Neptune Beson’s electrode technology successful in demonstration testing in California

Neptune Benson has announced that its newly developed electrode technology has been successful during potable water reuse demonstration testing in California.

Neptune Benson collaborated with Carollo Engineers to take part in the nine month VenturaWaterPure project to increase recycled water supply.

The objective of the overall study is to draw attention to the value of potable reuse as a renewable resource that can provide a cost-effective and sustainable source of high quality water.

Designed to work with the ETS-UV system, the Neptune Benson electrode has been to provide advanced oxidation process (AOP) without the use of any chemical additives (hydrogen peroxide or sodium hypochlorite).

The Neptune Benson’s approach to UV-mediated AOP is to integrate an advanced electrode arrangement upstream of the UV lamps into the AOP system.

The electrode comprises an anode and a cathode, and is an efficient method of converting TDS and other mineral salts found in most ground or surface waters into the active chlorine species, and trace amounts of hydroxyl radicals.

While operating in an RO permeate, the Neptune Benson electrode will produce a large stream of hydroxyl radicals, which are consumed by the powerful UV lamps during the AOP process.

"The electrode based AOP system represents a sea of change in AOP technology," said Jon McClean, Chief Technical Officer of ETS-UV.

"End users have been incurring the cost of bulk chemicals, which often deteriorate with time, and the unused chemical requires quenching after the AOP process.

Neptune Benson’s (an Evoqua brand) breakthrough solution provides an AOP system that generates the necessary chemicals in situ, enabling chlorine mediated AOP as well as hydroxyl radical mediated AOP. It is an elegant and exciting breakthrough."

Working together, the anode and cathode generate trace amounts of hydroxide (OH-) and differing ratios of hypochlorite (ClO-)/ hypochlorous acid (HOCl), based on the pH of the water, which are in situ formed immediately upstream of the UV lamps.

These electrodes use a switching power supply to eliminate any hard water deposits attached to them.

This approach has a benefit of not needing the bulk storage of H2O2 on location, nor does it require the addition of quenching agents because of the inherent inefficiency of the conventional H2O2 AOP.