An excellent article on water quality in the United States entitled "Toxic Waters" , was published by the NY Times on December 16, 2009. The premise of the article is that just because a water is "legal" it may not be "healthy". Our policy is not to be a fear monger, but the article was very concerning.
A very interesting part of this article was the water quality data for each State. The amount of data is mind boggling! The data was collected and analysed by the Environmental Working Group who shared it with The New York Times.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Dealkalizer Performance Calculations
We recently had questions about a perceived problem with a dealkalizer. This customer believed the capacity of the dealkalizer was lower than originally specified and was unhappy with its performance. The customer was regenerating this new system more often than they regenerated the older system. We reviewed the system design and operation and found the problems.
Determining the Dealkalizer Capacity:
In order for us to know how long a dealkalizer system will produce dealkalized water between regenerations, we need a complete water analysis. There are a number of factors in determining the capacity of Dealkalizer Systems. The two most important things used to determine resin capacity are: Influent TDS and Alkalinity (as a percentage of the TDS). Once these are known, the resin capacity can be determined by using established resin manufacturers' charts, or by doing calculations based on total exchangeable anions and percentages of alkalinity and chlorides.
Based on using the charts and info from Purolite and Rohm & Haas
Minimum Flow Rate:
This capacity is further based on the flow rate of the system. Ideally, the unit should run @ 2 gpm/cu ft of resin or 30 gpm. Further, the minimum flow rate to insure proper kinetics and to prevent channeling is 2 gpm/sq ft of tank surface area. In their case, with a 30" diameter fiberglass tank, which has a surface area of 4.6 sq ft, the minimum flow rate should be 9.2 gpm.
We advised the customer that their average real time flow rate is 271 gph, which is 4.5 gpm. This is well below the recommended flow rate of 9.2 gpm. At this rate, the water is definitely channeling resulting in premature alkalinity breakthrough.
Premature alkalinity breakthrough would necessitate regenerating the system more often. If the dealkalizer was being run at the design rate of 9.2 gpm it would regenerate less often.
Resin Regeneration Frequency and Resin Life:
Before this customer understood the cause of the dealkalizer problem he was concerned the dealkalizer resin had lost its original capacity. Furthermore he was concerned that regenerating the dealkalizer more often would affect the life of the resin. The answer in both cases was no. The resin was in good shape and regenerating the system more often would not be detrimental to it.
Determining the Dealkalizer Capacity:
In order for us to know how long a dealkalizer system will produce dealkalized water between regenerations, we need a complete water analysis. There are a number of factors in determining the capacity of Dealkalizer Systems. The two most important things used to determine resin capacity are: Influent TDS and Alkalinity (as a percentage of the TDS). Once these are known, the resin capacity can be determined by using established resin manufacturers' charts, or by doing calculations based on total exchangeable anions and percentages of alkalinity and chlorides.
Based on using the charts and info from Purolite and Rohm & Haas
Minimum Flow Rate:
This capacity is further based on the flow rate of the system. Ideally, the unit should run @ 2 gpm/cu ft of resin or 30 gpm. Further, the minimum flow rate to insure proper kinetics and to prevent channeling is 2 gpm/sq ft of tank surface area. In their case, with a 30" diameter fiberglass tank, which has a surface area of 4.6 sq ft, the minimum flow rate should be 9.2 gpm.
We advised the customer that their average real time flow rate is 271 gph, which is 4.5 gpm. This is well below the recommended flow rate of 9.2 gpm. At this rate, the water is definitely channeling resulting in premature alkalinity breakthrough.
Premature alkalinity breakthrough would necessitate regenerating the system more often. If the dealkalizer was being run at the design rate of 9.2 gpm it would regenerate less often.
Resin Regeneration Frequency and Resin Life:
Before this customer understood the cause of the dealkalizer problem he was concerned the dealkalizer resin had lost its original capacity. Furthermore he was concerned that regenerating the dealkalizer more often would affect the life of the resin. The answer in both cases was no. The resin was in good shape and regenerating the system more often would not be detrimental to it.
Their very old dealkalizer did not appear to regenerate as often as the new system. There could have been any number of reasons it didn't.
- Was it actually producing dealkalized water in the 5 ppm range?
- Was the resin broken down to the point where it could operate at low flows and still work?
- Is the water analysis from 2008 the same as now?
We don't know the answers to the first two questions but it's very doubtful that the analysis is the same, as water in most areas can change dramatically from summer to winter and from drought to rainy times. We asked them to check the water in the winter when there is a lot of snow and/or ice. The salt on the roads increases the TDS of the water, not to mention the alkalinity and chlorides; all of which will have a significant affect on the performance of a dealkalizer.
Solutions and Recomendations:
Adding Caustic to Salt During Regeneration Increases Resin Capacity
They may be able to increase the capacity of the dealkalizer somewhat by increasing the amount of the salt and caustic. However, it may not be worth it given the low flow rate of operation.
We don't feel making changes to the dealkalizer will enable it to produce more treated water between regenerations. If the real time flow will continue at 4.5 gpm (or less), we suggested they installation of a recirculation pump on the softener/dealkalizer system. This will insure there is enough water going through the units and prevent channeling.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Aquamatic Valve Repair Service
After viewing our extensive video library on identifying, ordering, and repairing AquaMatic diaphragm valves, people have been concerned about the complexity of getting the correct Aquamatic valve and/or parts. Also, some are concerned with needing special tools and the difficulty of repairing these valves. So they asked us if we can repair their valves for them. The answer is YES!
Within our Service Area:
If you are located within our service area, one of our service people can repair the diaphragm valves at your site. If you need an uninterrupted treated water delivery, we will have to work around your production shutdown schedule and will need to bring a spare valve of each size at your facility so we can rapidly replace the valves and get you up and running as quickly as possible.
