Ion Exchange | Water Watch

Home > Water Watch

POWER BEHIND WATER
Building in Water Assurance
Desalination - A Definite & Infinite Water Source
From Cane to Sugar - Sweet Solutions for the Sugar Industry
Total Water Management in Hotel Industry
Total Water Solutions for Residential Complexes

FOCUS
Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) Projects
Municipal Waste Water - Viable, Dependable Water Resource
Ozone– The Preferred Disinfectant Choice

PRODUCT PULSE
Zero B Sapphire
Zero B Solar
Zero B Intello
Zero B Kitchen Mate
Glycol Purification System
Polymeric Adsorbents
Brine Softening Resin
Indicator Grade Mixed Bed Resins
Catalyst Grade Resin
INDION Lab-Q System

Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) Projects
Infrastructure facilities and public utilities play a very important role in the development of the nation’s economy and social welfare, and were traditionally undertaken exclusively by Government through public sector enterprises. In the recent past, however, the world over, execution of infrastructure projects is being increasingly entrusted to private entities. With the substantial involvement of the private sector in the construction and funding of public infrastructure works, there has also been a paradigm shift to the use of the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) approach as a way to delivering such infrastructure projects. Moreover, the BOT approach is being increasingly extended to projects in the industrial sector, particularly utilities and other non-core areas.
What are BOT projects?
BOT (Build, Own / Operate, Transfer) projects are typically projects in which one entity – which maybe a single organization, or more commonly a consortium or a Special Purpose Vehicle(SPV), of various parties, develops, finances, constructs and operates a particular project. This entity is normally called the concessionaire and the period for which the contract runs is called the concession period.
In small and medium industrial projects (as compared to infrastructure projects) the BOT structure is very simple and just adds structured financing to the overall scope of design engineering construction (EPC) and O&M of projects.
What are the advantages of BOT contracts?
The client/user gets the benefit of utilising the services of specialists in the field to design build and finance the asset and also to operate it over a long term leaving the client/ user to focus on their core business areas.
For example in an industrial scenario, the complete utilities can be financed, designed, built and operated by the concessionaire (BOT company) say for example Ion Exchange. The client could focus on expertise in the core areas of business while Ion Exchange would bring in specialist expertise for building and managing the water management project (water treatment/waste water treatment/ recycling etc) as well as associated utilities.
This would give the BOT company the opportunity to study requirements, suggest and design the best process with the most innovative and tested technologies which will value add to the client’s processes through reduction in operating expenses, smaller environmental footprint etc. The client would get the benefit of having a specialist “in- house” for their utility needs at an assured price for the life of the asset/plant.
This can also be adapted in existing industrial projects where an expansion need can be met with this structure of financing.
Alternatively, a client’s process could be improved by Ion Exchange, as the BOT company, investing in new technologies to modernise the existing facility and then taking on the operation and maintenance of the new completed facility. The savings accrued by virtue of the new investment are shared between the BOT company and the client.
How are these contracts structured?
In a BOT arrangement, the concessionaire organisation/consortium/SPV designs and builds the infrastructure / plant, finances its construction and owns, operates and maintains it over a period (the “concession” period), often for as long as 20 or 30 years. Normally, such projects provide for the infrastructure to be transferred to the client/user at the end of the concession period.
Who are the key players in a BOT project?
The key players in a typical BOT contract would be the main concessionaire. The other key players are the EPC contractor, the O&M contractor and the financial partner.
In some cases (especially in medium sized industrial projects) all the above roles may be carried out by a single company like Ion Exchange. But in large projects especially in the infrastructure area, one company may not be able to provide all the requirements of the contact and hence the coming together of organisations with specific experience in the required areas to form an SPV.
What are the roles of the various parties in a BOT project?
The concessionaire is usually a consortium of interested groups typically including a construction company, an operator and a financing institution. This entity prepares the proposal to construct, operate and finance a particular project. The concessionaire may take a form of a SPV (special purpose vehicle) company.
• Construction contractor
The EPC contractor carries the responsibility of designing and constructing the project and is responsible for meeting the guarantees on various parameters expected from the plant/machinery constructed.
The construction contractor takes the responsibility (and hence the risk) of completing the project on schedule and within budget and ensures that the project delivers results as committed. Any shortfall in these will affect the revenue later and in turn the viability of the project and its repayment.
• O&M Contractor
This contractor is responsible for taking on the O&M of the completed plant that has been constructed and commissioned by the EPC contractor. In large contracts the O&M operator also may have an equity stake in the project.
In smaller contracts the EPC and the O&M contractors may be the same company.
• Financer
This entity takes the lead in funding the project. This can be single organization or in large contracts this is likely to be a syndicate of banks or financial institutions providing the debt funds to the BOT operation.
The funding agency will require a first security over the infrastructure created.
How are the contracts financed and what does the lender look for in deciding financing?
In an infrastructure project (typically large government projects), the lenders to the project look primarily at the earnings of the project as the source from which loan repayments will be made. Their credit assessment is based on the project, not on the credit worthiness of the borrowing entity.
In an industrial scenario when an organisation is funding a plant or an asset, the user industry’s financial strength as well as the bankability of the project will be evaluated.
The security taken by the lenders is largely confined to the project assets. As such, project financing is often referred to as "limited recourse" financing because lenders are given only a limited recourse against the borrower.
What are the agreements that are required in such a contract?
While the concession agreement/BOT contract will be the umbrella document, two crucial agreements which will be apart of this are the offtake agreement and the Operations agreement.
• Offtake Agreement
The offtake agreement is normally the key document in a project of this nature. It is the agreement between the user / purchaser / government agency and the BOT Vendor / concessionaire under which the agency agrees to purchase the output of the project (treated water, services etc.) at agreed prices and volume.
• Operating & Maintenance (O&M) Agreement
The O&M agreement is a long term contract. The main contractual obligation of the Operator is to operate and maintain the Facility for the period of the Operation and Maintenance Agreement.
What are the critical factors in these agreements?
• Performance Standards/KPI
The critical element of the offtake agreement from the buyer’s perspective is the performance warranties to be given by the BOT vendor. The performance warranties normally provide for the quality and quantity of the output from the project as well as the time when the output us required by the agency.
• Revenue Stream/Tariff
The viability of the project and in particular its "bankability" will depend upon the reliability of the cashflow under the offtake agreement, and the buying agency / client and the BOT company performing their respective obligations.
• Tariff Structure
The payment to be made by the user to the BOT company will normally be broken into two heads. One will be the fixed charges or the availability fee. This will be the fee to be paid by the user irrespective of the usage from the project/plant infrastructure created. This will normally cover the fixed charges of capital repayment and manpower which will have to be serviced even when the asset is not used.
The second portion is the variable fee or the usage fee which is linked to the actual production or usage from the asset/plant created.
• Escalation of Tariff
The offtake agreement will also provide for a part of the revenue stream to escalate during the life of the contract. The base tariff is normally indexed to an agreed formula to provide for such escalations which are bound to happen during the life of the contract (which may be anything from 5 to 20 or more years). Further, there will also be provisions made to account for changes in tax structure etc which will have a bearing on the BOT price.

