Greensand Filters Shipped to Western PA Water Plant

A western Pennsylvania, small private water utility, recently received four greensand filters to replace the filters that were failing.  Unable to get the original manufacturer to provide new, duplicate units, our customer found our website. 



Four New Greensand Filters and Greensand Media Ready for Shipment to Water Utility



Because of State regulations, the systems and their operation needed to be as close to the original as possible, otherwise new permits would be required.  Since Greensand is in very, very short supply, the media was changed to Greensand Plus from the same manufacturer.  Sodium hypochlorite is used to continuously oxidize dissolved iron in the water coming into the filters.  Also, these filters are very unique because they are much shorter than we normally manufacture.  Our normal tank straightside is 60".  These tanks are 36" straightside.  

Three of Four Existing Manual Greensand Filters Showing Tank Corrosion

What does the company do? Public water

What is the Res-Kem water treatment application? Green sand filter to removed dissolved iron


What are the savings and/or ROI the customer wants to achieve? Not applicable.  The customer is replacing old existing system with identical system


What are the operating conditions, e.g. flow, temp, continuous, etc.? 60 gpm, Well Water Intermittent Flow

What is the system configuration, e.g. # of tanks, standby units, etc.? Four greensand filters in parallel operation


Materials of construction of tanks, piping, valves, frame, etc.? ASME Code Steel Tanks, 6’ Diameter X 36” Shell straight-side , PVC glued with manual ball valves


Type of valves and actuators? Manual ball valves


Control philosophy? Backwash as required based upon differential pressure

Special Features? Short fat tanks, required to fit tight area

For Additional Information:
Greensand Filter Technical Bulletin
Greensand Plus Technical Data
For help sizing a new filter
For help repairing or rebedding a Greensand Filter

Triple Greensand Plus Filter for Iron and Manganese Removal

A triple Greensand Plus filter for iron and manganese removal was assembled and shipped today. This skid-mounted system will be installed to treat the water for a small community water system in the Poconos operated by a large private water utility company.


The system operates in a parallel arrangement with three skid mounted, Greensand Plus filters with optional interconnecting piping and isolation valves. As specified, Bray butterfly valves with electric actuators are used. To match standard practice at the utility, a Modicon Premium PLC with Wonderware Windows CE operator interface panel will be used. Each tank is epoxy lined carbon steel with an epoxy exterior, 150 psi ASME code. Face piping consists of Schedule 40 black pipe and fittings. Regeneration initiated by either high differential pressure or timeclock.


As stated in a previous post, Greensand Plus iron and manganese removal media from Inversand replaces the discontinued Greensand filter media.

"Toxic Waters" Article From The New York Times

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.

Greensand Price Increase

The manufacturers of Manganese Greensand have just notified us that the price of Greensand will be going up on June 1, 2007. The price of GreensandPlus (TM) will not.

Manganese Greensand is used to remove soluble iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide from well water supplies. Greensand has been an industry standard for over 50 years. Manganese Greensand bulletin.

GreensandPlus is the second generation of greensand. GreensandPlus is more rugged than the original but has identical operating characteristics. GreensandPlus is a purple-black filter media used for removing soluble iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide, arsenic, and radium from well water supplies. GreensandPlus bulletin.

GreensandPlus has the same effective size, uniformity coefficient, density, weight, capacity, backwash and pressure drop curve. Therefore, it can be used as an exact substitute for Manganese Greensand. In addition, GreensandPlus is much more resistant to attrition from high differential pressure, and works well on waters that are low in silica, dissolved solids and total hardness. It can also be used in water over 70 degrees F without any degradation.

Greensand is a mined product and as many users of Greensand know, it is occasionally in short supply. Unlike Manganese Greensand, GreensandPlus is not dependent on the mining of glauconite and this results in reduced production time. Greensand Plus is readily available for purchase.

All Manganese Greensand shipped after June 1st will be subject to the new prices. Contact Res-Kem for availability and current and future pricing.

Res-Kem manufactures systems using greensand and GreensandPlus to remove soluble iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide from well water supplies for municipal, commercial, and industrial applications.

GreensandPlus is a Registered Trademark of Inversand Company. 226 Atlantic Avenue Clayton, New Jersey 08312