Membrane System Specialists Celebrates 10 Years of Progress
Membrane System Specialists' inauspicious beginnings as a basement enterprise bears little resemblance to its power-house industry position today. Ten years of steady progress, reliable customer service, strong customer loyalty, and innovative product development, have all contributed to the company's current success.

"The theme of what we do at Membrane System Specialists is by-products utilization - giving value to things that otherwise would have been fed to animals, spread on the lands, or generally discarded," said founder and President David Hibbard.

First in the industry to introduce a brine purification system, first to introduce a caustic recovery system, and first to integrate technologies for waste water treatment, Membrane System Specialists has a strong reputation of pioneering - and perfecting - applications for the food and dairy industries.

What's ahead for this growth-oriented company?

"Our focus is committed," said Hibbard. "We've made a conscious decision to remain dedicated to research and development in the food and dairy industries, rather than branching into other non-related industries. We believe this total dedication to and partnership with our customers will continue to result in product development that achieves greater plant efficiency and profitability."

"We fully intend to be leaders into the next century," he said.

For information on how you can save significantly on your selected purchases of Membrane System Specialists' products.

Ask the Doctor
Ultrafiltration process operations
The operation of a membrane unit is influenced by operating conditions or process parameters that may be broadly classified into two categories: equipment-related and non-equipment-related. In part two, we examine non-equipment related paramenters.

Non-Equipment Related Parameters
These refer to the condition and quality of feed stream (whey) being processed, such as pH, microbiological count, fat content, suspended solids content, temperature, and membrane cleaning. The importance of each of these parameters is discussed below.

pH
The pH of sweet whey is typically between 6.0-6.3 - the contribution to pH results from the varying degree of buffering capacity of its constituents. Raw sweet whey begins to show a decrease in pH when stored, and this rate of decrease usually depends on the temperature of the whey. The decrease in pH results from microbial action which results in increased acid production. The decrease in pH adversely affects membrane performance by lowering the membrane flux. It is critical to monitor the pH of whey and whey protein concentrate (WPC) during ultrafiltration. If a pH decrease occurs consistently around a certain period during the day, it is important to identify and consequently remedy the causes for the same.

Microbial Counts
The presence of microorganisms and their consequential growth have a direct detrimental influence on membrane performance. Membrane surface fouling by microorganisms, as well as the by-products of their metabolic activity, results in rapid decrease in productivity, as well as product contamination. Microbial growth often occurs in stored, unpasteurized whey and care must be taken to ensure that the whey is processed as fast as it is generated and that all sanitary handling practices such as rotation of holding tanks are closely followed.

Fat Content
A high fat content in the feed serves to increase membrane fouling and correspondingly reduces membrane productivity. The optimum fat content on the feed whey to the ultrafiltration system is between 0.04-0.07% (using the Mojonnier Fat Measurement Technique). Poor separator performance leads to increased fat content and decreased productivity. The situation would also necessitate a modification of the cleaning procedure to remove fat. It is important to immediately correct such a situation in order to prevent the undesirable fat-related fouling effects.

Suspended Solids Content
A major source for suspended solids are cheese fines that may escape a poorly performing fines saver. Typically, ultrafiltration systems are equipped with a prefilter to capture the suspended fines. However, it is important to closely monitor the pressure drop across these prefilters and not allow them to exceed a prescribed value. The filter media must be changed as soon as the pressure difference reaches the prescribed values, thus avoiding the possibility of forcing microfines through the filter media.

Temperature
Process temperature affects the specific membrane capacity or membrane flux by affecting the viscosity and diffusivity of the fluid constituents in a fluid, as well as microbiological activity in the fluid. Certain temperature ranges (85-105^oF) must be avoided for raw whey processing as they favor microorganism growth and result in membrane unit fouling.

Membrane Cleaning
Membrane cleaning, by far, constitutes one of the most important non-equipment related parameters. It is critical to ensure that the membrane unit is adequately cleaned after process operation. The cleaning program usually involves alternating sequences of alkali and acid washes, with additives such as surfactants and chlorine forming an integral part of the alkali wash. The first step towards ensuring a proper wash is the use of cleaning water that meets certain quality requirements (this cleaning water is usually analyzed and certified by the cleaning company and membrane supplier). A cleaning sequence is then established and the daily wash procedure must carefully follow the prescribed cleaning sequence. The pH and temperature of the cleaning solution during the wash must be carefully maintained. The depletion of chlorine during the wash cycle is an important factor that provides indication of the "cleanliness" of the membrane unit. Unusual fouling situations, created by high fat content, the presence of cheese fines, etc. will require departure from the usual cleaning sequence. Under such circumstances, a special wash may become necessary. It is of utmost importance to immediately respond to unusual fouling situations, without allowing the membrane unit condition to deteriorate. The membrane unit must also be sanitized daily to maintain an environment that prevents microbial activity.

