Sandia : "Stretching Salt" may affect desalination

Albuquerque, NM -- To stretch a supply of salt generally means using it sparingly. But researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Pittsburgh were startled when they found they had made the solid actually physically stretch.

“It's not supposed to do that,” said Sandia principal investigator Jack Houston. “Unlike, say, gold, which is ductile and deforms under pressure, salt is brittle. Hit it with a hammer, it shatters like glass.”

That a block of salt can stretch rather than remain inert might affect world desalination efforts, which involve choosing particular sizes of nanometer-diameter pores to strain salts from brackish water. Understanding unexpected salt deformations also may lead to better understanding of sea salt aerosols, implicated in problems as broad as cloud nucleation, smog formation, ozone destruction and asthma triggers, the researchers write in their paper published in the May Nanoletters.

The serendipitous discovery came about as researchers were examining the mechanical properties of salt in the absence of water. They found unexpectedly that the brittle substance appeared malleable enough to distort over surprisingly long distances by clinging to a special microscope’s nanometer-sized tip as it left the surface of the salt.

More intense examination showed that surface salt molecules formed a kind of bubble — a ductile meniscus — with the exploratory tip as it withdrew from penetrating the cube. In this, it resembled the behavior of the surface of water when an object is withdrawn from it. But unlike water, the salt meniscus didn’t break from its own weight as the tip was withdrawn. Instead it followed the tip along, slip-sliding away (so to speak) as it thinned and elongated from 580 nanometers (nm) to 2,191 nm in shapes that resembled nanowires.

A possible explanation for salt molecules peeling off the salt block, said Houston, is that “surface molecules don’t have buddies.” That is, because there’s no atomic lattice above them, they’re more mobile than the internal body of salt molecules forming the salt block.

Salt showing signs of surface mobility at room temperatures was “totally surprising,” said Houston, who had initially intended to study more conventionally interesting characteristics of the one-fourth-inch square, one-eighth-inch-long salt block.

Other researchers on this work include Sandia's Nathan Moore and Jianyu Huang, with Junhang Luo and Scott Mao from the University of Pittsburgh.

Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA, Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.

Source: http://www.sandia.gov/

Arcadis acquires Malcolm Pirnie

Arnhem, The Netherlands -- Arcadis, the international consultancy, design, engineering and management services company, announced today that it has signed a merger agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Malcolm Pirnie, a White Plains, NY based company predominantly active in water and environmental consulting and engineering, currently owned by about 80 internal shareholders.

At closing, Malcolm Pirnie will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arcadis U.S. Malcolm Pirnie has more than 1,700 employees, 2008 gross revenues of $392 million (€280 million), net revenues of $294 million (€210 million) and profitability close to Arcadis overall target EBITA margin of 10%.

Arcadis will finance this merger by issuing 5.74 million shares to present Malcolm Pirnie shareholders and key employees, in addition to a cash amount of $135 million, for which Arcadis has secured a new debt facility from Rabobank, ING and RBS. The shares have a lock up period of 6 months with incentives to hold them for at least 18 months after closing. The enterprise value paid represents a multiple of EBITA in the range of our recent larger transactions.

Arcadis' net debt to EBITDA ratio at closing (as measured according to the bank covenants) will be below 2. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings per share (based on net income from operations which excludes amortization).

The merger is contingent on Malcolm Pirnie shareholder approval and related closing requirements. It is anticipated that the merger will be completed in July 2009. The major shareholders comprising ownership of 48% of the outstanding shares have provided irrevocable support of the merger.

Malcolm Pirnie, having roots going back to 1895, provides infrastructure consulting and engineering services in water and wastewater treatment, environmental services, and through its Red Oak division management consulting services. With over 60 offices, the company is represented in most of the top 20 major metropolitan areas of the United States. The client base of Malcolm Pirnie consists mostly of public sector clients including municipalities and the U.S. Federal Government. Private sector clients include companies from the energy, mining, and transportation market sectors. Malcolm Pirnie is also active internationally in the Asia-Pacific region, Middle East, Puerto Rico and Chile.

The combination of both companies is expected to generate significant business and operational synergies. Malcolm Pirnie brings an established world-class water brand, with specializations in water quality, treatment, strategic planning and project delivery. Combined with Arcadis' international position in water management and coastal engineering, the merger creates a major position in the global water market with annual revenues approaching $500 million, representing about 17% of combined revenues.

Additional benefits include a significantly stronger position with the U.S. Federal Government to pursue both water and environmental projects. Malcolm Pirnie's strong industrial environmental practice brings additional services and a complementary client base that now can be offered services through Arcadis' global platform. Finally, both companies have similar client-focused business models which will greatly facilitate the integration efforts that are planned for the next 18-24 months.

Commenting on the merger, Arcadis CEO Harrie Noy said: "This is a major step for Arcadis which very well fits our strategic goals. Together with Malcolm Pirnie we are in the top 10 of consulting engineers in the international water market. Clean water availability and water quality are increasingly important issues. In order to capitalize on the expected strong growth in this market, water will become a separate business line within Arcadis. In addition the merger brings us into the top 10 in the U.S. design, consultancy and engineering market, with a more balanced services portfolio. Also, the largely public client base of Malcolm Pirnie serves to balance our existing private sector client base in the U.S., thus contributing to long-term stability. Together we are well positioned to benefit in the short-term from the government stimulus package."