Top

Municipal Waste Water - Viable, Dependable Water Resource

In many parts of the world, water has become a limiting factor particularly for industrial development. Water resources planners are continuously looking for additional sources of water to supplement the inadequate resources available to their region. Source substitution appears to be the most suitable alternative to meet the growing water demand especially for industrial use. Water scarcity, high cost of raw water, growing demand and stricter discharge norms has created an awareness of the benefits of water recycle that has led to its increasing adoption by industry as well as residential and commercial complexes. However this is, in a sense, a particularized or private approach to reuse of water. A water security policy for sustainable development must embrace a much broader, public approach to water recycle as an effective means of creating a new and reliable water supply, and thus an effective water scarcity solution that should form part of sustainable water management.

Fortunately, the emerging trend is to treat municipal waste water for reuse for industrial applications. Currently, in urban and semi-urban areas, municipal waste is partially treated and disposed off. Instead, treating sewage for reuse considerably reduces the pressure on municipal water supply authorities as well as the load on the environment. There are many progressive municipal corporations who have understood this emerging trend and are in process of implementation waste water reclamation. The major influencing factors while considering municipal waste water recycle are legal, technical, economic and political, as well as social and personal prejudices. Recycled water can satisfy most water requirements as long as it is treated to ensure water quality appropriate for the re-use application. Companies like Chennai Petroleum Corporation, GMR Energy and Madras Fertilisers were among the first in India to use treated municipal sewage for industrial use.