Outside of Service Area:
If you are outside our service area, we can repair your Aquamatic valves in our shop. To get your facility up and running as quickly as possible, you will definitely need to purchase spare valves for each valve you will send to us to for repair.
Within our Service Area:
If you are located within our service area, one of our service people can repair the diaphragm valves at your site. If you need an uninterrupted treated water delivery, we will have to work around your production shutdown schedule and will need to bring a spare valve of each size at your facility so we can rapidly replace the valves and get you up and running as quickly as possible.
Outside of Service Area:
If you are outside our service area, we can repair your Aquamatic valves in our shop. To get your facility up and running as quickly as possible, you will definitely need to purchase spare valves for each valve you will send to us to for repair.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Aquamatic Valve Videos-K520, Panel Discussions & K530
Four more Aquamatic videos were added. The topics are:
Which Metal Aquamatic Valve Do I Have?-Part 1 This is a panel discussion with Mike & Bob on how to identify which metal Aquamatic valve you have.
Which Metal Aquamatic Valve Do I Have?-Part 2 This is the continuation of a panel discussion with Mike & Bob on how to identify which metal Aquamatic valve you have.
Aquamatic K530 Plastic Diaphragm Valves Identifying, Valve Cutaway & End Adapter Choices of an Aquamatic K530 by Bob, Res-Kem Corp's Service Manager.
Aquamatic K520 Plastic Diaphragm Valves Identifying, Valve Cutaway & End Adapter Choices of an Aquamatic K520 by Res-Kem Corp's Service Manager
Which Metal Aquamatic Valve Do I Have?-Part 1 This is a panel discussion with Mike & Bob on how to identify which metal Aquamatic valve you have.
Which Metal Aquamatic Valve Do I Have?-Part 2 This is the continuation of a panel discussion with Mike & Bob on how to identify which metal Aquamatic valve you have.
Aquamatic K530 Plastic Diaphragm Valves Identifying, Valve Cutaway & End Adapter Choices of an Aquamatic K530 by Bob, Res-Kem Corp's Service Manager.
Aquamatic K520 Plastic Diaphragm Valves Identifying, Valve Cutaway & End Adapter Choices of an Aquamatic K520 by Res-Kem Corp's Service Manager
Monday, October 19, 2009
Aquamatic Valve Videos - K530 and V42 Series Valves
At Res-Kem, we developed a series of videos on the Aquamatic K530 Series of plastic diaphragm valves and the Aquamatic V42 Series of cast iron diaphragm valves.
Please stay tuned. We have more videos in the "vault", but need to be edited before we can post them. Please note, these are videos of only two valves, these are nearly a limitless number of possible valve permutations.
Contact us for help!
The subjects of the videos are as follows:
Selecting Aquamatic V42 Series Valves-Using the Ordering Guides:
Repairing the V42 Series Cast Iron AquaMatic Valves Part 1 (Disassembly):
Repairing the V42 Series Cast Iron AquaMatic Valves Part 2 (Reassembly):
Features of the Aquamatic K530 Series Plastic Diaphragm Valves:
Repairing the V530 Series Plastic Diaphragm Valves Part 1 (Disassembly)
Repairing the V530 Series Plastic Diaphragm Valves Part 2A (Reassembly):
Repairing the V530 Series Plastic Diaphragm Valves Part 2B (Final Reassembly):
As you can see, these videos are posted on YouTube.
Please stay tuned. We have more videos in the "vault", but need to be edited before we can post them. Please note, these are videos of only two valves, these are nearly a limitless number of possible valve permutations.
Contact us for help!
The subjects of the videos are as follows:
Selecting Aquamatic V42 Series Valves-Using the Ordering Guides:
Repairing the V42 Series Cast Iron AquaMatic Valves Part 1 (Disassembly):
Repairing the V42 Series Cast Iron AquaMatic Valves Part 2 (Reassembly):
Features of the Aquamatic K530 Series Plastic Diaphragm Valves:
Repairing the V530 Series Plastic Diaphragm Valves Part 1 (Disassembly)
Repairing the V530 Series Plastic Diaphragm Valves Part 2A (Reassembly):
Repairing the V530 Series Plastic Diaphragm Valves Part 2B (Final Reassembly):
As you can see, these videos are posted on YouTube.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Activated Carbon, Res-Kem and The Marketplace
Particle Size:
Carbon typically comes in 12 x 40 mesh (size of granule). 12 mesh is a particle size of 1.7 mm or 0.066 inches. 40 mesh is a particle size of 0.425 mm or .0016 inches. 98% of Res-Kem sales are 12 x 40.
Carbon must be acid washed to remove contaminants on the carbon. The contaminants removed are primarily metals like Iron which are soluble in acidic streams,
Types of carbon:
Coconut shell (80% of market place)
Bituminous coal (20% of market place)
The trend has changed to coconut because the manufacturing process is more efficient than coal because it does not contain as many contaminants. Depending upon the quality of the coal and where it is from, coal can naturally contains metals and heavy metals. If these contaminants are not removed at the factory, they can leach out into your water.
Carbon Quality:
The Iodine Number a test used to quantify the adsorption qualities of activated carbon. Generally, the higher the iodine number, the better the removal quality of activated carbon to remove contaminants in water.
Coconut = 1,000 and more Iodine number.
Coal = Anywhere between 800-1100 Iodine number.
Brands:
The three major brands of activated carbon are:
Calgon with their Centaur brand activated carbon
Jacobi
Norit
Res-Kem offers through Calgon a carbon return program. After filling out a carbon acceptance form and approval, Calgon will take back carbon for reactivation or incineration.
Markets:
Activated carbon is used in the industrial, municipal, commercial and residential markets. Carbon is used to remove chlorine, chloramine, taste, odor, and color from water.
