November 2019 – ARID earned California Air Resources Board (CARB) EVR Certification with Executive Orders VR-201-Z and VR-202-Z. This approval allows California Gasoline Dispensing Facilities to remove alarm prone and undersized Healy CAS systems and replace with ARID Permeator AT-150. ARID passed a series of rigorous tests, including a “challenge mode” test which required Permeator to handle a vapor stream of over 70% HC concentration at a nominal volumetric flow rate of 350 gallons per hour.
ARID's PERMEATOR system was granted approval by CARB (California Air Resources Board) on 6 October 2006; Executive Order G-70-209
Internationally, dispensing facility units based on PERMEATOR membrane technology are operating in China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Mexico, South Korea, and Switzerland, and Taiwan. The customers include Avia, BK, BMW, Chevron-Texaco, Copal ARAL, CPC, DEA, Erg, GPR, KNPC, Porsche, Q-8 Oil, Shell, and Uny Oil (see FAQ section).
Over 650 retail station systems have been installed.
ARID also offers a stand-alone pressure monitoring system called ARIDAS (ARID Data Acquisition System). This unit has remote access via modem or internet connection. See photos.
Third-party testing with US EPA oversight verified that storage tank evaporative losses are between 0.1% and 0.5% of a gasoline station's throughput. The variation in the range is due to various site-specific factors such as fuel RVP (Reid Vapor Pressure), fuel tank temperature, altitude, and the population of ORVR (On-Board Refueling Vapor Recovery) equipped vehicles. PERMEATOR reduces these losses by more than 95%.
Patents owned, assigned to or licensed by ARID include the following: 6,836,732; 4,994,094; 5,537,911; P 44 10 597.5, P 42 14 551.1; EP 0 637 987; 5,220,799; 5,367,882; 6,059,856; 8,060,335B2. In addition, the following US and European patents cover process technology, membrane and module technologies: 4,673,418; 4,695,380; 4,818,452; 4,933,085; 5,076,923; DE4214551; 0637987, and 0752974.
Bulk terminal gasoline vapor recovery systems using membranes have been successfully operating throughout the world since 1989. Each of the 250 large-scale systems installed since 1989 has been consistently operating in tank farms and ship loading terminals without any membrane replacements. The performance and long-term stability of these hydrocarbon-selective membranes are commercially proven and such systems are considered an established technology in Europe.
The energy recovered by the system is up to 50 times more than the energy consumed by operation of the system.
ARID has expanded their scope to include retrofitting carbon absorption units with a larger capacity membrane stage -- the membrane CRU.
ARID's PERMEATOR system was granted ORVR approval in Texas on 21 January 2005 by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). All new refueling stations with Stage II vapor recovery systems within specific non-attainment counties must be ORVR compliant.
ARID's patented PERMEATOR gasoline vapor recovery system incorporates hydrocarbon selective membranes to separate air from gasoline vapor components. Clean air is exhausted from the storage tank system, and enriched hydrocarbon vapors are returned to the storage tank headspace.