Chemical Technology November 2015

Clean drinking water with Xylem’s Aquada UV Systems

Aquada UV systems employs UV-technology to eliminate micro-organisms and improve water safety. There are several benefits to using the Aquada UV-technology for homes and busi- nesses. Apart from the overall water safety being improved, it is low cost and easy to install. The Aquada-system is simply con- nected to the main water supply line and then provides UV-treated water to all the water outlets on the premises. There are also no harmful by-products and the taste and appearance of the water is not affected by the UV-treatment. UV-lamps are also easy to replace and only require replacement after a full year of use. Aquada UV-systems are available in three distinct models – Altima (economy); Proxima (medium spec) and Maxima (high spec). Each of these is available in five different sizes for homes or businesses, depending on the amount of purified water required.

The global team for Wedeco, one of Xylem’s flagship brands, has developed another product in their new Aquada UV-range. The Aquada UV range uses ultra-violet (UV) technology to eliminate bacteria in drinking water. These systems have been specifically developed for residential and commercial applications and are also available in South Africa. Although water delivered to homes and commercial zones is usually treated with chlorine or other processes, certain micro- organisms can survive and make it into water used for bathing, washing and drink- ing. While most of these micro-organisms are harmless, there are quite a few that are harmful and are capable of causing severe illness. UV is by far the most effective way to ren- der these micro-organisms harmless. While other home water purification systems im- prove the taste and clarity of drinking water; A Cape Town-based company is the first in sub-Saharan Africa to offer an environmen- tally friendly method of pre-treating archi- tectural aluminium prior to powder coating. Blue Willow Aluminium has built an au- tomated processing plant in line with Inter- national Best Practice which is Hexavalent chromium-free for environmentally friendly pre-treatment manufacturing. Recognised as a human carcinogen if inhaled, Hexavalent chromium is also what infamously contami- nated groundwater in Hinkley, United States, leading to a lawsuit with amulti-million dollar settlement and the movie Erin Brockovich. “We have built the first plant in sub- Saharan Africa that fully complies with international legislation and are proud to have created a processing plant which in- cludes the most environmentally advanced and technically sophisticated chemical processes for preparation of architectural aluminium prior to powder-coating,” said BlueWillow AluminiumGM, Schalk Pretorius of the Atlantis Industrial plant. “Our guaranteed quality comes from the constant reproducible production standards generated by the automated system. Previ- ously, local companies had the frustration of irregular quality with high wastage factors, and were forced to import and hold substan- tial stock to counter the inconsistencies of local alternatives. Blue Willow Aluminium has filled a growing need in the local market for access to world class powder coating technology, which results in aluminium of an equally high quality.” The pre-treatment process begins with

Xylem Water Solutions now offers South African clients the opportunity to obtain these affordable UV-systems throughout the country. For more information contact Zea Serfontein on tel +27 72 378 2616 or email: prczea@gmail.com.

‘Green’ architectural aluminium powder coating plant a first for sub-Saharan Africa

Schalk Pretorius (right) MD of Blue Willow Aluminium, Shawn Williams (Wet chemical process technology partner), Jean Van der Westhuizen (Technical Director) and Heinrich Primic (Sales Director).

Ultra pure water used in the pre-treatment process.

Nordston’s most advanced powder coating facility.

automatically treated and then re-utilised in the garden irrigation system. “The process is so advanced the recycled water is, in fact, cleaner than municipal water that goes into the pre-treatment plant,” Pretorius said. Aluminium pre-treatment is done in two chemical zones at ambient temperature. The first zone deoxidises the aluminium by

the production of ultra-pure water, used throughout the process to provide a transi- tional medium from one chemical process to the next. All water fed into the system is used in the process, including the reverse osmosis waste stream. Once the water has fulfilled its func- tion through the pre-treatment process, it is

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Chemical Technology • November 2015