Carbon typically comes in 12 x 40 mesh (size of granule). 12 mesh is a particle size of 1.7 mm or 0.066 inches. 40 mesh is a particle size of 0.425 mm or .0016 inches. 98% of Res-Kem sales are 12 x 40.
Carbon must be acid washed to remove contaminants on the carbon. The contaminants removed are primarily metals like Iron which are soluble in acidic streams,
Types of carbon:
Coconut shell (80% of market place)
Bituminous coal (20% of market place)
The trend has changed to coconut because the manufacturing process is more efficient than coal because it does not contain as many contaminants. Depending upon the quality of the coal and where it is from, coal can naturally contains metals and heavy metals. If these contaminants are not removed at the factory, they can leach out into your water.
Carbon Quality:
The Iodine Number a test used to quantify the adsorption qualities of activated carbon. Generally, the higher the iodine number, the better the removal quality of activated carbon to remove contaminants in water.
Coconut = 1,000 and more Iodine number.
Coal = Anywhere between 800-1100 Iodine number.
Brands:
The three major brands of activated carbon are:
Calgon with their Centaur brand activated carbon
Jacobi
Norit
Res-Kem offers through Calgon a carbon return program. After filling out a carbon acceptance form and approval, Calgon will take back carbon for reactivation or incineration.
Markets:
Activated carbon is used in the industrial, municipal, commercial and residential markets. Carbon is used to remove chlorine, chloramine, taste, odor, and color from water.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Residential Water Treatment Training Program at Res-Kem
It was a very eventful time here at Res-Kem the past few days in training. I learned about various resins and how certain chemicals react together depending upon their positive or negative charge. I also learned how complex carbon is and how different it can vary in quality. I have a better understanding on how water treatment units are sold through independent dealers and through franchises. I learned about the physical attributes of water treatment units. Learning about mechanical and electronical interfaces on valves gave me sufficient insight on the technological advancement in the Residential sector. Understanding how the quality of water in Residential can effect people's lives is very interesting.
One of the most interesting things I observed this week was the processes Res-Kem employees must maintain in order to help move this company forward in the water treatment industry, while serving the general public.
One of the most interesting things I observed this week was the processes Res-Kem employees must maintain in order to help move this company forward in the water treatment industry, while serving the general public.
Water Treatment Expert in the Making at Res-Kem
Last week, Bao Huynh started as a new employee at Res-Kem. Besides being new to Res-Kem, he is new to the water treatment industry. We have asked him to document his progress on the road to be another of the numerous water experts at Res-Kem. We were thinking this would be a great way to help others get an education if they are interested in becoming a water treatment expert themselves.
Bao's responsibilities are to maintain contact with existing customers, reestablish contact with past customers, and develop new customers through direct contact via email, phone, and/or newsletter as he sees fit. You will likely hear from him soon if you are a past, present, or future customer!
Bao's responsibilities are to maintain contact with existing customers, reestablish contact with past customers, and develop new customers through direct contact via email, phone, and/or newsletter as he sees fit. You will likely hear from him soon if you are a past, present, or future customer!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Short Ion Exchange Resin Life-What's Happening?
Lately I've been hearing our sales people commenting that customers don't think their cation softening resin is lasting as long as it used to. This is a general comment, not something we're surveying. Here is some food for thought:
Has the manufacturing process changed?
Yes. One of the relatively recent changes to the process came with the non-solvent resins. The greatest motivating factor behind the non-solvent resin came from the EPA. Simply put, the resin manufacturers had to stop manufacturing the resin using solvents because they couldn't put the by-products down the drain. So the resin we used to clean up the water had a manufacturing process that potentially contaminated the water. Makes sense!
Are the non-solvent cation resins lasting as long as the solvent based resins?
According to a major manufacturer non-solvent ion exchange resins are manufactured to meet the same standards of the solvent type. That is, both the solvent and non-solvent resins are 8% crosslink and will react similarly under the same set of circumstances. For instance, both resins, in the presence of 2 ppm chlorine, will react and break down.
Should the solvent free ion exchange resins be used in industrial applications?
According to the data sheets for Sybron C-249 NS and Purolite C-100, the answer to this is yes.
So what are some of the reasons we are seeing shortened life/capacity?
Is there chlorine in the feed water?
In the presence of chlorine or any oxidant, cation ion exchange resins will breakdown prematurely. You say - yes, but the chlorine has always been there. I agree. However, as our water infrastructure has aged have the municipalities been forced in some instances to add more chlorine to compensate?
Are there higher levels of iron in the water?
As we know cation resin will remove ferrous iron but regenerating the iron off of the resin is challenging. Over time there is a loss of capacity as a result of the iron being embedded into the cation bead.
Is the cation resin seeing higher temperatures?
Gel cation resin can tolerate high temperatures but the combination of higher temperatures and an oxidant such as chlorine will dramatically lessen the life of the resin.
We've been supplying ion exchange resins for over 25 years now. We have customers who call every three years, most commonly replacement of anion resin in a demineralizer application and other customers we hear from every 5 or even 7 years - softener applications. I can't say as I've seen a trend that points to bad manufacturing practices by manufacturers.
In my opinion, the overwhelmingly majority of the problems result from oxidants such as chlorine and chloramine and my favorite - Operator Error - Oops ... we just backwashed all the resin out!
Has the manufacturing process changed?
Yes. One of the relatively recent changes to the process came with the non-solvent resins. The greatest motivating factor behind the non-solvent resin came from the EPA. Simply put, the resin manufacturers had to stop manufacturing the resin using solvents because they couldn't put the by-products down the drain. So the resin we used to clean up the water had a manufacturing process that potentially contaminated the water. Makes sense!
Are the non-solvent cation resins lasting as long as the solvent based resins?
