RFICs

PRODUCTS

  • Isolators with product protection as a housing for aseptic processes, e.g., filling, loading and unloading of freeze dryers.

  • Autodesk® Info360® Plant is a cloud-based operational analytics solution within the Info360 platform designed specifically for water and wastewater treatment plants to improve real-time data analysis and enable workflows associated with performance, compliance, and improvement planning.

  • The AMP50006 is a high-performance solid state pulse amplifier engineered for demanding X-Band applications requiring high output power, ruggedness, and reliability.

  • The MMPX-00002PSM is a passive MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) quadplexer designed to multiplex signals across four distinct frequency bands: DC–6 GHz, 8–10 GHz, 12–14 GHz, and 16–18 GHz.

  • When AST came to the table on the design for our new fill-finish isolator, one of the first areas AST engineers wanted to address was the usability and accessibility of the isolator and corresponding operations. With our customers’ point of view in mind, we wanted to address specific points of friction routinely encountered by operators and closely examine whether those friction points were necessary.

    Does an isolator need to be ergonomically unfriendly to clean?

    Should simple mechanisms like isolator doors be challenging to engage? (As much as one can appreciate exercise, no one wants to do “arm day” in cleanroom coveralls).

    Does routine maintenance have to be time-consuming and laborious?

    Many of these factors are accepted as par for the course in aseptic fill-finish manufacturing. Our question was, why?

WHITE PAPERS AND CASE STUDIES

NEWS

ABOUT

 

About Nutrient Removal

Nutrient removal from wastewater consists of treating wastewater to remove nitrogen and phosphorus before it reenters natural waterways. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater cause eutrophication, a process where excess nutrients stimulate excessive plant growth such as algal blooms and cyanobacteria. The decomposition of the algae by bacteria uses up the oxygen in the water causing other organisms to die. This creates more organic matter for the bacteria to decompose. In addition, some algal blooms can produce toxins that contaminate drinking water supplies.

As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program regulates point sources, such as municipal wastewater treatment plants, that discharge pollutants as effluent into the waters of the United States. In recent years, many of the States’ environmental bodies have lowered nutrient limits to arrest eutrophication. Maryland’s effort to protect the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries is perhaps the most notable example of nutrient removal in the US. Nutrient removal continues to be a growing area of focus for wastewater treatment throughout the world.   

The removal of nitrogen and phosphorus require different nutrient removal processes. To remove nitrogen, the nitrogen is oxidized from ammonia to become nitrate through a process called nitrification. This process is then followed by denitrification where the nitrate is reduced to nitrogen gas which is released to the atmosphere and removed from the wastewater.

Nitrification is a two-step aerobic process which typically takes place in aeration tanks. Denitrification requires anoxic conditions to encourage the appropriate biological conditions to form. The activated sludge process is often used to reduce nitrate to nitrogen gas in anoxic or denitrification tanks.

Phosphorus can be removed biologically using polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) which accumulate large quantities of phosphorus within their cells and separate it from treated water. Phosphorus removal can also be achieved by chemical removal. Once removed as sludge, phosphorus may be stored in a land fill. However, many municipalities and treatment facilities are looking to resell the biosolids for use in fertilizer.