Applications

Promising Opportunites

Frac Flowback and Produced Oilfield Waters are the most promising opportunities on the horizon. As these industries are under tremendous environmental scrutiny and water resources are becoming more difficult to find, emphasis is shifting toward the beneficial reuse of all produced waters in the oilfield. Additional opportunities are associated with the treatment of waters from brackish aquifers that may not be acceptable for industrial or drinking water applications.

The industry focus is on construction of centralized treatment facilities with pipeline connections to areas of concern. Smaller, portable treatment units for on-site servicing of isolated wells will always be required. This is the subject of a separate presentation that is available on request.

Beyond the initial effort in the petroleum industry, E-FLOC® ’s electrolytic technologies can be used to assist existing Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants. All Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) accept wastewater from various industrial and commercial facilities that are connected to their collection drains and sewer lines. All generator facilities must meet specific discharge parameters dictated by the receiving POTW. If discharge limits are not maintained, the generator may be surcharged accordingly. As discharge limits become more stringent and surcharges become more costly, these Manufacturing and Commercial Facilities must maintain adequate pre-treatment systems to bring their effluent discharges into compliance. Municipal wastewater plants also provide a marketing opportunity for E-FLOC® Electro – Oxidation Technologies utilizing new, Reactive Membrane Electrodes. These units may be easily retrofitted into an existing infrastructure as temporary or permanent installation for removal of ammonia, nitrates, BOD / COD and other recalcitrant organics that may cause problems with bio systems. These eAOP Oxidation units also provide an alternative to chlorination systems used for disinfection of wastewater and drinking water. These Oxidation or Reduction Electrodes destroy bacteria, viruses and pathogens as well as oxidize hazardous organic species in a single unit. These eAOP techniques are especially needed in Textile Mills for the removal of surfactants and organic dyes that are difficult to remove. E-FLOC® Technologies have been proven at the Hanes Brands Textile Mill in the Dominican Republic for the recycling of wastewater discharged from the dye houses. E-FLOC® operated a 100 GPM Precipitation / Oxidation System in Bonao, DR returning quality water directly to the dye houses for immediate re-use in the dye jets. The system was operated for approximately eighteen months before being turned over to Hanes.

The electrocoagulation system has immediate applications at Metal Working and Electroplating Facilities, including Aircraft Manufacturing and Maintenance, Ship Building, Tool Works and Automobile Manufacturing. Electroplating by its very nature uses many surfactants and metals in liquid baths for cleaning, plating and rinsing of products. Food / Beverage Canning must remove high levels of metals, Fluoride and water soluble oils resulting from the printing process used on aluminum surfaces. Current practice juggles the pH with lime resulting in considerable sludge for disposal. E-FLOC® ’s EP / EC process greatly reduces treatment cost and reduces sludge volume for disposal.

A huge opportunity exists at Food Processing Facilities due to the regulatory discharge limits placed on them by regulatory agencies. These regulations call for the elimination of wastewater contaminants, including Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Ammonia (NH₃), Nitrates (NO₃) and Total Phosphate (TP), before wastewater can be dumped into public sewage systems. These facilities typically have existing, biological treatment systems that are very sensitive to excursions and upsets which are time consuming and expensive to resolve. In many cases these systems may be retrofitted with E-FLOC® equipment as a temporary or permanent solution to bring the plant back into compliance. Due to POTW’s operating at near capacity with minimal funding available for expansion, there is an urgent need for additional systems such as E – FLOC® to assist in the treatment of these wastes. E-FLOC® can ensure that the myriad businesses in this ubiquitous sector meet the stringent requirements necessary for wastewater discharge or beneficial reuse thereby safeguarding valuable water resources while minimizing expense to the client. Nonetheless, many communities have imposed substantial surcharges on this industry for exceeding their designated discharge limits.

Recent legislation has restricted the discharge of Construction Site Storm Water and there is a substantial need for Portable Treatment Units to remove suspended solids, oil & grease, etc. at these temporary locations. This presents a unique opportunity for E-FLOC® because of the small footprint of the equipment and the ability to treat a variety of contaminates simultaneously without chemicals. Storm Water Treatment Systems (SWTS) are also required for the treatment of water collected within contained areas in refineries, chemical plants, storage terminals, airports, shipyards, ports and railyards.

Groundwater Treatment Systems (GWTS) are required where the surface or subsurface aquifer has been infiltrated with contaminated water. These applications are typically contaminated with hydrocarbon products, dissolved metals and the new, emerging contaminates PFOA / PFOS. E-FLOC® and associates have treated high concentrations of these materials in the field. These “Emerging Contaminates” are currently the topic of extensive R&D being carried out by engineering firms and universities throughout the United States and abroad. E-FLOC® is currently participating in several engineering studies with companies some of the biggest engineering firms in the world, the University of Georgia and many others.