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Patrick,
The low cost, and most elegant solution for "free chlorine " removal is activated carbon.. It comes in so many varieties and forms, I would be very surprised if you could NOT find a way to solve your "free chlorine" problem using activated carbon. I have developed several activated carbon systems to regenerate mobile phase, flash chromatography processes for pharmaceutical drug (API) manufacture among other systems.
If you are dead set on membranes, this is your guy : Jatal Mannapperuma UC DAVIS membrane specialist and system designer, 530-758-3708.
regards,
Marco
Mark,
Although we have not been able to identify all of the pathogens out there, the major ones can be grown on petri- dishes. In this case the standard test for antimicrobial efficacy is called an Antibiotic Disc sensitivity test, however there may be a a more simple test with a standardized blend of commonly found household pathogens. See info on the disc test here:
I know we are not shooting for sterility here but the industry standard for disinfecting foods etc is called " log reduction" for so if you can imagine a surface such as a countertop that has 1,000,000 CFU / square cm (CFU = colony forming units) and a spray and wipe with brand X disinfectant causes a 3 Log reduction it would mean that in that same 1 sq cm spot you now have 1,000 CFU. NaClO works well in this respect, even if it is a free radial, but MSRA is actually caused by overuse of antibiotics, and finding more powerful disinfectants seems to be exacerbating the problem. MSRA is opportunistic and only affects immunocompromised folks, who should be addresssing their problems and using hospital grade cleaners. The only safer natural suggestions i can offer are colloidal silver, oregano, neem, and olive leaf extract, which of course would have to be tested.
Thanks for the link .. it sounds like your charcoal is quite sustainable already using recycled materials.
the Jumbo charcoal bag would be your standard large 21.6 lb bag with several folded combustible chimneys in an attached or included paper bag. or as you mentioned for an outlet like costco, a 4-6 pack of pre-filled chimneys all packaged together. Also the pre-filled chimneys could have a few highly combustible "starter" briquettes at the bottom.
I had not heard that, i would be interested to know how the timber industry has been affected by the economic downturn. Unless your Charcoal is from bitumiuos sources, i think you could use sustainable and renewable sources as i mentioned above to keep the charcoal "green".
Also, I like the prepacked chimney idea below, which could sell a jumbo charcoal bag with several low-ash combustible chimneys with built-in fire starting material at the bottom. This would reduce packaging.
charcoal is mainly from wood and all wood is renewable however the best charcoal is from hardwood, which is difficult to source and becoming scarce..
I think that novel forms of environmentally sound forms of charcoal could be :
1: walnut hulls or other nut shells
2: certainly coconut shells
3: wood from slash piles left by logging operations.
Ohhh ok .. I didn't realize this was a food wash and wipe. Thanks for the clarification. From what i have read H1N1 can remain viable outside the body for hours to weeks depending on the substrate. The acid approach has resulted in conflicting data, however the consensus is that influenza viruses are mostly transmitted via airborne droplet. I agree with K. Carpenter that frequent hand washing with solutions that disrupt lipids such as surfactants, detergents and IPA/ Ethanol are the best solutions. Unfortunately the only way to prevent inhalation or membrane contact with a potentially an infected airborne droplet is a physical barrier, such as a facemask and glasses.
An excellent presentation on the matter is:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/diseases/influenzaAH1N1/docs/EFSA_AHAW_BIOHAZ.pdf
Mareya, if you are interested in some excellent natural, food-grade Organic surfactants, I can help you.
Im not sure what you mean by "products" , foods, OTC drugs???
As a natural products consultant with a background in Herbs. I have been in several discussions with herbalists about what kinds of herbal formulas will be helpful to prevent and treat H1N1. I realize that this is a sticky subject because simply making such a claim with an herb would be calling it a drug. However it is clear that herbs have a clear edge over pharmaceuticals and OTCs in dealing with viruses.
There are several well documented herbs that have a good track records with flu and especially the Spanish flu from 1918. Now combine those with an immune stimulant and other herbs that benefit the respiratory system during illness and you have a workable formula. That might be a product that would actually have an "effect" on H1N1.
I have some experience with natural stabilized foams, it really depends on the application. And i can certainly put you in touch with a good source of natural foaming ingredients manufacturer.