Guest blog from Jeni Wong, Chair of AFS. Jeni has been an active AFS member since 2014, serving as Co-Chair of the 2017 Spring Conference and as a Board member since 2018. She also is active in ASHRAE, serving on the Technical Committee (TC 2.4) as the Membership Chair since 2017 and Voting Member since 2019.

As we start a third year of responding to and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, I am proud to be a professional in an industry on the front line of protecting human health and devising innovations to defend the world against this disease. Especially in the air quality and pharmaceutical sectors, but in other areas as well, filtration is leading the charge to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Polycarbonates are thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. They are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. In addition, they are easily worked, molded and thermoformed, and because of these properties, polycarbonates can be used in many applications. 

Polycarbonates are becoming increasingly important and popular as an environmentally friendly (recyclable) polymer. The global demand for polycarbonates was estimated at 4.6 million tonnes in 2019, and it is forecasted to increase to 5.5 million tonnes by 2024. This growth in demand is creating opportunities for technologies that enable increases in production capacity. 

Scheduled as an in-person conference in San Diego, October 5-9, 2022, the 13^th World Filtration Congress is now accepting a limited number of abstract submissions for oral technical and oral symposia presentations. While many of the presentations originally scheduled for the April 2020 conference are still in the program, there are a few openings for new submissions.

Submissions for student poster presentations are now being accepted for review.

The AFS is presenting two two-hour short courses in December: “Designing Filter Media for Air Filtration” and “Air Filter Design Process,” both taught by air filtration expert Thad Ptak.

These courses are designed for people who are new to the filtration industry, either in technical, sales, or business functions.  They are also good courses for those who have been in the industry for a while to get a better understanding of the fundamentals of filter media and how they can be used for practical applications.

The AFS extends its condolences to the family and friends of Professor Emeritus Darrell Reneker, who passed away on October 17 at the age of 91. 

Professor Reneker began his career during WWII as an electrical engineer, having earned his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University. He returned to graduate school and earned his Ph.D. in solid state physics at the University of Chicago 1959, where he was classmates with the famed astrophysicist Carl Sagan.

For many years, the AFS has been the go-to source for several foundational short courses. Among them is Introduction to Solid/Liquid Separation, which will be taught in November as a four-part series. The course will be taught by filtration industry veterans Dr. Wu Chen, Dr. Wenping Li, Chris Wallace and Dr. Lin Zhao.

This course is informative and easily understood due to the extensive industrial, practical and teaching experiences of instructors. This course would be appropriate for all job functions, especially those new to filtration or an experienced professional who is looking for more understanding of filtration and competing technologies.

Guest blog from Jeni Wong, Chair of AFS. Jeni assumed the role of Chair last month and will serve in this position until September 2022. She has been an active AFS member since 2014, serving as Co-Chair of the 2017 Spring Conference and as a Board member since 2018. She also is active in ASHRAE, serving on the Technical Committee (TC 2.4) as the Membership Chair since 2017 and Voting Member since 2019.

As I move into the Chair role for AFS, I cannot help but reflect on how much has changed since I first joined in 2014. At that time, I was new to the filtration industry and looking to bolster my knowledge base in every way possible. I had met Rahul Bharadwaj (former Chair of AFS and current Senior Applications Engineering Manager at Lydall) and, though we both participate in other industry organizations and committees, he could not stop singing the praises of one in particular – AFS. His excitement for the important work that was being done was contagious, and I quickly became more and more involved myself. I realized that AFS was different because of the exceptional dedication of volunteers to not only furthering their own professional interests but also to truly building a better industry together.

The next meeting of the Southeast Chapter of the American Filtration & Separations Society is scheduled for Thursday, October 7, from 10:00 to 11:00 am central time. This virtual meeting is free to AFS members and $15 for non-members.

The topic will be "New Structures and Fiber Materials for Filter Media in Different Areas of Application," presented by Tobias Thiem of Norafin Industries.

The AFS is presenting the short course, “Filtration & Separation Media Types, Uses and Global Markets,” taught by Edward C Gregor of Edward C. Gregor & Associates.

This course is designed for novice and intermediate filtration specialists or non-technical professionals who want a more in-depth understanding of filter media and their uses.  The course covers media, applications and market trends for technologies in plastic medias, membranes, filter aids and precoats, nonwovens, monofilament fabrics, ceramics, wetlaid, and wire cloths. This course will help you learn terminology, growth areas, and critical aspects for the use of each media covered using specific examples.

The American Filtration and Separations Society (AFS) is pleased to announce the executive leadership team and rising board of directors for the coming year. Their terms begin this month.

