising filter-related knowledge for all to see. (obviously, this is a reason for much rejoicing.. yes)

If you want to glean this knowledge direct from the source, I’m reading
Cinematography: theory and practice (from around page 236), and
The photographer’s guide to filters (from about page 44)

ok.
So the first piece of knowledge I’ve discovered is that light balancing (LB) filters (warming / cooling filters) vary in strength by increments of 200 kelvins. 200K is the minimum change in colour temperature that human beings are capable of perceiving. Hence an 81A filter, for example, lowers the colour temperature by 200K. And then an 81B filter will be -400K, an 81C will be -600K, etc.

81 filters are warming filters, lowering the colour temperature.
82 filters are cooling filters, raising the colour temperature.
Both 81 and 82 filters are classed as “light balancing”, used for subtle temperature adjustments.

Conversion filters are similar to light balancing filters in that they work within the blue-orange axis of colour, but allow for a greater shift in colour temperature, to correct the discrepancies between tungsten-balanced film and daylight, or daylight-balanced film and tungsten lighting. These are strong filters.. for example, an 85B filter, used for shooting in daylight with tungsten-balanced stock, brings 5500K (sunlight) down to 3200K. -2300K is fairly radical, and means you lose a decent amount of light — 2/3rds of a stop (thanks rein).
The opposite of an 85B filter seems to be an 80B filter, raising the colour temperature for shooting indoors with daylight film.

So far so good, but we’ve only covered the blue-orange axis. What happens if you’re trying to correct for the green tinge of fluorescent lights? You can’t use an orange or blue filter, because the opposite of green is magenta. This is where you need a CC filter, used to correct a specific, narrow band of the light spectrum. A CC-30M is a common filter used to correct for generic fluorescent sources.

ND (neutral density) filters are used to lessen the intensity of light without altering colour temperature, and come in varying strengths: 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9. In this system, 0.3 lowers the level of incoming light by 1 stop, 0.6 by two stops, 0.9 by 3 stops. ND filters are useful for all sorts of reasons, but I already know plenty, so I won’t write them down here. What is of interest to me is that ND filters are sometimes combined with conversion filters — the reasoning here is that the more filters you use together, the greater your loss in image quality.. so putting both filter effects into the one piece of glass makes for a better image (however slight the difference is). So, an 85N6 is a neutral density filter cutting out two stops of light, while also lowering colour temperature for shooting with tungsten film.
And that solves the mystery which bugged me all through yesterday.. “why are they talking about 85NDs as opposed to regular NDs?” yes. problem solved.

Obviously there’s a lot more to filtration than what I’ve sweepingly covered, but this is enough for one blog post, I think.

For an average of 60 cents per gallon, the DewPointe DH9 Atmospheric Water Purification System extracts water vapor from the air and converts it to pure drinking water.

By pulling moisture out of the atmosphere, the DH9 is said to eliminate virtually all contaminants that might otherwise occur in groundwater.  The device then further purifies the water to eliminate 99.99% of contaminants.  There’s an electrostatic air filter to remove small airborne particles like pollen and dust, a germicidal uV light that destroys bacteria and other microorganisms, a coconut hull filter that eliminates heavy metals, chlorine residuals and mineral salts, and a reverse osmosis (RO) filter to remove any remaining pathogens or fine particles.  Unlike other RO filters, where the wastewater is then flushed (so that the user drinks one purified gallon for each six to ten that are wasted), the DH9’s revolutionary RO filter reprocesses it so that no water is lost.  A gravity-fed storage tank holds 6.5 gallons that would be accessible even in the event of a power outage.

Too good to be true?

Like a normal water cooler, the DH9 stands about 4 feet high and would replace conventional water coolers in offices and homes.  However, the ability to filter water directly from air could make this technology a game changer in situations where water is scarce.  It can also produce hot water and has a touch-screen display that tells you when the filters need replacing.  A micro-computer monitors all working parts and has energy-saving sensors and child-proof hot water locks.

Still, there are drawbacks to the DH9 that limit its applications. The first is cost.  For a retail price of roughly $1,600, the DH9 is much more expensive than a traditional bottleless  water cooler , which range from $300 to $600 depending on features but require a municipal water supply (i.e., they are not able to purify non-potable water).  So like solar panels, which for a long time were cost effective only where public utility lines were not feasible, the DH9 may have an advantage in rural areas, developing countries, and other areas where many basic services are not available.

From a sustainability perspective, the DH9 would appear to be a breakthrough technology with the potential to ease drinking water issues around the world.  The filters are “zero waste”, as is the system’s water manufacturing process.  If the technology is able to be replicated at scale, it could potentially help irrigation in drought affected areas.  However, the DH9 uses electricity at a rate of 80 W while sitting, and 500 W while actively manufacturing water.

The DH9 is also somewhat limited by atmospheric humidity.  In dry desert climates where the relative humidity may hover in the 30% range, the DH9 can produce 10 L (2.5 gal) of pure water every day, whereas in more humid environments, it is capable of almost three times as much.

