Observer Reporter
Friday, November 4, 2005

Company to lease former Curry Home
BY CARA HOST

WAYNESBURG - After touring the offices and laboratory of Separation Design Group in Waynesburg, state Rep. H. William DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, said he was "energized" to see such modern technology being developed in Greene County.

Separation Design Group, a private Pennsylvania-based company, focuses on the development of Meso-Frequency Continuous Adsorption Technology, a proprietary solid-state technology that separates and enriches selected gas or liquid streams.

Dr. Robert LaCount, senior researcher at SDGroup and chemistry professor at Waynesburg College, briefed DeWeese on the chemistry of MCAT. SDGroup general manager Doug Galbraith then explained the technological and commercial impact the company expects MCAT to make in a wide range of applications, including fuel cells for automotive and stationary power applications and medical oxygen devices.

Meso-Frequency Continuous Adsorption is a development in the separations industry similar to that made in the electronics industry with the introduction of the microchip. Products as diverse as portable medical oxygen concentrators and methane purification equipment can be miniaturized by incorporating this new electronic filter technology.

SDGroup's business strategy focuses on partnering with government and industry to supply custom designed MCAT modules as components in new and existing systems. The company is devoting its initial research efforts toward optimizing MCAT material in the areas of greenhouse gas mitigation and oxygen enrichment because of strong government and commercial interest in these applications.