FSML: Upgrading Seawater Filtration Capabilities to Enhance Support of Research Using Seawater System Facilities

该项目将支持升级切萨皮克生物实验室(CBL)海水系统的海水过滤能力，以提供涉及海洋生物养殖的强化支持研究计划。以当今海洋实验室的许多活动为特征的受控实验研究包括关于海洋生物生态的前沿生物化学/分子和生理/生物能量学研究。海洋实验室的海水系统的性质已经从最多提供经过粗过滤的海水到储水箱和水族箱，再到必须提供经过精细过滤和温度调节的海水以支持这项研究的实验研究的相当复杂的系统。在过去的十年中，CBL在其Truitt控制的环境实验室(CEL)的海水和实验室支持设施进行了重新设计、重新配置和设计，以提供支持实验需求的处理组件。CBL在生态/海洋学、水生毒理学和环境化学/地球化学领域开展的许多研究项目依赖于高质量的温控和过滤海水，以支持Truitt受控环境实验室的海洋生物实验研究。但是，现有的过滤设备不足以满足对过滤海水的更大需求和更严格的质量要求，以支持目前正在进行的研究需求和预计在不久的将来增长。目前系统的维护也是劳动强度很大的。该项目将用基于膜的微过滤系统取代目前的砂过滤系统，该系统将使目前过滤后的水量翻一番(从50 GPM增加到100 GPM)，并大大增加悬浮颗粒的去除(从5微米增加到1微米)。新的系统将消除不足，特别是在夏季，当研究对过滤水的需求特别高，需要停机和使用目前的加压砂滤技术更换劳动密集型和昂贵的介质时。

This project will support the upgrade of the seawater filtration capabilitiesof the sea water system at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL)to provide enhanced support research programs involving culturing ofmarine organisms. The controlled experimental research that characterizesmuch of today's activities at marine laboratories includes leading-edgebiochemical/molecular and physiological/bioenergetic research on the ecology of marine organisms. The nature of the sea water systemsat marine laboratories have evolved from simple supply of, at most, coarse-filtered sea water to holding tanks and aquaria to fairly sophisticated systems that must provide fine-filtered and temperature-regulated seawater to support the experimental studies underlying that research. Over the last decade the sea water and laboratory support facilities atCBL in its Truitt Controlled Environmental Laboratory(CEL) have beenredesigned, reconfigured, and engineered to provide the treatmentcomponents that support experimental needs. Many of the researchprograms carried out at CBL in the fields of ecology/oceanography,aquatic toxicology, and environmental chemistry/geochemistry dependon the high quality of temperature-controlled and filtered sea waterprovided to support the experimental studies of marine organisms inthe Truitt Controlled Environment Laboratory.However, the present filtration equipment is inadequate for the largerdemand and more stringent quality requirements for filtered sea waterto support the research needs currently underway and anticipated growthin the near future. Maintenance of the present system is also labor intensive.This project would replace the current sand filter system with a membrane-Based micro-filtration system that will double the present volume of filteredwater (from 50 to 100 gpm) and greatly increase suspended particle removal(from5 to 1 micron). The new system will eliminate inadequate especiallyduring summer months when research demand for filtered water is especiallyhigh and the need for downtime and labor-intensive and costly media changesusing the present pressure sand filter technology.