Water Treatment Articles
Water Treatment Articles
Filtration: How to select the correct Micron rating.
ConServ Water Recovery Systems: The treatment, the options . . .
Filtration: How to select the correct Micron rating.
ConServ Water Recovery Systems: The treatment, the options . . .
Bio/Ozone: Combining Two Reclaim Water Treatments to Achieve the Best of Both Worlds
By: Jim Keller
The purpose of a vehicle wash system, regardless of the size or format, is to reuse as much water as possible. Reusing water, however, requires constant review and evaluation of best approaches and processes to employ efficient and cost-effective means. In this day and age, we are all interested in the environmental impact and footprint our practices make — wiser and more environmentally friendly treatments are being embraced.
OZONE
For a number of years ozone has been used in the treatment of reclaim water. Its outstanding color and odor removal characteristics offered solutions for water with high concentrates of dyes and odors caused from hydrogen sulfide buildup. Incorporating ozone into reclaim destroys all bacteria cultures, both good and bad. In addition, ozone quickly separates emulsified oils, greases, and wax, which congeal and float to the surface of the holding tanks as organic sludge matter. The challenge now is to incorporate bacteria to degrade the organic matter without the ozone killing the beneficial organisms.
Reclaim tanks are ideal as a containment system that promotes a suitable environment for solid settling and promoting bacterial cleaning action. The cleaner the water, the less impact is felt throughout the system — everything from cleaner filters, spray nozzles, rinse water, and of course odor control. Cleaner wash water also plays an important role in pit pump-outs because many states consider wastewater to be hazardous, or at the very least, contaminated.
BACTERIA
Bacteria are the universe’s little housekeepers. The primary design of bacteria is to degrade various types of organic matter in a multiplicity of environments. It is estimated that less than 5 percent of all forms of bacteria are pathogens (disease-causing) and that the other 95 percent are beneficial organisms just trying to make a living degrading whatever it is that they degrade best. For our purposes, we will be discussing environmental bacterial applications that target waste components most readily found in commercial and industrial vehicle wash water.
Bacteria require very little to thrive in a reclaim water environment. Just a few specific parameters are needed for the two entirely different treatments, ozone and bacteria, to coexist and provide round-the-clock cleaning service that is second to none. So how does one find the right process to design bacteria that can exist in systems with powerful ozone environments?
DESIGNER BACTERIA
The first step is to go to a scientific source, most notably a company that specializes in industrial environmental microbiology. Such companies spend considerable resources isolating and identifying bacteria that have been located at environmentally contaminated sites. In the case of locating bacteria most suitable for cleaning up vehicle wash water, the important element is recognizing what the biggest contaminating constituent of the water is, namely petroleum hydrocarbon, various surfactants, chemistries, and plain old dirt.
Fortunately, there are perfected bacterial inoculants commercially available that have proven performance in various wastewater applications that target the degradation of petroleum chains, various surfactant concentrations, and organic matter. In addition, it would be really sweet if not only the water was cleaned up but the air, too. Hydrogen sulfide odor is the most in-your-face issue for most commercial and industrial wash applications. The right bacteria species will eliminate hydrogen sulfide odor within 24 to 48 hours after application. What’s that worth to you?
The microbiology of a wash system is simple. Dirty water has bacterial loads that come with the territory. Everyone knows that. Folks also know that certain bacteria are the cause of hydrogen sulfide odor; that’s why ozone is a popular alternative. The critical component here is that indigenous bacteria (that’s bacteria that end up in a wash-water stream by default coming in with the dirt) is a hodgepodge of various types of colonies that almost always fail to provide any significant advantage. In fact, the result of the incomplete degradation of petroleum, dirt, surfactants, and other water contaminates is what causes the hydrogen sulfide odor in the first place. That’s why operators use ozone to kill bacteria and get rid of the hydrogen sulfide odor. But as most operators know, killing all bacteria in a wash system isn’t such a good idea either, because there’s no biological activity going on and therefore no cleaning of the water. We all know what the problems are but what is the solution?
