Restoring Anthracite Filter Media

PROBLEM

Operated by American Water, the Woodlane Ground Treatment Plant supplies water to the Mt. Holly, New Jersey area. The well water is aerated, settled and then filtered through three pressure vessels containing manganese, greensand/anthracite filter beds to remove excessive manganese. Its filter media had been installed in 1992 and was scheduled for replacement in 2004 due to declining performance. American Water considered using Blue Earth Labs’ Media Master cleaning chemistry as a cost-effective alternative to filter media exchange.

The first step in the cleaning process was to conduct an extensive laboratory analysis of the filter media to determine both the compositions and extent of the contamination. The analysis also determines the optimal dosing required for the cleaning. Media samples from all three pressure filters were tested.

Microscopic analysis showed that the anthracite was completely covered by a black crust and brown, grainy deposits. The original anthracite surface was not visible. Additionally, the samples contained nickel-sized mud balls as well as other solid aggregates.

SOLUTION

Numerous chemical combinations of Media Master and Floran Catalyst® were explored. The most effective combination was a two-step treatment using 8 lbs. of Media Master and 0.7 gallons of Floran Catalyst per square feet of filter media. The treatment protocol resulted in a dry weight loss of 5-7% and released 2,970 mg of manganese and 6,260 mg of iron from each kilogram of media.

The results of the full-scale media treatments were consistent with the laboratory test results. The treatment resulted in the complete restoration of the anthracite and removal of the excessive coating on the greensand.

The cleaning procedure also removed significant manganese sludge from the vessels, which had built up over time and was not removed during backwashing. The manganese concentrations for all three filters dropped from 0.05 ppm before the treatment to 0.01-0.02 ppm after.

RESULTS

Overall, Blue Earth Labs’ Media Master cleaning chemistry effectively returned 13 year-old greensand filters to near new operating conditions. The two-step treatment was less than a third of the cost of media replacement and saved the customer over $100,000. The entire three-filter project was completed in one week and removed approximately 10,000 pounds of contaminants from the filter with no noticeable side effects.

PROBLEM

Mid America Agri-Products Wheatland LLC was having trouble with bio fouling, scale deposition and drift damage from their three year-old cooling tower system. Due to the influx of debris from the local environment, they were encumbered with the challenge of managing five different water treatment chemicals.

Mid America called on Blue Earth Labs to help them remove cooling tower bacteria and scale. They needed to reduce the amount of cooling tower treatments required as well as to reduce the damage to employee vehicles that were parked near the towers. The drift from the cooling tower was carrying minerals that would bind to the surface of the vehicle when evaporated.

SOLUTION

Blue Earth Labs terminated all previous chemical treatments and added Clearitas 201 in addition to bleach to Mid America’s water system. For the first month, a maintenance dose of Clearitas was used to treat the cooling tower online. Large amounts of dirty foam were noticed in the drain off basin from the removal of dirt and bacteria. Slimy deposits were also noticeable.

The dosing of Clearitas and bleach were both increased to a cleaning amount after the first month inspection. After the dosage increase, the system continued to fluctuate but stabilized after approximately two weeks.

RESULTS

A second on-site inspection revealed that all of the slime and algae noted at the one-month visit of the trial were completely gone as well as the dirty foam located in the basin. Additionally, employees reported a dramatic improvement in the ease of which the drift minerals were washed off their vehicles.

Blue Earth Labs effectively solved Mid America’s cooling tower problems by changing their treatment program to a two-step Clearitas-HOCl combination. All visible biological slime was eliminated and CFU counts dropped to zero. Additionally, no scale formation or any significant corrosion was found.

Keeping equipment in good running order can often take more time than you have to spare.  Recently a well-run municipality was faced with a chemical mixer that had accumulated rigid nearly impossible to remove deposits over the course of 20 years of use. 

The mixer was used to blend polymer with other coagulants such as Alum and ACH (Aluminum Chlorohydrate) before sending the solution to be used in the drinking water plant. The deposits were resistant to power washing and chemical attack (citric acid).  However, Blue Earth Products’ Floran product line is specifically formulated to handle this kind of tough job. 

Using Floran CSR Plus with Catalyst, the deposit was easily removed with just a few low pressure surface spray applications and a garden hose spray to rinse.

PROBLEM

In 2007, a water engineering firm contacted Blue Earth Labs to assist a research hospital with a major Legionella contamination problem within their drinking water system. The goal of the study was to determine whether Clearitas could minimize the Legionella problem while having little or no adverse effects on the facility’s infrastructure and water quality.

Distal points within the hospital distribution system were measured weekly for four weeks prior to the trial of Clearitas. The following metrics were measured at each point: bacterial, pH, copper levels, lead levels, Langelier and Ryznar Indices and disinfection by-products.

SOLUTION

Clearitas was dosed at a rate of 1 gallon of Clearitas to 2,000 gallons of incoming water supply to the hospital. Both the hot and cold water distribution systems were measured during the course of the study.

Prior to the addition of Clearitas, the hospital had regular and lasting Legionella issues. Two weeks after introducing Clearitas into the hospital’s water system, Legionella counts went down and stayed very low throughout the study and chlorine residuals went up.

RESULTS

Overall, the addition of Clearitas to this hospital’s water supply had a rapid, impactful effect on the Legionella problem within the water distribution system. After two weeks, the Legionella counts went down to near undetectable levels and the chlorine residual within the hospital went up significantly. Moreover, the other water chemistries seem to be unchanged by the addition of Clearitas during this study. Little or no change occurred for pH, metal levels, corrosion, etc. Where changes were observed in this data, the numbers are relatively small and well below EPA guidelines. Thus, hospitals and healthcare facilities can use Clearitas for both Legionella prevention and Legionella remediation.

For specific values and measurements of the above mentioned metrics, please view the full case study.

In this age of Covid-19, surface cleaning takes on a whole new level of importance. Blue Earth® Hypochlorous provides the oxidizing power of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) to clean and deodorize all the surfaces in your business, manufacturing facility, food processing, restaurant, school, gym, etc. Blue Earth Hypochlorous is neutral pH and corrosion free. It is safe and easily used. Blue Earth Products is renown for its innovative products for cleaning water systems, now that same powerful technology is available as for use as a general surface cleaner and powerful deodorizer.

With the use of Clearitas 120, our most concentrated municipal Clearitas product, a mountain water system in Kentucky with over 100 tanks in their distribution system is dramatically improving their water quality. Clearitas 120 has been online for over one year while the operator has systematically flushed the surface attached chlorine demand out of the system. The system previously struggled to maintain chlorine residuals with biofilm present in the distribution system.