William P. Dee, President & CEO of Malcolm Pirnie added: "We believe that this step allows Malcolm Pirnie to fulfill several strategic goals in one step. First, it will provide us rapid access to international markets, where we have a stated goal to position ourselves as a world leader in water-related engineering and consulting services. Second, it strengthens our position in the Federal market and industrial environmental market, where we can now use Arcadis' technology and GRiP® approach to serve our clients in more ways. Third, this offers many career opportunities for our staff to work on the most exciting challenges on a global basis, which is an important issue for future success. Our Board has unanimously recommended the merger with ARCADIS to Malcolm Pirnie shareholders."

Harrie Noy commenting on market circumstances said: "Recent developments in Arcadis are generally in line with the trends we have seen in the first quarter. The infrastructure market is robust, driven by government investments. The environmental market continues to slow as industrial clients curtail spending, however, due to strong cost management, margins are holding up. The buildings market continues to be under pressure with particularly challenging circumstances in the United Kingdom. Although the impact of the economic downturn in the short term is still uncertain, the long-term outlook for our business is positive."

Source: http://www.arcadis-us.com/

Alexandria, VA -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced July 1 that $134.3 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds are being released to local water agencies for 27 innovative water reuse and desalination projects. The stimulus funding is being directed to "shovel ready" projects authorized under the Title XVI Program, which is administered by the Bureau of Reclamation in 17 western states.

"We thank the Department of the Interior for making these funds available to drought starved communities in a timely fashion," said WateReuse Association President Richard Atwater, who is also General Manager and CEO of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency in Chino, CA.

"Water recycling and reuse project construction assistance is one of the best ways to address the current economic downturn. The assistance will help local communities generate jobs immediately and those jobs will create projects that sustain long-term economic activity."

The stimulus funds will benefit projects in communities that have secured matching funding and are ready to proceed immediately with construction. Local governments will leverage the federal funding by a factor of about 5:1 through matching funding, resulting in a total investment of more than $676 million in new water reuse and desalination projects. The economic stimulus resulting from the federal investment in recycled water projects will have significant job creating benefits in drought impacted communities throughout the West.

Of the nearly $135 million in funding announced by the Department of the Interior today, the Bureau of Reclamation will use about $4.2 million—or 3%—to ensure the projects' compliance with federal regulations and statutes as well as adherence to the Recovery Act goals.

"The Bureau of Reclamation is known for its forward-looking partnerships with local communities and governments to provide reliable, efficient water across 17 western states," Secretary Salazar said.

"These ARRA funds will continue that tradition-creating economic opportunities and local jobs while infusing some of the nation's most drought- ravaged areas with expanded water supplies and a brighter outlook for the future."

WateReuse Association Executive Director Wade Miller added, "The Title XVI program is an example of a highly successful federal program. Because of the strong partnership with local governments to develop water reuse and desalination projects, communities throughout the West are developing local, sustainable water supplies." 

Water reuse, which is the process of converting a waste product into a resource that is highly beneficial, is "green" and "eco-friendly." These projects also offset the demands on limited potable water supplies. Energy costs related to pumping, conveyance, and storage are dramatically reduced because of the local nature of the project, thereby enhancing the economics of recycling and reuse.

The state of California, which has been particularly hard hit with both drought and recession, is getting the biggest infusion of Title XVI stimulus funding with 26 of the 27 funded projects located within the state.  One project in New Mexico will also receive ARRA funds. All of the projects are designed to provide a drought-proof water supply to communities that have too little of this precious resource.

The $134.3 million for these projects is part of President Obama's $1 billion investment of ARRA funding provided by the Department of the Interior for water projects across the West. In April, Secretary Salazar announced an additional $260 million in ARRA funding to address California's current drought conditions and to meet the state's long-term water supply infrastructure needs. Today's announcement brings total funding for California water-related activities funding under the Interior portion of ARRA to $381 million.

President Obama signed the ARRA into law on February 17, 2009. Within ARRA, a minimum of $126 million was allocated to Title XVI. The Department of the Interior later announced that it would provide $135 million to support water recycling projects construction.

Recipients of the Title XVI funding announced today must meet specific requirements such as demonstrating complete compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and other environmental laws; have an approved determination of financial capability; a feasibility study that meets the established requirements of Title XVI; an approved determination of financial capability; and an executed cooperative agreement for financial assistance.

Source: http://www.watereuse.org/

. GE Fanuc : Clean energy solution from landfill gas Environmentally friendly solution meets global need for cleaner, cost-effective energy sources.

AWWA announces availability of two new publications
AWWA announces publication of “2008 Water and Wastewater Rate Survey”, and “Climate Change and Water”.
 

Black & Veatch earns two Chicago Metro APWA awards Black & Veatch-designed Geneva Water Treatment Facility earns 2009 Project of the Year & Public Works Project Excellence awards.

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