Right Chemicals Can Make or Break a Reclaim System
Western Water Products has gained considerable experience
with a multitude of chemicals over the last few years and has developed the
following guidelines concerning the use of chemical flocculates and chemical
cleaners used in applications using water recovery equipment. A partial list
of recommendations is listed below:
Chemical Selection Makes a Difference
* While chemical flocculates have their
place in certain applications, they are not normally required for use with
Western Water Products water recovery equipment. Chemical flocculates are
expensive to use, add to the sludge problem which must be removed, require
constant monitoring by trained individuals, often increase TDS, and can foul
filters in the water recovery system. Consult Western Water Products if you
think you may need them.
Ozonation Reduces Odor Problems
* Odor Eliminators, Cover-ups or Deodorizers may sometimes
be necessary in applications having high organic loads. Western Water
Products uses Constant Ozonation in the majority of its’ applications and
does not normally require these chemicals except in the most extreme
applications (garbage bin washing, portable toilet washing, etc.). If a
chemical must be used to eliminate odor, it is best to use a chemical
product which can chemically alter the molecular structure of the odor
producing molecules causing the odor rather than using a deodorizer or
chemical masking agent. Consult Western Water Products for recommendations.
* Soaps and Cleaning Agents are popular with most wash
applications. However because of the nature of water recycling equipment it
must be noted that “wash water” quality water recovery equipment does not
remove soap and some other chemicals from the water. The benefit of leaving
soap in the water is less soap usage and less cost to operate. The problem
is that operators tend to use too much soap which in turn creates too many
soap suds. A soap recommendation can be found on page 2 of this newsletter.
Fresh Water is Not as
Plentiful as You Would Think
Today in the United States continuous
depletion of our water resources could cause us to be facing a critical water
shortage in the near future, according to National Geographic. In a recent
article we learned some interesting statistics which we thought were worth
passing along to you to help you better understand the size and scope of the
problem.
When the Well Runs Dry, We'll Know
It's Worth
It is a fact that the earth has
virtually the same amount of fresh water today that it did when dinosaurs roamed
the planet five hundred million years ago. Ninety-seven percent of the Earth’s
water supply is in the form of salt water. Only 3% is fresh, and two-thirds of
that is ice. That means there is only 1% remaining as fresh water for our use
and half of that is locked up in Lake Baikal in Russia. The big problem is
simply that there are too many people, and the fact is that we flagrantly abuse
one of our most precious and limited of resources.
In California, for example, 78% of the
available water supply goes to agriculture and 22% goes to urban uses. The
United States withdraws 339 billion gallons of ground and surface water a day.
An average of four trillion gallons of water falls on the US daily in the form
of precipitation, but much of that disappears in evaporation and runoff. At the
same time our rivers and aquifers are being dangerously fouled and depleted.
“Because it is such a limited resource,
it becomes all of our responsibilities to end or limit its’ abuse. People’s
attitudes, habits and perceptions of water must change. Blatant misuse, waste
and ignorance of water problems need to be vocalized, and awareness of the
challenges which lie ahead need to be brought to public attention”...and we
agree whole heartedly. Our mission at WWP is not just to sell water recovery
equipment, but we should be increasing public awareness in the process.
The Right
Soap for the Right Application
It seems every salesman who knocks on
your door anymore is trying to sell you chemicals, and they all have some
special formula or exotic “Witches Brew” that simply works wonders and is also
“bio-degradable”. I once had an EPA representative tell me he hated that
phrase, because it was so misused and misapplied and that even an army tank is
“bio-degradable” given enough time. It can seem all so confusing, but there are
some common sense things to be aware of when selecting the right chemical for
use with your Western Water Products water recovery system.
Clarify the Problem
In an effort to clarify the proper use
of soap in water recovery systems, it is important to pay close attention to
several of the following requirements. Western Water Products has found that
you will be happier with the performance of your equipment if you:
* Use a liquid soap concentrate which
is made specifically for water recycling machinery.