Where surface water and groundwater are polluted, scarce, or inaccessible, the DH9’s technology presents a viable solution to providing drinking water.  If the technology can be done to scale, it may represent a powerful force for a planet that faces clean water shortages amid growing populations and demand.

At a time H1N1 influenza has heightened awareness and concern about the spread of infectious diseases, two British companies — BAE Systems and Quest International UK — have announced new technology to inhibit the spread of pathogens on board aircraft.

The AirManager cabin air management system “eliminates all airborne viruses and bacteria,” according to a news release posted on BAE’s website. The company also writes:

The patented AirManager uses a revolutionary Close Coupled Field Technology (CCFT) – a contained and safe electrical field that eliminates smells, and breaks down and destroys airborne pathogens, contaminants and toxins.

BAE says it has successfully tested the filtration system on eight BAe 146 and Avro RJ aircraft. Both of these models are regional passenger jets. The company is currently conducting trials in much larger Boeing 757 jetliners and expects to design similar filters for use in two workhorses of commercial aviation — the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.

Even before H1N1, airline cabin air quality had come under scrutiny. Because jet engines have to work harder to pull in fresh air from outside, many aircraft recycle cabin air to reduce fuel costs. The practice has caused considerable debate within the aviation industry and the medical community as to whether it increases the transmission of disease.

BAE officials claim their AirManager will allow air conditioning systems to operate even more efficiently — essentially paying for the system in fuel conservation within the first year of use.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority has begun weekly cleaning of common areas to reduce the spread of flu among its estimated 1 million daily passengers. For more on that, and other H1N1-related information, see my Liveshots Blog.

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Uganda has been selected as the only country in Africa to pilot a project that provides cheap and pure drinking water to schools and clinics in rural Uganda. Appropriate Technology (AT) Uganda, together with Enterprise Works/ VITA, with funding from the Diageo Foundation’s Giving for Good programme, has introduced CrystalPur ceramic water filters. The filters remove bacteria and parasites from contaminated water, thus preventing water-borne-diseases.

“The gadget does not need electricity or chemicals and has no effect on the taste of water,” says Michael Oketcho, the project manager. Oketcho explains that Uganda was selected because of its high usage of open surface water.

“Most rural people use water from lakes, rivers, wells, rain water and swamps, while in urban areas, 95% of the wells and springs contain faecal matter,” says Oketcho.

The gadget filters between four and six litres of water per hour. It is suitable for schools, households, hotels, health centres, camping teams, and disaster and emergency hit areas. It weighs less than 500g and can filter up to 7,000 litres of water (350 jerrycans) before the filter is replaced. For less than the cost of one bag of charcoal, CrystalPur fllters can deliver 7,000 litres of safe drinking water.

The filter has been tested and approved by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards.

Diageo Foundation has donated 3,500 units which have been distributed in over 150 primary and secondary schools in Kampala and Wakiso districts. The water filter programme started in October 2008 and will end in October 2009.

Source: Patrick Jaramogi, New Vision, 8 Sep 2009

CrystalPur filter. Diageo/EnterpriseWorks/VIA

All Rest, No Algae.

Water Garden & Features Q & A

Q: How do I control algae in my decorative pond, both long term and short term?
- Stefanie in Michigan

A: Algae blooms are the bane of most pond owners. All summer, they rear their green heads and turn a beautiful pond or water feature into a soupy or stringy mess. But with some planning, both the floating (pea-soup algae) and filamentous (string algae) species can be controlled in the short term and prevented in the long term. Here’s how:

Short-Term Solution

To get your decorative pond looking clean and clear right away, you’ll need to knock down the algae population by using a chemical herbicide, like AlgaeFix or TetraPond’s Algae Control. These algae-busters are safe for use in ponds with fish, but because they destroy algae so quickly, they can cause a drop in oxygen levels in your pond, especially during the warm summer months. Be sure that your pond is adequately aerated with a fountain, waterfall or underwater air diffuser.

Long-Term Prevention

To prevent that green goo from surfacing again, you need to limit its food source: Nutrients. Algae thrive on nutrients, which are the end product of the nitrogen cycle. The nitrogen cycle begins with ammonia released from fish waste and detritus. Nitrifying bacteria turn the ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates (nutrients). The algae grow, the fish eat it and excrete it, and the cycle begins again.

So, how do you control the algae’s food source?
Try these approaches:

No pond will ever be completely algae-free, but the key to keeping the green stuff under control is to limit its food supply. Like any other living thing, if it can’t eat, it can’t survive!

POND TALK: When was your worst algae bloom, and how did you correct it?

Howdy!
This is a must see video!

Engineer Michael Pritchard by inventing the portable Lifesaver filter, which can make the most revolting water drinkable in seconds……
could provide safe pure drinking water for the world and save countless lives.
“On the outside, it looks like an ordinary sports bottle. On the inside, there’s a miracle: an extremely advanced filtration system that makes murky water filled with deadly viruses and bacteria completely clean in just seconds.”

Allison Barrie, FoxNews.com