Zeta Rod Blog

Zeta Rod® fouling prevention technology integral to ASPEN mobile reverse osmosis water purification systems

ZAMBOTIMES

Sunday, July 17. 2011

WESCOM fights cholera with newest water purification machine
by 6CRGAFP/RVC-PIA9 BaSulTa

ISABELA CITY, Basilan (Philippines)— The Western Command (WESCOM), has deployed its newest water purification machine to barangay Culandanum in the municipality of Bataraza in Palawan to help its residents recover from the tragic cholera outbreak that struck the village, last March that left at least 27 persons dead.

The 6th Civil Relations Group of the AFP said in a statement the project was implemented in partnership with the National Development Support Command (NADESCOM) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Marine Forces in the Pacific (MARFORPAC) of the United States of America to prevent another occurrence of the calamitous incident.

The water purification system brought by the WESCOM and NADESCOM personnel headed by 1Lt Dennis S. Martinez is being used to decontaminate water from the sources found in Bgy Culandanum so that its residents may have safe drinking water.

With the assistance of elements of the 12th Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT-12), WESCOM and NADESCOM have been distributing purified drinking water to the residents of the cholera-afflicted village for two weeks already.

They are using the machine to decontaminate water from the water cistern located at the Barangay Hall of Culandanum. Commercial jerry cans are used to distribute the purified water to approximately 1,200 households living in the barangay.

Barangay chairman Joel Pundales said the water purification system was a big help to the crisis they are facing. According to him, tests conducted revealed that almost all of the water from the sources found in their village is contaminated.

On April 1 this year, barangay Culandanum has declared a state of calamity after 27 persons were reported to have died from cholera in under a month. Seven of the victims, according to the barangay chairman, have succumbed to the disease a few minutes after each other.

This month, the barangay health office of Culandanum has received four cholera-related cases. On July 6, another patient from Sitio Linao of Bgy Culandanum was reported to have died from the illness.

Pundales lamented the absence of a safe source, potable water in their barangay. To counter the problem, the barangay has distributed water purification tablet to the households, but this, according to the barangay chairman, is temporary and limited.

In response to the situation, WESCOM, in coordination with the NADESCOM, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) and the local government of Bataraza and its Rural Health Unit (RHU), sent trained operators of the water purification machine, known as ASPEN 2000DM, to Bgy Culandanum to provide safe drinking water to its populace.

The machine, which utilizes reverse osmosis technology, boasts of being the most compact, versatile, full-featured, computer-controlled, energy efficient, mobile reverse osmosis system available today.

It is capable of freshwater and seawater purification and can produce 2000 gallons per day of clean, potable water when using freshwater sources and 1800 gallons of the same when using salt water.

It was donated to the AFP by the United States Marine Corps Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC) at the conclusion of the most recent Balikatan Exercises between the US and the Philippine armed forces.

The machine was initially deployed to Culandanum for 30 days and or until it is needed.

Selected personnel of the MBLT-12 are also undergoing training on operating the machine so that they may be able to operate the equipment by themselves when NADESCOM personnel go back to Manila.

 

US Army Corps of Engineers Publishes Report on Cooling Tower Water Conservation Using Zeta Rod

The US Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research & Development Center (USACE-ERDC) has been evaluating the Zeta Rod for over four years at four different military bases. 

The main purpose of the evaluation was to be able to determine whether the Zeta Rod could help reduce the amount of water used by evaporative cooling systems in order to meet the water conservation requirements set by Executive Order 13423 while maintaing proper levels of protection against scaling, corrosion and biofouling. 

The first phase to the project was done at Davis Monthan AFB and Fort Huachuca in AZ. The full report has been published by the USACE. 

The results encouraged the USACE to expand the project and include two more bases: Warner Robins AFB in Georgia, and Ft Irwin in California. These two bases were selected given the quality of their water. W-Robins water is extremely soft and corrosive by nature whereas Ft. Irwin's water is extremely hard and with a very high potential for scaling. Davis Monthan and Ft Huachuca's water fall in between these two and remained as part of the project.

The 2-year second phase is scheduled to end in August of 2011 and a final report will be available by December 2011 or January 2012. 