Various technological options to treat municipal waste water are available. For small community systems the technologies for low flow include packaged treatment systems, geotextile filtration and membrane filtration. The major benefit of these systems is that the higher quality effluent can be discharged to ground water for indirect use. These systems are generally easy to operate & inexpensive. Apart from small community uses, they can also be used at military camps, large construction sites disaster relief operations etc.. Constructed wetlands with sufficient land area can provide adequate passive treatment. Aerobic & anaerobic conditions of these systems with microorganisms and vegetation & gravel filters provide the majority treatment. Wetland treatment requires minimal skilled labor, gives a natural appearance and consumes very low energy. However only drawback of these systems are requirement of large area.

One of the most efficient technologies is membrane bio-reactor technology. This has been successful and possible due to the greater understanding of the biological treatment so for adopted for municipal sewage treatment and because of advancements in membrane technology especially ultra filtration membranes. The membrane bio-reactor in combination with reverse osmosis (for tertiary treatment) can offer sustainable results. The performance of this membrane based technology has created a very high level of interest among municipal authorities who are now increasingly contemplating the use of treated municipal waste water to augment the water supplies for industrial as well as other non-drinking applications.

Final disinfection is a major challenge as it needs to balance costs and the treatment effectiveness. Pulsed UV light systems are on the forefront of waste water technology for final disinfection because they destroy pathogens more effectively and at higher rate than traditional disinfection & standard UV systems.

Apart from using membrane technologies, processes that treat domestic waste water to a standard that allows them to be used for low end use or for discharge into inland surface sources without damaging them can be adopted. The LUCAS (Lueven University Cyclic Activated Sludge) process, that incorporates all the advantages of the SBR sequential batch reactor (SBR) while eliminating all disadvantages of conventional systems as well as the variable volume SBR systems, are used extensively. This process treats the waste water to a standard higher then the conventional discharge norms along with removal of nitrogen and phosphorus which makes the treated water suitable for discharge to lakes and rivers without hampering the water body. Removal of these nutrients ensures that the health of the receiving water body is preserved.

Recycled water is most commonly used for non-potable purposes, such as agriculture, landscape, public parks and golf course irrigation, toilet flushing, car washing etc.. Other non-potable, high end applications include cooling water and industrial process water. However, the uses of recycled water are expected to expand in order to accommodate the needs of the environment and growing water supply demands. Advances in wastewater treatment technology and health studies of indirect potable reuse may result in planned indirect potable reuse becoming in the not so far future. more common. Such projects would include augmenting surface water reservoirs and recharging ground water aquifers to augment ground water supplies and to provent salt water intrusion into coastal areas.

Apart from helping meet the growing demand for water, recycle of municipal waste water would also yield enormous environmental benefits such as avoiding the discharge of waste water into the surface waters reduces & prevents pollution; and preserving or augmenting ground water resources.

The future outlook for sustainable development and environment protection would be recycle and reuse of municipal waste water. However it requires public participation, better coordination among the various agencies involved, a need for policy and its implementation and application of latest technologies.

Top

Ozone– The Preferred Disinfectant Choice

Ozone is a allotrope of oxygen and is naturally formed in the atmosphere due to action of UV light from the sunrays on oxygen in the air. Ozone is highly unstable and reverts back to oxygen within a very short time.

The use of ozone as a disinfectant is gaining popularity because of its

High oxidation potential
Ease of generation
No formation of disinfection by-products
Ability to improve bio-degradibility of complex waste streams including detoxifying waste.

Environmental friendliness

These advantages make it eminently suitable for disinfection as well as process applications in the industrial, municipal and leisure sectors.

Q. What are the applications of ozone?
Ozone is primarily a strong oxiding agent and can be applied for various disinfection and process applications in industry. Ozone was first used by municipalities to control taste, odour and colour as well as for its germicidal action. Applications of ozone in waste water treatment include the destruction or removal of complex organic molecules, cyanides and phenols from chemical waste, etc. In addition, subjecting municipal waste waters to a final ozone process enables their reuse for applications such as wash-water, irrigation, fire fighting systems or for industrial uses.