That’s where specifically designed wastewater inoculants enter the picture. These naturally occurring organisms target and comprehensively degrade petroleum hydrocarbons, surfactants (soap and foaming products), and other organic components in the wastewater. The big difference in the designer bacteria is that their genetic pathways are naturally formulated to utilize all the carbon chains in these waste products without producing a noxious by-product such as hydrogen sulfide. Inoculating with a high population of beneficial bacteria allows for competitive exclusion or in lay terms: “Let the Best Microbe Win.”
Competitive exclusion specifically occurs when one species of bacteria significantly outnumbers the other species in their aggressive pursuit of a food source, most notably petroleum hydrocarbons, in the case of wash water. Bacteria do not require much beside a food source to thrive but do need dissolved oxygen rate of at least 1 ppm, although higher concentrations are beneficial.
They like a pH range of between 6 and 8 and they especially like as long of a retention time as possible, but they will “eat and run” in as little as eight hours of retention. Re-circulation with oxygen will make the microbes flourish. The result is natural hydrogen sulfide odor control (no smell) — and reduced total suspended solids (TSS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) levels, which all add up to much cleaner reclaim water. With the bacteria inoculated into the entire system, biomass will develop within the reclaim tanks. Biomass is an accumulation of microbes that colonize onto the hard surfaces of the tanks. This cell accumulation produces billions of new microbes daily keeping the entire system clean and in biological balance.
The use of two processes combined into one recovery system is not exclusive to just new reclaim units. The bio-inoculating process can be added to almost any wash-water reclaim or water re-use equipment on the market today. This exciting new technology is one more step forward in making reclaim water friendly and keeping the image of the vehicle washing industry green.
Jim Keller is president of Con-Serv Water Recovery Systems, a Lakeland, FL-based company specializing in wastewater recovery and spot-free systems for the car wash industry. Keller is a 40-year veteran of the car wash industry and a manufacturer of water recovery systems for the car wash industry for over 30 years. You can reach Jim at (800) 868-9888 or via e-mail at jkeller@con-servwater.com .
By: Jim Keller
The purpose of a vehicle wash system, regardless of the size or format, is to reuse as much water as possible. Reusing water, however, requires constant review and evaluation of best approaches and processes to employ efficient and cost-effective means. In this day and age, we are all interested in the environmental impact and footprint our practices make — wiser and more environmentally friendly treatments are being embraced.
OZONE
For a number of years ozone has been used in the treatment of reclaim water. Its outstanding color and odor removal characteristics offered solutions for water with high concentrates of dyes and odors caused from hydrogen sulfide buildup. Incorporating ozone into reclaim destroys all bacteria cultures, both good and bad. In addition, ozone quickly separates emulsified oils, greases, and wax, which congeal and float to the surface of the holding tanks as organic sludge matter. The challenge now is to incorporate bacteria to degrade the organic matter without the ozone killing the beneficial organisms.
Reclaim tanks are ideal as a containment system that promotes a suitable environment for solid settling and promoting bacterial cleaning action. The cleaner the water, the less impact is felt throughout the system — everything from cleaner filters, spray nozzles, rinse water, and of course odor control. Cleaner wash water also plays an important role in pit pump-outs because many states consider wastewater to be hazardous, or at the very least, contaminated.
BACTERIA
Bacteria are the universe’s little housekeepers. The primary design of bacteria is to degrade various types of organic matter in a multiplicity of environments. It is estimated that less than 5 percent of all forms of bacteria are pathogens (disease-causing) and that the other 95 percent are beneficial organisms just trying to make a living degrading whatever it is that they degrade best. For our purposes, we will be discussing environmental bacterial applications that target waste components most readily found in commercial and industrial vehicle wash water.