In the meantime, the USACE-ERDC has already been publishing the results from this project. In their website they have published a paper titled: "Electronic treatment reduces water, chemical use in evaporative cooling systems." 

The USACE-ERDC also gave a presentation in the 2011 USACE Infrastructure Systems Conference in Atlanta, GA. Download Non-Chemical Treatment of Cooling Water - Beitelman .

For more information on how can the Zeta Rod help meet water conservation targets in Federal Buildings or help with LEED credits, contact Zeta Corporation at (888) 785-9660.

 

 

US Army Corps of Engineers' Engineer Research & Development Center Reports 20% Water Savings in Cooling Towers with Zeta Rod

From July 2007 to September 2008 the US Army Corps of Engineers' Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)conducted an independent and thorough comparative study between the Zeta Rod and a conventional chemical water treatment program for cooling towers. Two sites were chosen for the study, Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson, and Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, AZ.

The study looked at corrosion, scale and biofouling control as the parameters to be used as the metric to evaluate both programs, however, the ERDC had a special interest in water saving capabilities in order to meet requirements set by Executive Order 13423 regarding water conservation. 

This study was also the launching platform for the Zeta Water Management System, which allows remote control, data logging and monitoring of a cooling tower.

The Abstract of the report reads:

 The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has a specific legislative mandate to increase its conservation of water and energy. It also is interested in improving the effectiveness of open-loop, cooling water treatment processes at its installations worldwide, for purposes of extending the useful life of evaporative cooling equipment and reducing energy use/costs. A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was approved to demonstrate that, without using chemical additives, a capacitor-based water treatment system is capable of (1)providing equivalent protection to a chemical treatment program in preventing scale, corrosion, and bio-fouling; (2) allowing cooling systems to be operated in an enhanced water conservation mode; (3) delivering measurable reductions in water usage over conventional methods; and (4)providing control, monitoring, and wireless data transfer via the Internet.

Results documented in the subsequent demonstration and evaluation project showed the technology was able to meet every objective and also was able to deliver a 20% reduction in cooling water use over standard chemical treatment methods.

Application of this technology would allow the DoD to (1) reduce chemical usage, exposure, and disposal expenses; (2) conserve water and energy; (3) facilitate water re-use; and (4) meet new goals for conservation of resources.

The complete report can be read and downloaded by going to the following link.

 

Ferguson Enterprises Inc. Kleindale Branch, Tucson AZ, not only a vendor but a satisfied customer as well.

Ferguson is a leading wholesale distributor of plumbing supplies; pipes, valves and fittings; heating and cooling equipment; waterworks; mechanical and industrial; bathrooms and appliances; tools and safety equipment; and fire protection products with over 1300 service centers in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Caribbean. They became one of the earliest suppliers of Residential Zeta Rod systems when Zeta Corporation introduced the new product line.

Today we'd like to recognize their Kleindale Branch in Tucson, AZ. They are not only a distributor but have become a satisfied customer as well.

Here is their comment on the Zeta Rod installation for the swamp cooler system in the warehouse:

May 19, 2009

Dear Zeta Rod;

I am writing this to let you know what a wonderful solution the Zeta Rod was to our evaporative cooler problem. It has made all of our cooler problems disappear.

Prior to putting the Zeta Rod on the water line that supplies water to our coolers, we had the following problems:

*The air being blown into our warehouse had a damp fishy smell.

*We found that by leaving the coolers on 24/7 the smell was not as bad, but; we used a lot of expensive electricity.

*Running the coolers constantly also wore out the pads, the motors, and the pulleys more often; and they were expensive to replace.

We understand that the Zeta Rod does not allow biofilm to form and that makes our air smell better and helps the coolers run cleaner.

We are also able to turn the coolers off each night.  We start them each morning and they run clean and have no smell.  Since they only run for 8-10 hours we know we have less wear and tear on the pumps, pulleys and pads!  We could not be happier!

Mike Van Stelle,

  

Ferguson

Enterprises Incorporated

Kleindale Branch,

Tucson

 

Arizona

3445 East Kleindale Rd

(520) 795.0296.

 

"Swamp Coolers": Time to start thinking about next year.

