SUMMARY

Electricity and the related energy, magnetism, have been used to treat and condition water since the late 1800’s. Significant improvements have been made in the technology periodically over the last century. Current knowledge in the art indicates that the Joule EP5™ system makes another significant advance in this technology. More than 20 years of testing, development and implementation show a remarkably adaptable technology that can be appropriate for processing and treating wastewater as well as water supplies. Using the Joule EP5™ togther with traditional separation technologies, the consumption of chemicals and energy for water treatment can be significantly reduced. In addition, the area dedicated to water treatment (plant footprint) for the Joule EP5™ is smaller than for traditional technologies. Often, the treated water is clean enough for reuse in the facility further reducing the cost of treatment associated with surface water supplies (rivers or lakes).

TERMINOLOGY

Electrocoagulation, Electroflocculation, and Electropurification are terms used to describe the utilization of electrical and magnetic energy to cause the release of contaminants from an aqueous medium. This is differentiated from Electrophoresis or Electrowinning where materials are caused to migrate and concentrate at or near an electrode in response to an electric field. Pathogen reduction is used to describe a treatment process that eliminates disease organisms (pathogens) from water. These may be bacteria, fungi, various worms, larvae or eggs and viruses.

HISTORY OF ELECTRICAL WATER TREATMENT

People have been endeavoring since the beginning of the 20th Century to treat or process water and aqueous solutions using electricity. Early patents such as the Dieterich patent, 1906 describe an array of systems and electrode designs. The treatment of water with electricity is known as electrocoagulation or electroflocculation and has seen periods of popularity in the 1920’s, 1960’s 1980’s and today. Each subsequent iteration of the technology has provided improvements in reliability, capacity and applicability. Each series of new devices increased the quality of water product and broadened the range of contaminants that responded to the use of electrical energy.

From the initial designs to the electrocoagulation systems in use today, the electrical treatment of water has been based on the ionization of the electrodes into charged soluble metal species which attract and hold components in the water matrix. In these systems (Andco, CURE, etc) the electrodes are sacrificial and corrode at an alarming rate. Treatment is based on purely the chemistry of the charged metal ions. The additional benefits of the total energy from the electric field are largely ignored.

A second popular genre of the electrocoagulation technology is the use of high potential across the treatment cell. Modern versions of this school use large capacitors and high frequency discharges or “shocks” across the treatment cell. The applicability of this type of electrical treatment of water is limited to the release of suspended and colloidal materials. In these applications, the treatment is a result of the energy imparted by a strong electric field and no benefits are derived from the flow of electrons through the solution.

The most well known and widely practiced electrical treatment of water is known as electrowinning. In this process, metals are plated from the water onto specialty electrodes. The process is metal specific so one electrode and power unit is required for each metal removed from the water. Generally, this technology is used in ore processing and mining waters and usually only for precious metals. Electroplaters use this technology to reclaim valuable materials from plating wastewater.

Variations of electrowinning have been attempted in which the electrodes attract certain components of the water in the treatment unit that can be affected by the electrostatic charge. The components collect on the anodes and cathodes based on their charges. Periodically, the current and flow are reversed releasing the components from the electrodes. The concentrated wastewater is collected for further treatment. This is a type of electrophoresis or precipitation much like that used to clean particulates from air. While the system enriches the wastewater, additional treatment is required.

Electrocoagulation and electroflocculation have been used by many industries over the last century, principally mining, metal finishing and fabrication. Energy companies developed high flow systems to treat the wastewater from coal slurry pipelines (Westinghouse, General Electric). Metal finishing industries have used both flow through and batch systems for several decades (Kaselco, Clean Water, etc.) Enviro-Chem (Monsanto) embellished the Russian membrane EC technology that separates the Anolyte (flow from anode) and Catholyte (flow from cathode) with a porous ceramic membrane. Controlling the composition of the influents and the electrical currents allows the production of “activated” water that can be used to sterilize or treat wastewaters. The Germans were first to note the ability of electrically processed water to carry energy and provide treatment after leaving an electrocoagulation cell. Monsanto has not made significant marketing efforts to expand the electrical treatment in favor of its market share in the multi-billion dollar water treatment chemicals industry (Nalco, Cytec, Rohm & Haas, Rhone Poulenc, Akzo Nobel, etc.)

Electrical treatment of water has been practiced in several countries for many years. Eastern Europe, Germany and Argentina are notable for the use of electrical energy for various purposes in water treatment. Electroflocculation is often used for removal of suspended solids from surface water supplies prior to chemical treatment to produce drinking water. On occasion, an induced current is used to remove microbes as a final step in drinking water distribution. Electroflocculation is not widely used as the primary treatment for either drinking water or wastewater.

One component of electrical energy that has been used since the late 1800’s is magnetism. Many boilers operate with electromagnets on the condensate return or feed water lines. The energy is critical to the prevention of scaling from calcium and magnesium in the feed water. A simple magnetic field around the pipe will significantly reduce scaling by controlling the speciation of these atoms as the precipitate from the water.

Today, electrical treatment of water and wastewater is again popular. Many companies are scrambling to produce a “me-to” electrical gadget or device that they can add to their product lines. An example is the electrically enhanced resin bed now offered by purification companies. Two simple electrodes are placed in the resin bed. Their primary function is to expedite the regeneration of the resins that absorb through ion exchange. The electrodes provide a type of electrophoresis that helps extract the contaminants from the resin to rejuvenate the material.

Electrocoagulation and electroflocculation are now part of water and wastewater text books used at the college level. (Eckenfelder, W. W. and Cecil, L.K., “Applications of New Concepts of Physical-Chemical Wastewater Treatment” Pergammon Press Inc.) As a technology with a long history and a well known capability, electrocoagulation has not been in the mainstream of water treatment. The high cost of replacing electrodes, the difficulties with production of reliable, steady state power and the general misunderstanding of electrical treatment have hindered its acceptance. In addition a number of unscrupulous companies proliferated in the late 1990’s promising miraculous treatments and not delivering quality equipment. The technology appears to be very simple and it is easy to effect treatment on bench scale or batch systems. Treatment with electricity is complex and many variables need to be addressed and accounted for to produce a successful full scale treatment unit.

In the following pages, the unique Joule EP5™ technology will be described. This advanced system incorporates the Joule EP5™ patented technique with all of the physical, chemical and electrical concepts practiced by a broad array of electrocoagulation companies. The Joule EP5™ utilizes the trans-channel reaction cell to maximize the generation of electromagnetic fields in addition to the flow of electrons to effect advanced water treatment. This patented technology is a major step forward in the field and provides the broadest applicability for the reduction in the concentration of organic, inorganic, gaseous and biological contaminants found not only in wastewater but in water supplies as well.