Bacteria require very little to thrive in a reclaim water environment. Just a few specific parameters are needed for the two entirely different treatments, ozone and bacteria, to coexist and provide round-the-clock cleaning service that is second to none. So how does one find the right process to design bacteria that can exist in systems with powerful ozone environments?
DESIGNER BACTERIA
The first step is to go to a scientific source, most notably a company that specializes in industrial environmental microbiology. Such companies spend considerable resources isolating and identifying bacteria that have been located at environmentally contaminated sites. In the case of locating bacteria most suitable for cleaning up vehicle wash water, the important element is recognizing what the biggest contaminating constituent of the water is, namely petroleum hydrocarbon, various surfactants, chemistries, and plain old dirt.
Fortunately, there are perfected bacterial inoculants commercially available that have proven performance in various wastewater applications that target the degradation of petroleum chains, various surfactant concentrations, and organic matter. In addition, it would be really sweet if not only the water was cleaned up but the air, too. Hydrogen sulfide odor is the most in-your-face issue for most commercial and industrial wash applications. The right bacteria species will eliminate hydrogen sulfide odor within 24 to 48 hours after application. What’s that worth to you?
The microbiology of a wash system is simple. Dirty water has bacterial loads that come with the territory. Everyone knows that. Folks also know that certain bacteria are the cause of hydrogen sulfide odor; that’s why ozone is a popular alternative. The critical component here is that indigenous bacteria (that’s bacteria that end up in a wash-water stream by default coming in with the dirt) is a hodgepodge of various types of colonies that almost always fail to provide any significant advantage. In fact, the result of the incomplete degradation of petroleum, dirt, surfactants, and other water contaminates is what causes the hydrogen sulfide odor in the first place. That’s why operators use ozone to kill bacteria and get rid of the hydrogen sulfide odor. But as most operators know, killing all bacteria in a wash system isn’t such a good idea either, because there’s no biological activity going on and therefore no cleaning of the water. We all know what the problems are but what is the solution?
That’s where specifically designed wastewater inoculants enter the picture. These naturally occurring organisms target and comprehensively degrade petroleum hydrocarbons, surfactants (soap and foaming products), and other organic components in the wastewater. The big difference in the designer bacteria is that their genetic pathways are naturally formulated to utilize all the carbon chains in these waste products without producing a noxious by-product such as hydrogen sulfide. Inoculating with a high population of beneficial bacteria allows for competitive exclusion or in lay terms: “Let the Best Microbe Win.”
Competitive exclusion specifically occurs when one species of bacteria significantly outnumbers the other species in their aggressive pursuit of a food source, most notably petroleum hydrocarbons, in the case of wash water. Bacteria do not require much beside a food source to thrive but do need dissolved oxygen rate of at least 1 ppm, although higher concentrations are beneficial.
They like a pH range of between 6 and 8 and they especially like as long of a retention time as possible, but they will “eat and run” in as little as eight hours of retention. Re-circulation with oxygen will make the microbes flourish. The result is natural hydrogen sulfide odor control (no smell) — and reduced total suspended solids (TSS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) levels, which all add up to much cleaner reclaim water. With the bacteria inoculated into the entire system, biomass will develop within the reclaim tanks. Biomass is an accumulation of microbes that colonize onto the hard surfaces of the tanks. This cell accumulation produces billions of new microbes daily keeping the entire system clean and in biological balance.
The use of two processes combined into one recovery system is not exclusive to just new reclaim units. The bio-inoculating process can be added to almost any wash-water reclaim or water re-use equipment on the market today. This exciting new technology is one more step forward in making reclaim water friendly and keeping the image of the vehicle washing industry green.
Jim Keller is president of Con-Serv Water Recovery Systems, a Lakeland, FL-based company specializing in wastewater recovery and spot-free systems for the car wash industry. Keller is a 40-year veteran of the car wash industry and a manufacturer of water recovery systems for the car wash industry for over 30 years. You can reach Jim at (800) 868-9888 or via e-mail at jkeller@con-servwater.com .