For anyone living in the Southwest where summers are hot and dry you must be familiar with "Swamp Coolers" . For those of you who have not been to the Southwest, when you do, you will see many buildings - from small homes to large commercial warehouses- with some strange looking boxes sitting on the roof of the buildings.

Those boxes are swamp coolers. A swamp cooler provides a very efficient and low cost of cooling down a living or working space. It cools down outside dry hot air by means of water evaporation.

While swamp coolers may differ in design and size, they all operate under the same principles: water is trickled or sprayed over a high surface area material and air is pushed or drawn across that media. As the hot-dry air comes in contact with the wet surface of the media it causes some of that water to evaporate.

The image on the left shows a cutaway view of a conventional evaporative cooler, the most commonly found in the Southwest. Inside is the fan and fan motor, the outside covers house the Aspen pad media, on the front lower corner the recirculating water pump and make up water and float valve are seen.

This is one of the larger size units, it is about the size of a walk-in meat locker.

The entire front end is the air intake. Inside a large wall of evaporative media is sprayed with water to create a wet wall where evaporation takes place (picture to the right).

In order for water to evaporate energy in the form of latent heat is required. This heat comes from the air going through the media, as the air gives away heat to evaporate the water two things take place: the temperature of the air is dropped, and the relative humidity of the air going through the media is increased.

This type of cooling can only be used in dry climate zones where the difference between the wet bulb and dry bulb temperature of the air is big. In humid places like Chicago or Washington DC where the relative humidity is high, this type of systems would not work at all.

There are different versions as to where the name "swamp cooler" comes from. Some people say it because of the "muggy" or "swampy" feel that the humid air gives to living spaces. Other people refer to the "swampy" smell associated with these units. That swampy smell is caused by bacteria growing in the evaporative media in the coolers.

Swamp coolers are strongly connected with the history of Zeta Corporation for it was one of our very first applications that we targeted when the company was formed. Swamp coolers may have many advantages over refrigeration units (air conditioners) such as lower cost to operate, easy for the average home owner to maintain, low replacement cost, and add some moisture to the dry desert air, they do not come free of problems.

Main problems with swamp coolers is related to the water quality usually found in places where the units are best suited for: the desert. In arid places, water tends to be relatively hard (see previous post on water hardness) . The hardness in the water can cause severe scaling problems in the evaporative media of the swamp coolers, and the bacteria in the media give away that unpleasant "swampy" smell. 

Problems with swamp coolers:

• Scale formation on the evaporative media will reduce the airflow across the pads, thus reducing the cooling efficiency of the unit. In some places the scaling takes place so fast and it is so severe that pads need to be replaced several times over one cooling season. The picture to the right shows the pads of an evaporative cooler in the Tucson area. The pads were completely scaled over in a period of three months of continuous use.
• Evaporative cooling pads, because of their materials of construction cannot be cleaned out, once scale has formed on them they have to be discarded.
• Scale in the pump impellers that distribute the water to the pads can cause the pumps to burn out. This can be an expensive problem especially for large warehouses where multiple units are used.
• Scale can also form on the fan motor, causing it to fail, again, an expensive problem in large warehouse operations.
• Scale buildup in the spray nozzles or drip tubes will prevent water from reaching all the media, creating "dry spots" which allow hot air to pass through the media without any cooling, thus reducing the cooling efficiency of the unit.
• Bacteria growing in the media not only causes the unpleasant "swampy" smell, but can also represent a potential health hazard by harboring pathogens that could cause respiratory diseases like legionella.

So how come there is not much being done to prevent these problems? It seems that most people have just resigned themselves and accepted them as inconveniences inherent to the use of swamp coolers, something that "people have to learn how live with" perhaps. Because most of the replacement costs are relatively small, at least when looked individually, people tend to just include them in their maintenance budget. The problem is that when there are multiple evaporative coolers in one building, or large size units are utilized, the replacement costs do add up.

The Zeta Rod has demonstrated time and time again that it is capable of stopping these problems in a very cost efficient manner. A single Zeta Rod (properly sized) installed in the main water line going into a building, whether it is a small home or a large commercial warehouse can treat all the water that goes to the swamp coolers and prevent the problems mentioned before. Because the water volume being held in the evaporative coolers is so small, and the evaporation rate so high, this ensures that a constant stream of fresh Zeta treated water is being added to the cooler. With its strong electrodispersant effect the Zeta Rod prevents scale deposits from forming on the media, pump impellers, fan belts and motors, spray nozzles and drip lines. It also prevents the bacteria from growing in the media, thus eliminating the "swampy smell" and the potential for unwanted bacteria growing in the media. 