Ozone is also used extensively in industry in oxidation processes and for disinfection purposes. Typical examples of its use in industry are for pulp bleaching in the paper & pulp industry, in the chemical industry where ozonolysis is necessary for the production of certain substances, and in cooling tower systems where ozone replaces the less desirable chemical biocides. The main applications of ozone can be broadly categorised as follows

1. Industrial
    • Disinfection of raw water
    • Treatment of industrial waste water
    • Process applications of ozone
2. Municipal
    • Disinfection of drinking water
    • Treatment of sewage/municipal waste
3. Leisure
    • Treatment in swimming pools, spas etc.

Some typical applications of ozone for waste treatment are described below:

Complex organic molecules in order to improve biodegradability

Pharmaceutically Active Compounds (PAC’s) and endocrine disruptors

Colour from dye works’ effluent, paper mills, etc.

Surfactants, detergents from washing centres

Cyanides and phenols from chemical waste

Odour elimination from urban waste water plants or industrial flue gas

Odours from condensates/ wash-waters, which can then be recycled

Q. Why is it beneficial to use ozone and what are the advantages? It is an accepted fact that drinking water is disinfected when a residual of 0.4 mg/l of ozone has been maintained for 4 minutes (Typical CT). However, ozone has many additional benefits in the drinking water process.

Use of ozone in drinking water systems avoids the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) like Trihalomethanes (THMS) and HAA. These by-products are harmful to human beings and regulations in many countries specify these (DBPs). DBPs are highest when conventional disinfectants like chlorine are used.
In waste water applications, ozone specifically breaks down trace contaminants and enhances the biodegradability of organic substances which are then removed in a biological treatment step.
Finally, combined treatments involving ozone and activated carbon or ozone and peroxide are currently the most powerful means available to water process engineers for the removal of contaminants and constitute a vital safeguard against accidental contamination.
Viruses like cryptosporadium which are not destroyed by conventional disinfectants like chlorine compounds and which are harmful in drinking water system are effectively destroyed by the use of ozone.

Q. How is ozone produced?
Ozone is produced on a commercial scale by means of silent electrical discharge - the result of a high voltage alternating field acting between two electrodes separated by a dielectric and a narrow gap. The feed gas, usually air or oxygen, flows through the narrow gap across which the discharge occurs. The ozone generator’s electrodes are two concentric tubes, an outer tube made of stainless steel and an inner electrode formed by a layer of metal on the inside of a dielectric.

Various innovations in ozone generation have been introduced, by leaders in this field like Ozonia of Switzerland.
Ultra violet light is used to generate ozone typically in leisure applications like swimming pools and spas. The UV based ozone generators do not produce harmful by-products and there is also normaly no need for expensive off-gas mechanisms.

Q. How is ozone used/applied?
Since ozone gas cannot be stored or transported, generation of ozone is done on site. The ozone generated is then fed to the water/waste water to be treated by various means including contact columns, diffuser mechanisms etc. Due to the extremely high oxidation potential of ozone, contact times can be very short.
While dosage rates for drinking water/leisure applications are normally standard, waste water applications will need piloting in the lab and on the field to determine treatment capacity.

Q: What are safety precautions and regulations for ozone?
While ozone systems are built with sufficient safety, it is essential to ensure that excess ozone is destroyed before venting to the atmosphere. With inbuilt safety in the design of ozone generation system, the units are extremely safe to operate as well as being environment friendly.
Its essential however to choose a supplier with adequate knowledge and experience in the area of ozone generation and who can achieve the best overall conditions (prices, delivery and safety) for all types of pilot or industrial plants.

Top

Zero B Sapphire

The elegant Zero B Sapphire – with a seven stage purification process assures pure and natural tasting water, with removal of total bacteria and viruses, pesticides, harmful salts and chemicals.

India’s only Heptapure Technology that ensures the water is safe from lead, pesticides, bacteria and other harmful toxins
7-stage purification process
Unique 3-stage pre-filter
Low pressure/low fouling membrane with salt rejection up to 90-95%
Over-voltage & over-current protection
Online water storage with tank capacity of 6 litres.

Top

Zero B Solar

The first six-stage purifier with solar intelligence, Zero B Solar is a non-electric, storage-cum-online wall mounted purifier which provides pure and energized water while also removing heavy metal contaminants.

