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Going through a lot of Chemicals in your water recycling?

Going through a lot of Chemicals?

If you find that you are going through a lot of chemicals in your recycling system it could be that you need a “buffered” wash product.

EnviroConcepts is Australia’s first choice in portable washpads and washbays.  EnviroConcepts manufactures and supplies water recycling units and compliant water filtration systems all around Australia, and we have found that some sites are going through a lot more chemicals that they need to be.

Chlorine

Chlorine that you buy from your local pool shop can be very fickle. Chlorine can quickly decay over time and the effectiveness of the chlorine will decay at the same rate. The decay in chlorine effectiveness is tied to storage conditions, temperatures, and exposure to sun/UV. The decay of the chlorine means that it requires more chlorine solution to attain the desired free and combined chlorine values for the overall solution.

The pH of the EnviroChlor sits at approx. 12.5 which is fairly basic (alkaline).  As the solution decays the pH range remains unchanged at this basic (alkaline) level. However more chlorine will be required, slowly raising the pH of the solution. The EnviroChlor is not immune to this decay, however unlike your local pool shop we don’t hold large quantities of chlorine in stock ensuring the “freshness” of chlorine. We also only use chlorine in Black drums which reduces the UV effect and we store them in a controlled environment.  EnviroChlor has been tested with our system is recommended for use with all of the EnviroConcept recycling systems.

pH dosing

As a standard rule with anything that may come into contact with people you would like to have the pH in a narrow range of between 6.5-7.5 . This general rule means that we need to “dose” our solution with either Acid or Base in order to achieve the desired range. Depending on what is being washed and what types of chemicals may be involved in the process will determine how much acid or base needs to be added.

Acid

Acids come in many different flavours, including hydrochloric, sulfuric and others. The EnviroAcid is of the Sulfuric Acid variety and is the only acid that can be used within the EnviroConcept water recycling system. Mixing acids can cause disastrous consequences.

In order to reduce the amount of Acid that is required remember to always use fresh chlorine and a buffered detergent. Un-buffered detergents can be as high as 10-12 pH and thus requires a lot more acid to bring the solution back into the safe zone.  The EnviroBlue wash detergent has been buffered to between 6-8 pH and is highly recommended for use with our Systems.

Base

Base represents the high end of the pH scale and not unlike the acids it can come in a few different varieties.  In the case of EnviroBase we use a 50% dilution of Sodium Hydroxide as a way of raising the pH in our systems.  The EnviroBase has also been approved to work in our systems, and our particular base remains stable at low temperatures which is important for Australian winters as some solutions can actually “Freeze” at 12C to 17C.  The EnviroBase is stable at lower temperatures and will not ruin your dosing pump by freezing inside.

The amount of EnviroBase used will be determined by the quality of the water coming back into the system and may be used quickly if there is a yo-yo affect with the chlorine and Acid trying to balance themselves out.

If you are running low on your chemicals give us a call and we will quickly get you an estimate and send you out the appropriate chemicals for your system.