According to a major manufacturer non-solvent ion exchange resins are manufactured to meet the same standards of the solvent type. That is, both the solvent and non-solvent resins are 8% crosslink and will react similarly under the same set of circumstances. For instance, both resins, in the presence of 2 ppm chlorine, will react and break down.
Should the solvent free ion exchange resins be used in industrial applications?
According to the data sheets for Sybron C-249 NS and Purolite C-100, the answer to this is yes.
So what are some of the reasons we are seeing shortened life/capacity?
Is there chlorine in the feed water?
In the presence of chlorine or any oxidant, cation ion exchange resins will breakdown prematurely. You say - yes, but the chlorine has always been there. I agree. However, as our water infrastructure has aged have the municipalities been forced in some instances to add more chlorine to compensate?
Are there higher levels of iron in the water?
As we know cation resin will remove ferrous iron but regenerating the iron off of the resin is challenging. Over time there is a loss of capacity as a result of the iron being embedded into the cation bead.
Is the cation resin seeing higher temperatures?
Gel cation resin can tolerate high temperatures but the combination of higher temperatures and an oxidant such as chlorine will dramatically lessen the life of the resin.
We've been supplying ion exchange resins for over 25 years now. We have customers who call every three years, most commonly replacement of anion resin in a demineralizer application and other customers we hear from every 5 or even 7 years - softener applications. I can't say as I've seen a trend that points to bad manufacturing practices by manufacturers.
In my opinion, the overwhelmingly majority of the problems result from oxidants such as chlorine and chloramine and my favorite - Operator Error - Oops ... we just backwashed all the resin out!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Pentair Fleck Electronic Timers
Fleck has been moving quickly with upgrades to their electronic timers, which has created confusion over which is the latest one and which valves accept which timers. Is it ET, SE, XT, NT, NXT? By the time you read this there may be a more recent upgrade to the family of Fleck electronic timers.
Electronic timers and applicable valves
So, as of today, Friday, July 31st, 2009, here it is.
Electronic timers
- SXT replaced the SE timer
- XTR replaced the ET timer on the 6700 valve only
- XT replaced the ET timer
- 3200NXT replaced the 3200NT timer
- 3214NXT replaced the 3214NT timer
Electronic timers and applicable valves
SXT | XTR | XT | 3200NXT | 3214NXT |
56SXT | 6700 | 2510 | 2750 | 2750 |
2510 |
| 2750 | 2850 | 2850 |
2750 |
| 2850 | 2900 | 2900 |
2850 |
| 2900 | 3150 | 3150 |
9000 |
| 3150 | 3900 | 3900 |
9100 |
| 3900 |
|
|
9500 |
| 9000 |
|
|
Twinflo100e |
| 9100 |
|
|
ProflowSe |
| 9500 |
|
|
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Industrial Water Softener Maintenance
Res-Kem Corp. and our sister company General Water Services offer preventative maintenance contracts for customers here in the Mid-Atlantic region. I thought it might be helpful to go over our Preventative Maintenance procedures for a commercial or industrial water softener for those of you who maintain your own water softening equipment.
For an industrial water softener we suggest our customers have bi-annual visits by our technicians. It's a very simple inspection that can prevent unscheduled downtime and the associated problems. How often our customer tests the water hardness is largely determined by how critical the application is and the availability of staff. We strongly suggest testing the water hardness on a daily basis if possible.
Res-Kem service technicians do a mechanical inspection that includes the following:
Inlet and Outlet Water Hardness - When we specify a commercial or industrial water softener we are given a water analysis, the average, high and low flow rates, hours of operation, and desired end-point. It's important to note changes against the design specification. If all things are equal, seeing hard water at the outlet points to a mechanical problem with the water softener (or no salt in the brine tank). If something else has changed - flow rate is lower or higher than specified or the inlet water hardness has increased - our technician will review the data with our engineering department and discuss the problem in greater depth with the customer.
Inlet and Outlet Pressures - Pressure testing is done when the water softener is running at the design specification. If there is a high differential the water softener might be running at too high a rate. If the water softener is running at a typical flow rate, (10 – 15 gpm/ft2) and there is a high differential pressure, the resin bed could be plugging up and preventing the water from flowing through the softener correctly. The differential pressure across a softener resin bed should generally run less than 15 psig. Of course there are many factors, which can result in higher differential pressures, i.e. depth of the resin bed, design of the internal distribution, age of resin, etc.
Inlet Chlorine (in absence of carbon filter or bi-sulfite feed) - Chlorine will break down cation ion exchange resin. Exposure to significant amounts of free chlorine, "hypochlorite" ions, or other strong oxidizing agents over long periods of time will eventually break down the crosslinking. Over time the cation resin turns to mush and will plug up the bed or eventually be flushed out so there remains much less resin than required.
Check salt level in brine tank, add if necessary
Make Note of Leaks - Our technicians are trained to look carefully for that small drip. We'll fix it if possible while we're there, otherwise we will make an appointment to come back to service the problem. You should have gaskets in on hand for both the manway and handhole openings.
Make Adjustments to the Control Valve - You should have received an operating manual with the water softener which includes information about the system settings.
Optional Annual Maintenance
Valve Maintenance - There are many different types of controls and valves used on a commercial industrial water softener. In general you will need the following parts on hand to perform this service:
Ion Exchange Resin Test - Although softener resin will last significantly longer than deionizer resin, in the presence of chlorine or other oxidants it will break down. If your water is highly chlorinated or has other contaminants such as iron, you should test the resin within 18 to 24 months of start up and every year thereafter. Otherwise, test the resin after the third year and then every year thereafter. By doing so you will know when to budget softener resin replacement as it is often a major expense.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Resin Traps-Insurance for Industrial Water Systems
Recently, Res-Kem published a white paper entitled "Inexpensive Insurance for Water Treatment Systems-Resin Traps" by Ron Madden. In this white paper, three examples demonstrate how resin traps act as inexpensive insurance for costly problems that can develop when ion exchange resin reaches downstream process areas, process equipment, or the product. Depending upon the plant or process, the payback can be nearly instantaneous!