Benefits offered by the Zeta Rod:

• Scale formation and odor in the evaporative coolers is eliminated.
• Elimination of scale in nozzled and drip lines
• Extend lifespan of Aspen pads to 2-3 years, and indefinitely on Celdek type pads.
• Service life of the cooler and frame is extended by 50% or more.
• Water consumption can be reduced by as much as 25% while maintaining the full efficiency of the cooler.
• Short ROI based on maintenance, operation and water cost savings.
• Low maintenance required.

Our customers include the Research Greenhouses at Biosphere 2 where old evaporative pads in the  greenhouses where about to be replaced due to the heavy scaling and biofouling formed on them (read the case study for Biosphere 2 here).

This picture shows the Zeta Rod installed in the recirculating line for the wet wall at the Biosphere 2 Research Greenhouses. In this case, the Zeta Rod cleaned the deposits formed on the evaporative media, allowing Biosphere 2 to extend the use of the expensive media an additional 7 years until the greenhouses were put out of operation.

The Pepsi Bottling Plant in Tucson, another satisfied customer, has this to say about their Zeta Rod :

"For over three years now the Zeta Rod has proven to be an excellent choice as our water treatment program.

The first installation in our evaporative coolers eliminated the scale, odor and deterioration of our units. The coolers have operated scale free and odor free. Pads last a couple of years now, whereas before the Zeta Rod was installed it was necessary to change them twice per season. Our maintenance costs are much lower now since we are not losing any recirculating pumps in the coolers due to scaling. "

(picture to the right shows the Zeta Rod installed in the plant's main water line where the feed to the swamp coolers takes from)

This is a good time to start planning for next year's cooling season and how to protect your swamp coolers. You can contact Zeta Corporation directly, or one of its authorized distributors to ask about a Zeta Rod for your swamp coolers.

Zeta Rod as an Alternative to a Water Softener, Part I

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive by home owners whether the Zeta Rod can replace a water softener? . The answer to this question is: "YES". However, many people assume that by that we mean that the Zeta Rod is a water softener. This is a common misconception, while the Zeta Rod is a viable alternative for a water softener, it is not a water softener.

There seem to be many people out there on the internet that are fast in criticizing the Zeta Rod, more from a lack of understanding of the technology than anything else. Through this blog we want to help people get a better understanding of the technology and the benefits it can offer.

This will be a two part post. In this first part we will discuss what is Water Hardness, why do people want to get rid of it, and how do salt based water softeners work. In the second part we will explain how the Zeta Rod works and how it differs from a water softener.

In order to understand what a water softener is, and how a Zeta Rod differentiates from one, we need to understand what Hard Water is. Water as supplied by municipal water systems, or wells, is not pure water, it has many dissolved minerals in it (pure water is not good for drinking). Calcium and Magnesium tend to be amongst the most common minerals found dissolved in water, and amongst the ones in higher concentrations. The amount of these minerals dissolved in the water are referred to as the Hardness of the water and it can be measured in parts per million (ppm), milligrams per liter (mg/l) or in grains per gallon (gpg). One ppm is equivalent to one mg/l, and one gpg equals 17.1 mg/l or ppm.

Water Hardness varies from zone to zone as it can be seen in the next picture that was borrowed from the USGS website.

The US Department of Interior and Water Quality Association classify water hardness as follows:

Classification	mg/l or ppm	grains/gal
Soft	0 - 17.1	0 - 1
Slightly hard	17.1 - 60	1 - 3.5
Moderately hard	60 - 120	3.5 - 7.0
Hard	120 - 180	7.0 - 10.5
Very Hard	180 & over	10.5 & over

Hard water in itself does not pose a health hazard, quite contrary, some agencies such as the National Research Council (National Academy of Sciences) state that hard drinking water generally contributes a small amount toward total calcium and magnesium human dietary needs.

