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New water treatment device cleans up rural communities

Manufacturing

A HIGHLY effective and cost efficient water treatment technology is poised to replace traditional disinfection systems.

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South Australian company Hydro-dis Water Treatment Systems’ new device provides immediate disinfection, improves the efficiency of metal removal and includes residual chlorine to reduce contamination after treatment.

Managing Director Mark Carey said the Hydro-dis technology was a simple alternative to other contemporary treatment methods and would be highly beneficial for rural communities.

“We are reducing environmental footprints, health and safety in the workplace, and costs across the board,” he said.

“Our product is in the same boat as UV and Ozone systems because it has immediate killing power but we provide a residual to chlorine, which gives the water a level that meets the standard of drinking water.

“In a rural community with a gas plant (to treat water), once the gas runs out they have to keep replenishing it – trucks are having to travel out there all the time and refill the gas station.”

Carey said the Hydro-dis technology did not require additional raw materials such as gas because it used minerals and salts already in the water to fuel the process.

The machine (right) can be attached to a pipe so that dirty water flows in one end, is treated and then flows out the other side clean.

Systems are scalable and can churn up to 10 million litres a day.

Hydro-dis’ treatment technology uses insitu electro-catalytic generation of chlorine to disinfect water and can be used for various industries to treat potable, non-potable and wastewater.

The unique technique creates chloride ions from salt already present in the water even when it is present in very small amounts, making it suitable for freshwater and saltwater sources.

The device also works to prevent scaling and fouling.

The company has several machines operating in rural areas in Western Australia. It is ramping up production with the aim of targeting international markets.

Carey said while Hydro-dis eliminated the need for harmful chemicals such as sodium hydroxide and chlorine gas, it still provided long-lasting protection.

“It can be used to remove minerals, iron and manganese, from water. Normally, the water is put through chlorine gas and then it goes through a multimedia sand filter that removes those irons and then they chlorinate it after that.

“Our technology makes the iron and manganese easier to remove in the sand filter, improving the efficacy. Then we use it to chlorinate the water after the sand filter so that it’s ready for delivery to the client.

“Chlorine gas can be quite dangerous and there are a lot of safety procedures for using it.  You need a purpose built building, air quality monitoring and alarms for escape of gas as well as self-contained breathing apparatus and that sort of stuff.”

According to the World Health Organisation, about two million deaths per year are attributable to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene.

South Australia is the driest state in the driest continent in the world and has become a world leader in water treatment and reuse technologies.

Last week Hydro-dis was awarded the Water Treatment and Re-Use Award for its disinfection technology at the 2016 Smart Water Awards in South Australia’s capital Adelaide.

Carey will travel to India next month as part of a South Australian delegation to the arid state of Rajasthan to help provide water disinfection solutions.

This is a Creative Commons story from The Lead South Australia, a news service providing stories about innovation in South Australia. Please feel free to use the story in any form of media. The story sources are linked in with the copy and all contacts are willing to talk further about the story. Copied to Clipboard

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