Summary:
A simple resin trap, long favored by experienced operators of water treatment
equipment, is an inexpensive form of insurance being used more frequently in water treatment systems. Should an internal lateral break or otherwise fail, resin traps eliminate the possibility of ion exchange resin or other filtration media leaving water treatment equipment where it belongs, and prevent it from traveling downstream where it does not belong. Install a resin trap. Like insurance, do not wait until catastrophe strikes to see the value.
Examples:
The three examples are from:
An automotive plant where the resin trap was installed AFTER a plant shutdown
A poultry plant where the resin trap was installed AFTER a plant shutdown and quarantine of millions of pounds of processed chicken
A refinery installed BEFORE a problem occur ed
Summary:
A simple resin trap, long favored by experienced operators of water treatment
equipment, is an inexpensive form of insurance being used more frequently in water treatment systems. Should an internal lateral break or otherwise fail, resin traps eliminate the possibility of ion exchange resin or other filtration media leaving water treatment equipment where it belongs, and prevent it from traveling downstream where it does not belong. Install a resin trap. Like insurance, do not wait until catastrophe strikes to see the value.
Examples:
The three examples are from:
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Patented UV Technology Reduces Size and Energy Costs of UV Disinfection
Res-Kem is now handling the newly patented UV light by UV Sciences. This revolutionary new UV unit has highly efficient UV reaction chambers for water disinfection. The flow chamber maximizes the delivery of the ultraviolet energy into the water stream effectively increasing efficiency 3 to 7 times when compared to an equivalent flow rate system.
Conventional UV chambers absorb the UV light energy and create heat. Instead of the UV energy, photons, being absorbed by the housing chamber generating heat, the photons are kept in the water medium. This keeps the photon active until it finally absorbed by a microbe or chemical molecule such as TOC, or chloramine. To maintain an effective UV disinfection dose, it is necessary to have a uniform flow rate. UV Sciences engineers used fluid dynamics modeling tools to optimize the flow tube, and designed a UV chamber that has a uniform flow rate.
The result is a compact and energy efficient UV disinfection unit. The 500 gpm unit chamber is 4 inches in diameter and only 40 inches long. These UV units offer the smallest size and lowest cost of ownership in the industry.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Arsenic & Lead Removal From Water Using Enviroscrub Media
While at the recent WQA Aquatech trade show, I met with a gentleman from a company called Enviroscrub Technologies Corporation. They have a new lead and arsenic removal media that might prove to be an interesting addition to the current mix of products available to water treatment companies. The testing is looking good although they are still looking for pilot sites. It is NSF 53 and 61 certified for drinking water standards. From what I understand it will be competitively priced.
Enviroscrub has a process patent on the media, which is a mixture of iron, manganese and diatoms. The media has gone through rigorous testing under varying water conditions at multiple sites. It has high arsenic loading characteristics and fast kinetics. This media can remove both Arsenic V and Arsenic III. This product weighs between 22-26 lbs per cubic foot with a particle size of 0.6 mm - 1.4 mm.
If you are interested in participating in a pilot study feel free to contact us. As more information on this product becomes available I will post to this blog.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Industrial Water Treatment at WQA-Aquatech Conference and Exhibition
March 17th through 21st the annual WQA Aquatech Trade show was held in Chicago. The WQA is now including industrial and commercial vendors and products in the mix. This year there were a couple of new products introduced that were of interest to us here at Res-Kem. While at the show I had the opportunity to attend some of the educational sessions as well as give one. Many of the topics were "industrial" in nature.
An area I am particularly interested in is employee training and I was part of a panel that discussed this topic. Regardless of the type of company you run - residential dealership, industrial service company or manufacturer, an important part of the job is employee training. Large companies have entire departments dedicated to training. Smaller companies can and need to compete to keep good employees and maintain good morale.
Here are a couple ideas you might be able to use.
Tap your vendors
Invite your vendors in for a lunch and learn. The vendor brings the pizza and the topic you supply the audience.
Contact your local community college
Your community college will know if there are grants available for worker education. At Res-Kem, I was able to offer an electrical course in my office that ran 20 weeks for engineers and service technicians. I completed a one page application, the community college did the rest.
Use the WQA Certified Water Specialist program
Smaller independent companies don't necessarily have the framework to educate the work force. Using the WQA Certified Water Specialist (CWS) format gives you just that. Rather just giving my people the book and telling them to study, I hold a weekly class to go over each topic. I cover the book work so they can pass the test, but I tailor it to our business. We are not a residential dealership so many of the examples do not apply. Nevertheless, that doesn't stop me from taking real world problems and addressing them within the context of the Certified Water Specialist program. At the end of the course I have the test administered and proctored at the local community college.
FYI, the WQA-Aquatech 2010 Conference and Exhibition will be held March 9 - 12, 2010 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida
An area I am particularly interested in is employee training and I was part of a panel that discussed this topic. Regardless of the type of company you run - residential dealership, industrial service company or manufacturer, an important part of the job is employee training. Large companies have entire departments dedicated to training. Smaller companies can and need to compete to keep good employees and maintain good morale.
Here are a couple ideas you might be able to use.
Invite your vendors in for a lunch and learn. The vendor brings the pizza and the topic you supply the audience.
Your community college will know if there are grants available for worker education. At Res-Kem, I was able to offer an electrical course in my office that ran 20 weeks for engineers and service technicians. I completed a one page application, the community college did the rest.