So why do people want to get rid of hardness?? The Wilkes University Center For Environmental Quality Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences department explain it perfectly. On their website they write:

"Hard water interferes with almost every cleaning task from laundering and dish washing to bathing and personal grooming. Clothes laundered in hard water may look dingy and feel harsh and scratchy. Dishes and glasses may be spotted when dry. Hard water may cause a film on glass shower doors, shower walls, bathtubs, sinks, faucets, etc. Hair washed in hard water may feel sticky and look dull. Water flow may be reduced by deposits in pipes.

Hard water also contributes to inefficient and costly operation of water-using appliances. Heated hard water forms a scale of calcium and magnesium minerals that can contribute to the inefficient operation or failure of water-using appliances. Pipes can become clogged with scale that reduces water flow and ultimately requires pipe replacement. "

One way to address these issues caused by the hardness in the water is to install a water softener in your house.

Water softeners have been around for quite a while and their principle of operation is quite simple. It consists of replacing the hardness ions in the water (Calcium -Ca- and Magnesium-Mg-) with a different ion, Sodium (Na). The way this is done is by passing the hard water that comes into the house through a bed of small plastic beads or through a chemical called zeolite. This resin bed is saturated with sodium ions that attach to the beads. Calcium and Magnesium have a stronger attraction to the zeolite, so as the hard water passes through it, they take the place of the sodium, and hence the hardness of the water is removed.

As the zeolite becomes saturated with calcium and magnesium, the water softener starts losing its efficiency and the hardness of the water that makes it into the house gets higher (this is why some places even with water softeners see the effects of hard water over time). At this point it is time to regenerate the resin. This is done by flushing it with brine, which is a solution of water with salt. As this concentrated brine goes through the media, it displaces the Ca & Mg and replenishes the media with Na.

Water softeners not only are far from being perfect, they have many inconveniences such as:

* They require frequent maintenance and regenerating of the media

* They are not environmentally friendly: More and more locations are setting strict regulations on the use of water softeners because of the brine discharge. California is banning the use of water softeners in some areas all together.

* Soft water is not good for irrigation, it will damage plants.

* People with high blood pressure problems should not drink soft water.

The Zeta Rod is a green technology  that offers an alternative to water softeners without the inconveniences associated with them. In the next post we will explore how the Zeta Rod works, what benefits will it offer to the home owner (or commercial/industrial customer) and how it differs from a water softener.

If you drink from a can, chances are it was washed with Zeta treated water.

That is correct, any time you open a can, whether it is a soda, a beer, or a sports drink, there is a very good possibility that that can in your hand was washed with Zeta treated water before it was painted.

In the Aluminum can manufacturing industry, there are three main can producers: Rexam, Crown Cork and Seal and Ball Corp. Zeta Corporation has been treating the water in the can washers for one of those companies in all of their plants across the US, Latin America and Europe. The Zeta Rod has helped this company increase their run times between scheduled maintenance shutdowns, reduce the time required to clean the washer during the shutdown. It has done this by stopping scale formation on heat exchangers, risers, spray nozzles and biofouling accumulation in the washers. 

After the success with that customer, some of the major companies that sell specialty products for can washers are also selling, or recommending the use of Zeta Rod systems to their customers.

Below is a picture of a can washer in Europe in which a Zeta Rod System has been installed in the different stages of the washer.

So next time you enjoy a cold drink in a can, think that it could be a Zeta can that you are drinking from.

The process of can manufacturing is quite fascinating.

How Cans are Made

1. Cup Forming — The process starts with an aluminum coiled sheet which is fed through a press that punches out shallow cups.
2. Redrawing & Ironing — Cups are fed into an ironing press where successive rings redraw and iron the cup and reduce sidewall thickness to get a full length can. The bottom is domed to obtain strength required to withstand internal pressure.
3. Trimming — Cans are spun as a cutting tool trims the rough shell from the inside.
4. Cleaning — The cans are cleaned and pre-treated for decoration and inside coating.
   1. Pre-clean with water rinse
   2. Clean with commercial cleaner
   3. Cold water rinse
   4. Conditioning
   5. Cold water rinse
   6. Deionized water rinse
   7. Drying
5. Printing & Varnishing — Cans are rolled against a rubber cylinder to print up to four colors simultaneously, then moved to another station where a clear protective overvarnish is applied.
6. Bottom Varnishing — Cans are conveyed past an applicator that applies protective varnish to the bottom.
7. Baking — Cans wind through a conveyor in an oven to dry the printing.
8. Inside Spraying — A specially selected coating is sprayed on the inside of the cans.
9. Baking — Cans are conveyed through a tunnel oven that bakes and cures the inside coating.
10. Necking and Flanging — Cans are necked-in at the top to reduce can diameter and flanged to accept the end.

