JUNE 2014 WET NEWS 19
An alternative approach to
enhancing capacity and ensuring
compliance during treatment plant
upgrades.
A solution:
Time to
think zinc
A
n effective solution that of-
fers better economical and
environmental credentials
is KalGuard, which conditions
water by delivering a very low
level of stable zinc into it, via an
electrolytic process that uses a
zinc anode and a copper cathode.
The zinc holds much of the
naturally occurring calcium car-
bonate in solution, minimising
the formation of crystals, and
forces any naturally occurring
calcium carbonate crystals that
do precipitate to form as so•
non-deposit-forming Aragonite
rather than into hard, deposit-
forming Calcite, helping pipe-
work stay limescale free.
Independent tests carried
out at Cranfield University have
proven the product's ability to
drastically reduce limescale.
Furthermore, it is successfully
deployed in thousands of com-
mercial operations throughout
the country, including many
major hotel and restaurant
chains.
A significant cost benefit of
KalGuard is that it can be
installed on a rising main before
the water storage tanks and
booster sets (since the treatment
does not decay on standing or
agitation), so limescale control
can be provided wherever the
water is delivered, and both hot
and cold flows can be treated by
a single unit. Also, it is WRAS-
approved, and no separate
drinking water supply is
required.
Expenditure
This ability to be installed on
the incoming riser additionally
enables capital expenditure
reduction when compared to
installing the technology on a
larger distribution pipe – a not
insignificant cost saving. For
example, if a location has a
108mm distribution pipe size
and a 54mm rising main appli-
cation feeding a water tank,
these savings will be around
65% compared to a standard
installation. The ROI for the
product is typically less than 12
months.
A salt-based regenerating
water so•ener requires regular
expenditure on salt and the
water used in regeneration,
which on a 42mm water system
could represent a cost of more
than £4,200 per year.
Neither salt nor water are
required with KalGuard. Environ-
mental concerns are eased too,
since water is no longer wasted,
and the carbon footprint of salt
can be as large as one tonne of
carbon dioxide for every four
tonnes of salt used.
Notable features that make
for an easy and fast installation
process – it can be installed in
one day – include an intuitive
user interface, organic LED dis-
play, a dedicated terminal access
bay, convenient wall fixing
points, a wall mounting template
and tamper proof screws.
Day-to-day maintenance
requirements are also signifi-
cantly lower than for salt-based
water so•eners, indeed they are
negligible, since there is no need
for regular water testing, moving
bags of salt (which may also be a
Health & Safety issue), or resin
replacement.
In contrast, KalGuard's filter
simply needs to be flushed twice
a year, while the zinc anode has
a lifespan of around eight to ten
years, a•er which time the usea-
ble zinc may be depleted, and
the anode may need to be
replaced to continue optimum
functionality.
n Ian Barnes is head of Sentinel
Commercial.
www.sentinelprotects.com
Zinc anode based driven
electrolytic technology
changes deposit-forming
calcite into non deposit-
forming aragonite