Smaller independent companies don't necessarily have the framework to educate the work force. Using the WQA Certified Water Specialist (CWS) format gives you just that. Rather just giving my people the book and telling them to study, I hold a weekly class to go over each topic. I cover the book work so they can pass the test, but I tailor it to our business. We are not a residential dealership so many of the examples do not apply. Nevertheless, that doesn't stop me from taking real world problems and addressing them within the context of the Certified Water Specialist program. At the end of the course I have the test administered and proctored at the local community college.
FYI, the WQA-Aquatech 2010 Conference and Exhibition will be held March 9 - 12, 2010 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
General Water Services Website Finished
The General Water Services website, www.generalwaterservices.com, is completely new and vastly improved. Information on deionized water system deliveries can be found there.
About General Water Services:
Located in suburban Philadelphia, General Water Services offers portable service DI water systems. General Water Services regenerates and delivers large and small deionized (DI) water systems. The flow rate through an individual bank of tanks ranges from 1 to 150 gpm and depending upon your flow requirement, single or multiple banks are used.
General Water supplies portable service DI water systems for high purity and ultra high purity water applications for virtually any process industry including, but not limited to, chemical, power, beverage, food, electronics, pharmaceutical, medical, medical device, hospitals, laboratory, glass manufacturing, and assembly industries where deionized water is critical to production available for long-term contractual service and also for short term or emergency needs.
Standard Deionized Water Service Area
For Further Information:
Visit the General Water Services website
General Water Services brochure.
General Water Services product bulletin.
About General Water Services:
Located in suburban Philadelphia, General Water Services offers portable service DI water systems. General Water Services regenerates and delivers large and small deionized (DI) water systems. The flow rate through an individual bank of tanks ranges from 1 to 150 gpm and depending upon your flow requirement, single or multiple banks are used.
General Water supplies portable service DI water systems for high purity and ultra high purity water applications for virtually any process industry including, but not limited to, chemical, power, beverage, food, electronics, pharmaceutical, medical, medical device, hospitals, laboratory, glass manufacturing, and assembly industries where deionized water is critical to production available for long-term contractual service and also for short term or emergency needs.
Standard Deionized Water Service Area
For Further Information:
Visit the General Water Services website
General Water Services brochure.
General Water Services product bulletin.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Condensate Polishers Shipped for Local University
Last month, Res-Kem shipped a quadruple condensate polisher system to a local university. The condensate polishers are used to treat the water in the condensate loop, reducing water treatment chemical usage and reducing heat waste from excessive blowdown. 
The system is comprised of four individual ASME-code stainless steel tanks with stainless steel internals, face piping, and Aquamatic valves. All external piping was a combination of welded and flanged stainless steel. Each system has an Aquamatic 962 controller to operate the valves during the backwash and regeneration cycle. The regeneration and backwash cycles are initiated by a differential pressure switch.
The local Res-Kem representative sold and installed the system at the university. The new system replaced a twin condensate polisher that had reached the end of its life.
The design flow rate is: 450 gpm
The peak flow rate is: 600 gpm
As stated above, the regeneration is initiated by a DP Switch.
The qualification process by the university was very rigorous. First university personnel visited out manufacturing facility in Aston, PA to see a similar system being built in our assembly facility. Afterwards, university personnel visited a local customer with a water softener and water dealkalizer. After we were qualified, our engineers worked with the site personnel to modify our standard design to fit the site's requirements.
The system is comprised of four individual ASME-code stainless steel tanks with stainless steel internals, face piping, and Aquamatic valves. All external piping was a combination of welded and flanged stainless steel. Each system has an Aquamatic 962 controller to operate the valves during the backwash and regeneration cycle. The regeneration and backwash cycles are initiated by a differential pressure switch.
The local Res-Kem representative sold and installed the system at the university. The new system replaced a twin condensate polisher that had reached the end of its life.
The design flow rate is: 450 gpm
The peak flow rate is: 600 gpm
As stated above, the regeneration is initiated by a DP Switch.
The qualification process by the university was very rigorous. First university personnel visited out manufacturing facility in Aston, PA to see a similar system being built in our assembly facility. Afterwards, university personnel visited a local customer with a water softener and water dealkalizer. After we were qualified, our engineers worked with the site personnel to modify our standard design to fit the site's requirements.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Buckyballs Could Reduce Biofouling of Membranes and Pipes
An interesting article in the March 6, 2009 issue of The R&D Daily e-newsletter entitled "Buckyballs could keep waterworks from clogging" introduced how using buckyballs, engineers in Duke University's Environmental and Civil Engineering department hindered the ability of bacteria and other microorganisms to accumulate on the membranes used to filter water in treatment plants. This leads these researchers to propose coating pipes and membranes with these nanoparticles may reduce biofouling. The results of these experiments were published March 5, 2009 in the Journal of Membrane Sciences.
Water Analysis Article
I came across an excellent article in an old issue of Water Conditioning & Purification magazine entitled "Making Sense of an Incomplete Water Analysis" by Frank DeSilva of ResinTech Inc. This article defines what the minimum required water analyses are for:
Cationic Applications (hardness removal, metals removal, radium removal)
Anionic Applications (sulfate removal, nitrate removal, chromate removal, uranium removal, organics removal, perchlorate removal, fluoride removal, dealkalizers, boron removal)
Deionizer Applications
Prior to quoting a residential, industrial, commercial, or municipal water treatment system, the first question we ask at Res-Kem is an inlet water analysis. Often we need to work with incomplete or missing information. The main thrust of the article explains how an educated water treatment person can deduce a missing cation/anion value when there are other known water test values available. As a result, you will be able to properly size the water treatment system.
One great piece of information was the following chart. This chart makes it extremely easy to calculate the cation-anion balance and how to size the system. The conversion factor takes the concentration of an ion in mg/liter to ppm as CaCO3
Prior to quoting a residential, industrial, commercial, or municipal water treatment system, the first question we ask at Res-Kem is an inlet water analysis. Often we need to work with incomplete or missing information. The main thrust of the article explains how an educated water treatment person can deduce a missing cation/anion value when there are other known water test values available. As a result, you will be able to properly size the water treatment system.