Zeta Corporation & Lakewood Instruments Work Together for Wireless Solution

Last year we started a 12 month demonstration of the Zeta Rod at two undisclosed military facilities in a two cooling towers. The purpose of the trial was to demonstrate that the Zeta Rod was capable of delivering the same level of protection as a conventional chemical treatment program for corrosion contro, scale control and biofouling. On top of that, the Zeta Rod was going to be evaluated for its ability to help the military conserve water.

One of the requirements that were set upon Zeta Corporation was that of remote monitoring and data downloading of the equipment used during the trial and we were asked to do this via wireless communication, for we did not have access to a land line nor an Internet connection at either site.

The water treatment part of the demonstration was no problem for us, for we had done that many times before. However, the remote monitoring and control via a wireless system proved to be much more complicated than we anticipated.

We had worked with Lakewood Instruments controllers before and knew of their reliability and good service and support so we asked them if they had anything of this sort. Last year we were told that they had something that could be used with a land line modem but not with a wireless modem, but that they were working on one.

Finally late this spring, Lakewood delivered a complete and fully integrated remote monitoring and control communications package that allows us not only to collect and see the data at each location in a real time fashion, but it also gives us complete control of the controllers from anywhere in the world. This capability of complete control of the system has already been useful in a couple of occasions.

Seen below is the entire control, data-logging and communications system installed at one of the testing locations.

We are currently monitoring the conductivity of the water, the Zeta Rod Power Supply high voltage output, real time corrosion, make up and blow down volumes.

This is the screen of the remote monitoring software.  

With the software developed by Lakewood, we can keep track of trends in the different parameters being monitores to look out for any anomaly in the system and be able to respond in a timely manner in case of any problems.

And by the way, yes, the Zeta Rod has been able to maintain corrosion levels on par with those obtained through a corrosion inhibitor, lower bacteria counts than those obtained with biocides, as good scale control as that obtained with anti-scalants and significant water conservation in the towers (Zeta treated towers are operating at 6 cycles of concentration based on make up to blow down ratio, Vs 3 cycles maintained in the chemically treated towers).

We wish to extend our appreciation to Lakewood Instruments for their continuing support in delivering a high quality product that meets our standards and the high expectations of our customers.   

Zeta Rod Brings Water Savings to Shopping Center Down Under

Brisbane, Australia. January 2008.

Brisbane is currently going through a severe drought and Australian authorities are applying strict water restrictions throughout several of the Australian Territories.

Zeta Corporation's working partner in Australia, H2O PurePlus got a contract from the Toombull Shopping Center in Brisbane to provide non-chemical protection to the cooling towers that provide cooling year round to the mall.

In January o 2008 Kevin Venville (in photo) - President of H2O PurePlus-, and Rodrigo Romo - Vice President of Engineering of Zeta Corporation - supervised the final installation and commissioning of a Zeta Rod System and a remote monitoring system designed by H2O PurePlus.

With the installation of the Zeta Rod and H2O PurePlus's technology, the shopping center will eliminate the use of chemicals in their cooling tower and will reduce the amount of water being discharged to the sewer, contributing in this way to Brisbane's water conservation policies. 

In this picture one can see the Zeta Rod Power Supply Model ZRPGM next to H2O PurePlus' remote monitonring system. With this system, H2O Pureplus can monitor at any time the conditions of the system and ensure that proper protection is being provided to the chillers, towers and pipes.

One of the chillers at the Toombull shopping center. Three Zeta Rod electrodes are installed in this system: one in the condenser water supply to each one of the two chillers and one in the main condenser water return pipe. The electrodes are all powered by a ZRPGM Power Supply.

Congratulations to Kevin and his H2O PurePlus Team on a job well done!