The ReCycled News Volume 2

WaterCycle 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:

* While chemical flocculates have their place in certain applications, they are not normally required for use with WaterCycle 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 WaterCycle if you think you may need them.

* Odor Eliminators, Cover-ups or Deodorizers may sometimes be necessary in applications having high organic loads. WaterCycle uses Constant Ozonation in the majority of it’s 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 WaterCycle 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 further on in this newsletter.

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 Magazine. In one of their recent articles, 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.

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 Western Water Products & WaterCycle is not be just to sell water recovery equipment, but also to be increasing public awareness in the process.

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 WaterCycle water recovery system.

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 water recovery 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 Western Water Products recommends 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 very low sudsing or 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.

WaterCycle’s recently introduced golf course water recovery system has jumped out to be a performance winner with its' 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 the already popular AGOR wash water recovery system to a newly designed hopper bottom pit and "double redundant" grass strainer system.

The AGOR already utilizes 14 proven water recovery technologies, and with the addition of a double redundant grass strainer system, WaterCycle 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 WaterCycle’s success is two fold.

1) WaterCycle 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) WaterCycle 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 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 for further information.

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 WaterCycle has superior technology and have chosen Western Water Products & WaterCycle as their source for wash water recovery.

California Department of Water Resources recently awarded WaterCycle, 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 WaterCycle facilities and a visit to several WaterCycle sites in Southern California, California DWR decided that WaterCycle had the experience and technology to meet the requirements of their applications. WaterCycle’s simple design, ease of maintenance and common sense approach to water recovery were major factors in their decision.

It was indicated at the time of acceptance that WaterCycle would be listed as an approved source in requests for future systems required by the Department of Water Resources.