One great piece of information was the following chart. This chart makes it extremely easy to calculate the cation-anion balance and how to size the system. The conversion factor takes the concentration of an ion in mg/liter to ppm as CaCO3
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Fleck and Autotrol Valve Seminar
On a recent, very snowy day, twenty-two plumbers, well drillers, and dealer personnel braved dangerous driving conditions to attend the Res-Kem hosted, hands-on seminar on Pentair and Autotrol multi-port valves for residential water treatment systems. These 22 people are owners or employees of 11 Homestead System dealers, www.homesteadsystem.com, from Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. 
The seminar was taught by Dave Smith, Dealer Development Manager, and Kathee Srygley, Regional Account Manager of Pentair.
The valves the seminar primarily focused on were two multi-port valves with advanced electronic controls. The Pentair Fleck 7000 XTR valve and the Pentair Autotrol 268 760 valve were studied, broken down and reassembled. Attendees learned how to diagnose and fix common problems. These valves are used respectively in the 3000 and 2000 series Homestead System softeners, neutralizers, carbon filters, city systems, odor removal and iron removal systems. To add realism to the class, Res-Kem enhanced the normal Pentair program by giving a live demonstration of an installed water softener in the Res-Kem wet test area.
Typically, Pentair graciously sponsors similar seminars at a local hotel. We felt having the live demonstration and access to Res-Kem’s complete warehouse of valves and parts would enhance the learning experience. Michael Urbans, Res-Kem Residential Technical Manager instructed this part of the seminar.
In addition to learning about softeners and filters, attendees were introduced to the Pentair Fleck 5600 SXT, Homespring, FreshPoint and RO membrane systems. They were given a sneak peak at the new iron removal valves Pentair will introduce based upon the Pentair Fleck 7000 AIO valve and SXT controller.
WQA members were given .65 Continuing Education Units (CEU) for attending the seminar. If you would like to be on the invitees list for other courses, please contact us.
The seminar was taught by Dave Smith, Dealer Development Manager, and Kathee Srygley, Regional Account Manager of Pentair.
The valves the seminar primarily focused on were two multi-port valves with advanced electronic controls. The Pentair Fleck 7000 XTR valve and the Pentair Autotrol 268 760 valve were studied, broken down and reassembled. Attendees learned how to diagnose and fix common problems. These valves are used respectively in the 3000 and 2000 series Homestead System softeners, neutralizers, carbon filters, city systems, odor removal and iron removal systems. To add realism to the class, Res-Kem enhanced the normal Pentair program by giving a live demonstration of an installed water softener in the Res-Kem wet test area.
Typically, Pentair graciously sponsors similar seminars at a local hotel. We felt having the live demonstration and access to Res-Kem’s complete warehouse of valves and parts would enhance the learning experience. Michael Urbans, Res-Kem Residential Technical Manager instructed this part of the seminar.
In addition to learning about softeners and filters, attendees were introduced to the Pentair Fleck 5600 SXT, Homespring, FreshPoint and RO membrane systems. They were given a sneak peak at the new iron removal valves Pentair will introduce based upon the Pentair Fleck 7000 AIO valve and SXT controller.
WQA members were given .65 Continuing Education Units (CEU) for attending the seminar. If you would like to be on the invitees list for other courses, please contact us.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
General Water Services Website Being Revamped
The General Water Services website, http://www.generalwater.net/, is currently under construction. The new and vastly improved website will be back up not later than March 1, 2009. If you want to be notified when the site is refreshed, send us an email to us or subscribe to this blog using any of the links on the left side of this page.
About General Water Services:
Located in suburban Philadelphia, General Water Services offers portable service DI water systems. General Water Services regenerates and delivers large and small deionized (DI) water systems. The flow rate through an individual bank of tanks ranges from 1 to 150 gpm.
Depending upon your flow requirement, single or multiple banks are used. We supply portable service DI water systems for high purity and ultra high purity water applications for virtually any process industry including, but not limited to, chemical, power, beverage, food, electronics, pharmaceutical, medical, medical device, hospitals, laboratory, glass manufacturing, and assembly industries where deionized water is critical to production.
DI water systems are available for long-term contractual service and also for short term or emergency needs.
Our standard service area runs north to south from New York City to Washington DC and east to west from coastal New Jersey to Harrisburg, PA. On a case-by-case basis, and depending upon the economics, we provide deionized water systems significantly outside our standard service area.
Unmatched Quality Control Procedures
Meeting high purity water quality immediately after regeneration is the easy part. Having your DI water tanks reach projected capacity at the specified water quality is the bigger challenge. Each batch of mixed bed resin regenerated by General Water Services is laboratory tested for both quality and capacity to guarantee predictable capacity at the specified water quality. Retained samples of each lot of regenerated resin are kept for a period of two years. General Water Services takes the time and bears the expense to test for capacity prior to shipment. It is this consistency that sets General Water Services apart from the competition.
Segregated Resin
General Water Services maintains cation, anion, and mixed bed resins for specific customers. These resins will only be used for your plant and will not be mixed with any other company's ion exchange resins. Depending upon the agreement, the resin can be your property or General Water's ion exchange resins; we can use your tanks or ours. We'll regenerate the resin at our plant, put in the tanks, and return the tanks to you as required. Extra resin is tagged and stored in our warehouse for your future needs.