* “Standard” commercially available
soaps are high in surfactants, extremely high foaming and have been found
not to perform well in Oil/Water Separators and Water Recycling Equipment.
In most cases they do not contain chemicals in their formulas which will
promote precipitation of solids and heavy metals, nor do they allow
suspended oils and greases to de-emulsify, separate and float free to the
surface of the water for removal. This is especially true of inexpensive
powdered soaps which should be avoided.
* Soaps high is phosphorous promote
bacteriological growth and should also be avoided.
Recommendations
* For proper operation of your water
recovery system we recommend that you use a soap:
1) Which will enhance (not fight)
the effectiveness of Oil/Water Separators, Soil Settling and On-Line
Filtration Equipment
2) Which is very low in surfactants
and therefore produce very low amounts of suds or is low foaming
3) Effective when used with either
hot or cold water
4) Effective when used with either
soft or hard water
5) Has chemicals in its formula
which inhibit scaling
6) Has chemicals in its formula
which promote solids settling and decrease turbidity
7) Has chemicals in its formula
which promote precipitation of heavy metals
8) Because of its chemical make-up
is a “Fragile Emulsifier”. Fragile emulsifiers break oil emulsions
quickly (de-emulsify oils) and allow them to separate or break free from
emulsion and float to the surface.
If your application requires that
you use soap, use the “right soap”. Soap containing the above
characteristics tend to create fewer problems with the equipment, less
gumming up with grease and oil and allow more precipitation of a suspended
solids. You will find that the equipment requires less maintenance and
fewer hours of intervention to correct problems caused by the wrong
chemicals. For further information or for a recommendation on the right
soap for the right application contact Western Water Products.
Golf Course Water
Recovery Systems Gains Popularity
Western Water Products recently
introduced golf course water recovery system has jumped out to be a
performance winner with our first four systems. The key to the successful
installations at Navy Golf Course and Empire Lakes Golf Course (2 systems
each) was the successful adaptation of our already popular AGOR wash water
recovery system to a newly designed hopper bottom pit and “double redundant”
grass strainer system.
What the Heck is Double
Redundancy?
The AGOR already utilizes 14 proven
water recovery technologies, and with the addition of a double redundant
grass strainer system, Western Water Products was able to overcome the major
problem in golf course applications of eliminating grass from the waste
water. Elimination of grass has been a major problem in the past with other
systems, because it was so difficult to remove and created a breeding ground
for algae and other odor causing organisms. The secret to Western Water
Products success is two fold.
1) Western Water Products utilized its
exclusive pit “Sludge Removal System” and developed a unique hopper bottom
pit design to promote the collection of sludge at a central point for easy
removal.
2) Western Water Products developed a
“Double Redundant” grass strainer technology incorporating two grass
strainers in the pit and two in an above ground “Grass Catcher Tank” and
positioned them all in series for maximum grass removal.
The Key is Keeping it Simple
The result is that the complete
system is easier to operate, provides cleaner wash water without a major
odor problem, and maintenance has been limited to an average of 15 minutes a
day. These systems are easy to install, easy to operate and easy to
maintain. They take up less space, come ready to assemble and the
complete Golf Course System is competitively priced below the
competition’s partial system. Contact Western Water Products or one
of its distributors for further information.
California Department
of Water Resources Chooses WWP
What does the California Department
of Water Resources have in common with, Viking Freight, UPS, Kasler
Construction, South Coast Materials, Specialty Minerals, Louisiana Pacific,
Pacific Bell and GTE? Answer: They have all decided that Western Water
Products has superior technology and have chosen WWP as their source for
wash water recovery.
California
Department of Water Resources recently awarded WWP, through one of its’
distributors, a contract for two water recovery systems in the Lost Hills
and in Mettler, California. A third award was made in February of 1996
for a site in Pearblossom, CA. After a tour of WWP facilities and a visit
to several WWP sites in Southern California, California DWR decided that
Western Water Products had the experience and technology to meet the
requirements of their applications. Western Water Products simple design,
ease of maintenance and common sense approach to water recovery were major
factors in their
decision.
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