Non-electric 6-stage purification process with solar intelligence
Inbuilt metal removal mechanism removes heavy metals like lead and aluminium from the water
Storage-cum-online point-of-use lets you take out water through taps as and when needed
A red blinker light gets activated when the life of the purifying cartridge gets exhausted
The solar cell charges the working lithium cell whenever sunlight or indoor lights are on. This ensures that the power is available at all times for the indicator
The multistage pre-filter has an easy cleaning arrangement along with activated carbon filters

Top

Zero B Intello

Our Home Water Systems division llaunched ZeroB Intello, a water purifier “that talks to you”, with an interactive backlit display panel. The features of this RO based purifier include -

Intello Monitoring System displays accurate total dissolved solids (TDS), flow rate, alarm for water quality and cartridge life
Electronic System Santizer guarantees purification by sanitising the system completely at regular intervals
Double safety purifier (resin carbon cartridge)
Low pressure/low fouling membrane
Dry run protection pump avoids unnecessary wastage of power
Automatic tank level control (non-wired) ensures pump cut-off whenever the tank fills up
Autoflush timer periodically flushes the membrane to remove the salt deposited and therefore enhances the life of the membrane
Hydropneumatic tank acts as a pressure storage tank with 8 litres capacity
Over-voltage and over-current protection power supply cuts off whenever there is an over-voltage and over-current more than specified level.

Top

Zero B Kitchen Mate

Another launch from Home Water Solutions is the Zero B Kitchen Mate RO water purifier – a perfect choice particularly for kitchens where space is a problem, as it can be placed below the counter.

Six-stage reverse osmosis (RO) water purifier
Does not occupy extra space in the kitchen
Removes bacteria, viruses, extra salts, pesticides, harmful chemicals, heavy metals from water
Low pressure/low fouling membrane
Dry run protection pump avoids unnecessary wastage of power
Fully automatic operation
Meets USEPA drinking water standard

Top

Polymeric Adsorbents

Working on the Vander Waats forces principle, polymeric adsorbents INDION PA 500 & INDION PA 800 are capable of removing non-polar substances from polar streams. They are extremely effective in replacing activated carbon, and thus successfully address the carbon disposal issues faced by industry. Moreover, the surface of the adsorbents can be reactivated for repeated use, offering a distinct cost and environmental benefit.

These polymeric adsorbents have been well received by process industries as well as the bio-technology and pharma industries for applications such as removal of phenol from hydrochloric acid, removal of polyphenol and chlorophyll from herbal extracts and removal of non-polar impurities from fermentation broth.

Top

Brine Softening Resin

INDION BSR was developed to address the problem of membrane fouling in the chlor alkali industry. The membranes used in the membrane cell based manufacturing process in the chlor alkali industry are very expensive but highly susceptible to fouling by the Ca and Mg present in the brine. By reducing the Ca & Mg in the brine to acceptable limits, INDION BSR effectively eliminates the problem of membrane fouling, and has been found a very effective solution by many manufacturers.

Top

Indicator Grade Mixed Bed Resins

This indicating variant which makes the resin change colour on exhaustion, has been introduced to increase user friendliness of mixed bed resins. This range of mixed bed resins with colour change indicators is targeted at the medium and light industries, where elaborate testing laboratory set ups are not needed or not available.

Top

Catalyst Grade Resin

The applications for INDION 190 catalyst grade resin have been expanded to the bio-diesel manufacturing process where it has proved to be very successful in the esterification of free fatty acids. It had been earlier used effectively as a catalyst in the alkylation of phenols, camphor manufacturing as well as other esterification processes. This product eliminates the need to use sulphuric acid thereby reducing the many related hassles of handling and disposal.

Top

INDION Lab-Q System

Purified water is an essential resource in all laboratory environment from university research, clinical labs, to bio-pharmaceutical research and pharmaceutical laboratories.

INDION Lab-Q is a compact and convenient laboratory-grade, high purity water (ASTM Type III) system that is an economical alternative for bottled distilled water. It features all the technologies of RO systems with the added benefit of an integral auto sanitisation feature that delivers better than double-distilled quality water from a potable water source. The UV cartridges, in-built sanitisation and microprocessor controls ensure that purity standards are maintained.

Feed for type I water
Media and chemicals preparation
Rinsing of highly sensitive glassware
Instrumental analysis

Top