Virus Sampler Cartridge complies with EPA requirements.
Press Release Summary:
Utilizing electropositive non-woven pleated filter media, P2.5-5 NanoCeram® Cartridge meets testing protocol for virus sampling as specified by EPA. Single layer of media retains over 99% of 30 nanometer monodisperse latex spheres or 25 nm virus, resulting in 0.03 micron rating. Able to sample 500 L of turbid water within 1.5 hr, 2.5 x 5 in. product is effective with fresh, brackish, or salt water with pH from 5-10 and temperatures from 4-50ºC.
Original Press Release:
New Low Cost - High Efficiency Virus Sampler Hits Market
Sanford, FL, December 1, 2005 - Argonide introduces a new Virus Sampler Cartridge using their patented electropositive non-woven pleated filter media, and which was developed with the encouragement of the United States EPA. With steady reports of waterborne disease events in the U.S. and Canada, the public's awareness and concern over waterborne viruses such as Norwalk, as well as numerous others, is prompting efforts to assure a safe water supply. The EPA would like to establish cost effective protocols, and to eventually require U.S. municipalities to sample for virus. A crucial component to meeting this goal is a low cost filter cartridge that would be an effective sampler - a cartridge that Argonide now offers for less than $25 each.
To date, the leading cartridge on the market with claims for virus retention and which is described as a virus sampler has become the undisputed market leader. This cartridge is a 2.5" X 10" (standard cartridge dimension) with a cost of approximately $150/unit. As a single use disposable, it is very effective, yet it is simply too expensive for routine sampling. As a comparison, Argonide's P2.5-10 NanoCeram® Filter Cartridge (2.5" x 10") is equivalent in size to the current market leader, but is available for a small fraction of the price.
However, the smaller P2.5-5 NanoCeram® Cartridge (2.5" x 5") is capable of meeting the rigid testing protocol for virus sampling as specified by the EPA, but in a cartridge that is half the size, requires approximately half the eluent material for a successful test for virus, and is less than 1/6 the cost.
A driving force behind this cartridge's development was the target the EPA sought in a virus sampler cartridge. Target parameters included a cartridge that could sample 500 liters of river water in a period of 2 hours or less. Photo 1 shows a P2.5-5 NanoCeram® Cartridge after it had been tested with dust. The cartridge was inserted into a standard commercial filter housing. This filter assembly was challenged by continuous 250 NTU of 3 µ APS A2 fine dust available from PTI (Powder Technology, Inc.) in 508 liters at 5.5 LPM (1.5 GPM). At 90 minutes it had filtered 119 g of dust while maintaining <0.01 NTU in the effluent (99.996% retention) at which point the test was terminated. This demonstrated that a half-size cartridge could pass 500 liters of very heavily turbid water within 1.5 hours.
NanoCeram® is a highly electropositive filter media that rapidly adsorbs particles, no matter how small. The media has a high capacity for particles as large as tens of microns or as small as a few nanometers. A single layer of media retains greater than 99% of 30 nanometer monodisperse latex spheres or 25 nm virus, giving it a rating of 0.03 microns. While Absolute 0.2 µ membranes are transparent to virus, 3 layers of NanoCeram® retain greater than 99.9999%. Yet flow rates are hundreds of times greater than such membranes. NanoCeram® is effective over pH 5-10, water temperatures of 4º to 50º C and is equally effective in fresh, brackish or salt water.
The Biological Sampler is the newest addition to the NanoCeram family of electropositive filters and the Samplers are currently available through authorized distributors.