In addition, it is important to state that certain preprocessing additives such as defoamers have a detrimental effect on the membrane system operation.

Defoamers are often used in the cheese making process to prevent excessive foaming of the fluid. Most defoamers have been observed to be direct foulants for polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes and they must not be used with streams that are process through ultrafiltration.

Thus, operation of the ultrafiltration equipment with proper attention to various operation parameters is the key to successfully operating the unit.

STATCO to provide MSS west coast sales support
Membrane System Specialists is pleased to announce its new partnership with STATCO Engineering & Fabrication, one of the west coast's leading food industry suppliers.

Because it has a well-established presence in the food industry, STATCO President Jim Statham finds the alliance with Membrane System Specialists to be especially attractive.

For Membrane System Specialists' customers, the added sales force in California and surrounding states means more fact-to-face contact when you want it.

"Our midwest headquarters will continue to provide overall support; however, STATCO's experienced sales and engineering staff will be able to serve as a link to providing the information, products, and services our customers have come to expect," said MSS President David Hibbard.

"We couldn't ask for a more talented, qualified group of people to represent our company," he said.

Profile Allen Buza - Director of Operations
Design, quality assurance, product sales and management are all part of the experience package that Director of Operations Allen Buza brought to Membrane System Specialists.

Buza joined Membrane System Specialists in 1994 as director of operations. His broad background in stainless steel piping and fabrication and knowledge and experience in all aspects of business operations put him on firm ground at the company.

His primary focus at Membrane System Specialists is to ensure that the purchasing, engineering, controls, and fabrication functions operate as a team to provide the best possible products and services for customers.

One of Buza's recent projects, updating internal communication systems with more sophisticated production and drafting software, is producing shorter lead times internally. In turn, he's able to better ensure that customers get products when they want them.

"Our goal is to build systems that work even better than customers expect," he said. High levels of customer satisfaction and return business tell him that these departments are doing their jobs effectively.

Coming to Membrane System Specialists from a large company, Buza says he's aware of the challenges of a rapidly growing company. He's committed to utilizing the very latest technology available both internally and externally to meet customers' needs. "And if the technology is not available, we'll develop it ourselves," he said

Product Update
Price Cuts Result from Strong Partnerships and Sharp Engineering
Consistently high performance has earned Membrane System Specialists' Micro-Steel^® Caustic Recovery and Mem-Brine^® systems a prominent place in the marketplace.

Now, as a result of carefully engineered product fine-tuning and commitment by MSS vendors to provide top quality products at the best possible prices, customers are able to receive significant savings on their purchase of Micro-Steel^® systems and Mem-Brine^® elements.

"We are very pleased to be able to pass these savings on to our current customers-and to the new customers who have been waiting for these products to fit into their operation budgets," said David Hibbard, president.

Internalized fabrication capabilities guarantees timely delivery of the Micro-Steel^® system to your plant, while our comprehensive inventory of elements ensures swift delivery upon receipt of your order.

Call MSS for more information on how you can benefit from these tremendous price cuts!

Control Panels Enhanced by 486 Technology
Plants with centrally-protected control rooms are among those that are ideally suited to take advantage of a multitude of benefits when utilizing MSS system control panels powered by a 486DX66 computer. Membrane System Specialists is applying this new generation of computer technology to membrane-based systems, making trouble shooting of control problems easier-with the use of only a telephone and modem. System updates and program changes are also easily made using a standard computer disk (instead of an expensive and sensitive EEPROM). Control system backup components can be located throughout the office and the control system itself can be located in the process area, a control room, or even in a remote office location.Membrane System Specialists, Inc. process for on-farm ultrafiltration has passed the first phase in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office pantent application process. On-farm ultrafiltration incorporates technology until now only available at the commercial plant level and will give owners of large farms a unique opportunity to internalize a key element in their milk production process.

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