Complete Resin & Tank Traceability
Each General Water Services DI water exchange tank has its own serial number regardless of tank size. Serial number tracking is used in combination with resin lot traceability to track each DI tank and, its ion exchange resin lot, back to its applicable regeneration and retained sample. This gives you complete ion exchange resin traceability for any and all DI water tanks delivered to your site. This process is carried back even one step further in that all of General Water Services' ion exchange resin lots can also be traced back to the ion exchange resin manufacturer's production documentation.
For Further Information:
General Water Systems brochure.
General Water Systems product bulletin.
About General Water Services:
Located in suburban Philadelphia, General Water Services offers portable service DI water systems. General Water Services regenerates and delivers large and small deionized (DI) water systems. The flow rate through an individual bank of tanks ranges from 1 to 150 gpm.
Depending upon your flow requirement, single or multiple banks are used. We supply portable service DI water systems for high purity and ultra high purity water applications for virtually any process industry including, but not limited to, chemical, power, beverage, food, electronics, pharmaceutical, medical, medical device, hospitals, laboratory, glass manufacturing, and assembly industries where deionized water is critical to production.
DI water systems are available for long-term contractual service and also for short term or emergency needs.
Our standard service area runs north to south from New York City to Washington DC and east to west from coastal New Jersey to Harrisburg, PA. On a case-by-case basis, and depending upon the economics, we provide deionized water systems significantly outside our standard service area.
Unmatched Quality Control Procedures
Meeting high purity water quality immediately after regeneration is the easy part. Having your DI water tanks reach projected capacity at the specified water quality is the bigger challenge. Each batch of mixed bed resin regenerated by General Water Services is laboratory tested for both quality and capacity to guarantee predictable capacity at the specified water quality. Retained samples of each lot of regenerated resin are kept for a period of two years. General Water Services takes the time and bears the expense to test for capacity prior to shipment. It is this consistency that sets General Water Services apart from the competition.
Segregated Resin
General Water Services maintains cation, anion, and mixed bed resins for specific customers. These resins will only be used for your plant and will not be mixed with any other company's ion exchange resins. Depending upon the agreement, the resin can be your property or General Water's ion exchange resins; we can use your tanks or ours. We'll regenerate the resin at our plant, put in the tanks, and return the tanks to you as required. Extra resin is tagged and stored in our warehouse for your future needs.
Complete Resin & Tank Traceability
Each General Water Services DI water exchange tank has its own serial number regardless of tank size. Serial number tracking is used in combination with resin lot traceability to track each DI tank and, its ion exchange resin lot, back to its applicable regeneration and retained sample. This gives you complete ion exchange resin traceability for any and all DI water tanks delivered to your site. This process is carried back even one step further in that all of General Water Services' ion exchange resin lots can also be traced back to the ion exchange resin manufacturer's production documentation.
For Further Information:
General Water Systems brochure.
General Water Systems product bulletin.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Aquamatic Valve & Control Lines Discontinued
In addition to the announcement of the A200 series impulse control stager being discontinued, the letter from Pentair has other Aquamatic discontinuations. The following Aquamatic Valve & Control Lines will be discontinued after March 13, 2009. Also, certain Aquamatic Valve & Control options will be discontinued after March 13, 2009. Orders can be placed until March 2, 2009. Contact Res-Kem if you need help finding a potential replacement.
Discontinued Aquamatic Valve & Control Lines:
Product Family: V82 Series
Product Type: Diaphragm valves
Description: High pressure brass line
Potential Replacement: V46 Series
Product Family:V44 Series
Product Type: Diaphragm valves
Description: Iron and brass isolated bonnet line
Potential Replacement: V42 Series, K55 Series
Product Family: 59 Series
Product Type: Stager
Description: 16 port brass stager line
Potential Replacement: 58 Series
Product Family: 96 Series
Product Type: Stager
Description: 8 port high pressure line
Discontinued Aquamatic Valve & Control Options:
Description: Drill and tap Options 5(all four bosses) and 7 (bosses #1 and #3) on K52 Series and K53 Series valves
Potential Replacement: Drill and tap Options 1-4, 6
Description: FKM (Viton) diaphragm on K53 Series
Potential Replacement: Buna-N diaphragm: K52 series FKM diaphragm
Discontinued Aquamatic Valve & Control Lines:
Product Family: V82 Series
Product Type: Diaphragm valves
Description: High pressure brass line
Potential Replacement: V46 Series
Product Family:V44 Series
Product Type: Diaphragm valves
Description: Iron and brass isolated bonnet line
Potential Replacement: V42 Series, K55 Series
Product Family: 59 Series
Product Type: Stager
Description: 16 port brass stager line
Potential Replacement: 58 Series
Product Family: 96 Series
Product Type: Stager
Description: 8 port high pressure line
Discontinued Aquamatic Valve & Control Options:
Description: Drill and tap Options 5(all four bosses) and 7 (bosses #1 and #3) on K52 Series and K53 Series valves
Potential Replacement: Drill and tap Options 1-4, 6
Description: FKM (Viton) diaphragm on K53 Series
Potential Replacement: Buna-N diaphragm: K52 series FKM diaphragm
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A200 Stager Control from Aquamatic Discontinued
Soon after we completed changes to our website, discussed in our previous blog post, a discontinuation notice was Res-Kem just received in the mail from Aquamatic about the A200 Stager Control. After March 13, 2009 the controller, also called an A200 Impluse Stager Control, will no longer be available. The reason given was "despite their lengthy time on the market, (these products) have experienced low demand and declining sales in recent years. As a result, Pentair is making the difficult decision to eliminate these lines so it may focus on growing its core Aquamatic Valve and Control business."
Possible Solution:
A potential replacement could be the 962 Stager Control series from Aquamatic. If you contact Res-Kem we can help you determine if it will work for your application and how it may need to be configured to work.
Possible Solution:
A potential replacement could be the 962 Stager Control series from Aquamatic. If you contact Res-Kem we can help you determine if it will work for your application and how it may need to be configured to work.
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