The ReCycled News Volume 1

WaterCycle announces the introduction of a new water recovery system designed specifically for golf course applications. Golf courses pose a particularly difficult problem due to high amounts of dirt and grass clippings. Grass clippings, if not removed, create conditions allowing organic fermentation to occur. Also, green algae and other micro-organisms will bloom out of control.

With the addition of a grass catcher/filtration tank to it’s already successful AGOR water recovery system, WaterCycle has created a system which eliminates the majority of grass clippings from the water with a unique easily cleanable series of filter/strainer basket.

A sand trap and/or single hopper bottom pit design combined with WaterCycle’s unique independent sludge removal system pulls additional grass and dirt from the pit and deposits it in an easy to clean above ground mud hopper. Also, with the introduction of the new Golf Course Water Recovery System, WaterCycle also announces the introduction of a preformed hopper bottom pit and grate design which can be located in the center of the wash pad or off to the side. The pit is large enough to accommodate both a transfer pump and a heavy duty sludge removal pump.

Specialty Minerals, a mining company in Southern California, compared them all and decided to go with WaterCycle. WaterCycle got into consideration late on this application for washing heavy equipment. Actually, a purchase order was already written when engineering personnel decided to accompany WaterCycle to see some of it’s systems in actual use in similar applications.

The trip was well worth the investment of time and WaterCycle was successful in demonstrating the advanced technologies available only with a WaterCycle system. A purchase order was awarded for an automated SC-DE Series system with ozonation and an independent sludge removal system.

With one system already in place in San Jose, Western Waste Systems recently presented WaterCycle with a unique opportunity to prove exactly what types of waste streams our SC-DE Series systems were capable of handling. Originally presented as an application which was only to do exterior garbage truck washing and some engine degreasing, an SC-DE system with ozonation and an independent sludge removal system were recommended. As soon as the system was installed, the first items that were wheeled up to be washed were 225 portable toilets.

This application presented WaterCycle with a very unique problem. Not only did the system have to handle the dirt, oil and grease of external washing and engine degreasing, but now the system had to handle and remove toilet paper, bottle caps, plastic and paper bags, pieces of shoes (all of these items have been found in the mud hopper) and some amounts of human waste which were spilled as the porta-poti tanks were vacuumed out and then pressure washed clean.

After a few modifications, which included simply increasing the ozonation and automatic purge cycle times and adding a second mud hopper, the SC-DE system was found to be up for the task and at last check was producing good pressure washer wash quality water.

Earlier in the year WaterCycle was in the right place at the right time once again when Kasler Construction, a major freeway construction company in Southern California was looking to add a water recovery system to meet the demand of local EPA requirements. This was another time when WaterCycle appeared on the scene at the eleventh hour and a purchase requisition was already written for another system. Kasler was interested in a system to be used to wash its heavy equipment. They were looking for something with very little maintenance and something easy to operate. The automation of WaterCycle’s SC-DE system appealed to their equipment maintenance superintendent, and after accompanying WaterCycle to see a couple of local systems in operation, WaterCycle was awarded the contract.

Because of the high amount of dirt which was being washed off the heavy equipment, the wash pad was designed to WaterCycle specifications with a front end loader ramp where the majority of the dirt could settle out. The system proved to be so successful that another Southern California company, South Coast Materials, found out about it and wanted the same exact thing due to the fact that they too had to wash heavy equipment with lots of dirt.

Here’s one for the books...Based on the growing reputation of some of our distributors, one of them in the Southern California area was recently contacted by a local EPA inspector, and it was suggested that he go see a certain company who was washing off forklifts in the parking lot with a pressure washer, and the water was draining down the gutter and into the street. An appointment was made to take the company owner to see a couple of systems in the area and an AGOR with an independent sludge removal system was recommended. The customer wanted to know how to get his hands on a hopper bottom pit, but at this time, the pit was a formed and poured in place item of concrete construction.

The forklift manufacturer said he would buy the system, if WaterCycle could supply him with an easy to install hopper bottom pit and with a sludge removal system. Of course even with the "extras", he still expected WaterCycle still to be competitive with another system he was looking at which did not offer either the pit or sludge removal system. Always up for the challenge, WaterCycle’s engineering department designed and had molded a pit and grate design which has now become a standard product offering for those applications requiring hopper bottom pits. The customer, by the way, loves his equipment. Information on the hopper bottom pit is available on request.

WaterCycle’s unique use of cone shaped and hopper bottom tanks throughout the whole water recovery process prevents the build-up of unwanted sludge in above ground tanks. Combined with either manual and automated purge valves connected to the bottom of each tank, sedimentation is removed from the tank bottoms and returned to below ground pits for further settling or for removal by an automated sludge removal system which deposits the sludge in an above ground mud hopper. Sedimentation is continuously purged from the above ground tanks on a timed cycle which also returns ozonated water to the pits in a continuous process.

An optional sludge removal system located in the below ground pits removes sedimentation to an above ground mud hopper for easy disposal. Elimination of sludge from reclaimed water is a major breakthrough in water recovery technology allowing the water recovery system to work more efficiently and provide cleaner recycled water back into the wash process.

WaterCycle announces that it’s unique approach to Ozone injection combined with other water filtration techniques has the ability to reduce and eliminate foul odor and septic conditions in recycled water without the need for introducing chemicals into the waste stream except in the very worst applications. The system has proven successful in many applications including refrigerated container washing, garbage truck and garbage bin washing and portable toilet washing. The system assists also in eliminating the smell of excess hydrocarbons caused from too much oil and grease in the water due to engine degreasing.

The need for injecting hydrogen peroxide, chlorine and other hazardous chemicals to control foul odor and septic conditions has virtually been eliminated. These chemicals have in the past posed a problem with handling, storage and are expensive to use increasing the cost of operating a water recovery system.

The elimination of hazardous chemicals is deemed by the water recovery industry as a significant step in the advancement of water treatment technology for closed loop industrial applications such as high pressure washing and vehicle cleaning.

Besides odor elimination, Ozonation has been proven effective in sanitizing water, oxidizing heavy metals in water and has many other positive benefits.