Jeni Wong, Key Account Manager at Johns Manville, who has served as both 2^nd Vice Chair and 1^st Vice Chair, will assume the role of Chair for the coming year. Jeni leads key accounts for filtration and separation at Johns Manville and manages the glass and synthetic product lines (with a focus on air applications) globally.

As I conclude my year as Chair of the American Filtration Society, I’d like to take the opportunity to commend our organization and our many volunteers, sponsors and staff who continued to support and promote the missions of AFS in the past year.

When I assumed the role of Chair one year ago, we were six months into the COVID-19 pandemic with little understanding of how the virus would expand and persist. In February of this year, we entered a second year of the pandemic, and continued to explore new ways to engage with our members and distribute technical knowledge and filtration education. In a time when filtration couldn’t be more important, we bolstered our commitment to providing the resources necessary to maintain the flow of information, the building of professional relationships and the mentoring of tomorrow’s filtration leaders.

When you join AFS, you’ve taken only the first step to realizing value from your membership. Conference and short course discounts, access to continuing education and networking opportunities are all great reasons to join AFS. But people who get the most from their AFS memberships are those who join a committee and form long-lasting bonds with other AFS members. Joining a committee helps create relationships that can expand your access to knowledge and industry developments, and foster activity for your career and business. And by bringing your experience to the committees, AFS benefits as well.

AFS currently maintains the following committees:

The American Filtration and Separations Society wishes to extend its sincere congratulations and warm appreciation to Professor George Chase, as he retires from a long and distinguished career with the University of Akron (UA).

Professor Chase joined UA in 1989 as Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, a post he held until his recent retirement. For the past four years, he also has served as interim director of Research Initiatives and president of the University of Akron Research Foundation.

The AFS Learning Center provides a great wealth of technical knowledge for filtration and separations professionals. Our hub of educational resources represents the many years of technical knowledge we have assembled.

The AFS Learning Center contains two-hour and four-hour virtual courses on a variety of topics designed to educate both novice and expert filtration professionals and taught by leading experts in the filtration industry. Courses are priced affordably with discounts for AFS members and for the employees of AFS Corporate Sponsors. Learn more about joining as an individual or becoming a corporate sponsor here.

The AFS is presenting a new short course, “Membrane Fouling and Cleaning,” which will be taught by industry veteran Peter Cartwright.

Plant operators often deal with expensive elements fouling prematurely, creating additional maintenance expenses. This course will provide an understanding of the mechanisms of fouling of crossflow, pressure-driven membrane elements. Attendees will learn numerous strategies for minimizing fouling and cleaning membranes.

The AFS is presenting the short course, “Requirements and Classifications of Facemasks and Respirators for General, Medical and Industrial Use,” taught by Christina Crimi, Business Manager – Chemistry for SGS North America.

Included in this course will be coverage of:

AFS FiltCon 2021 included a plenary presentation from Brian Lane, expert filtration industry consultant and retired Vice President of Engineering, Technology and Innovation at Parker Hannifin. His presentation, “How Global Mega Trends, Particularly the 'Race to Zero Emissions' and COVID, are Impacting the Filtration Industry,” provided valuable insight into the state of the filtration industry, especially in light of the events of 2020.

Brian began by referencing the 2017 AFS Point of View Publication, written by former AFS Chair Tom Ramsey. Brian highlighted six global mega trends that formed the basis for chapter two of the report, emphasizing that after four years, all are still vigorous drivers of change in the filtration and separations industry: Population Growth and Social Change, Disruptive Digital Technology Changes, Rapid Urbanization on a Global Scale, Climate Change and Natural Scarcity, Transformative Healthcare Advances, and Reduce, Reuse and the Race to Zero Emissions/Discharge. In fact, the events of 2020 even accelerated the pace of change for several of them, most notably in the social change, healthcare and emissions areas.

The World Filtration Congress is a global congress with presenters, exhibitors and attendees from all over the world. Originally scheduled for April 2020, WFC 13 was forced to postpone due to the pandemic. At that time, we were hopeful that by September 2021 we would be able to resume this event. Unfortunately, the virus continues to rage in many parts of the world, with government and corporate travel restrictions still in place.

Therefore, AFS and WFC leadership have again made the decision to postpone WFC 13, this time to October 5 – 9, 2022. Short courses will be offered Wednesday, Oct. 5, and the Congress will run Thursday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 9 at noon. The Expo will be open Thursday morning through Saturday afternoon.

The American Filtration and Separations Society (AFS) is pleased to announce the results of its recent board of directors election. The following filtration professionals have been elected to two-year terms that will begin September 1 of this year: