EcoLime 2300C, Concentrated and Sludge-free pH Booster and pH Neutralizer for Water Wastewater Treatment

Description

Ecolime 2300C, an alternative to lime, is a concentrated pH Booster and pH Neutralizer for water and wastewater treatment. Ecolime 2300C is 100 per cent sludge free and can be the preferred nonpolluting alternative to powder lime in textile dyeing units, leather tanneries, and Effluent Treatment Plants where Lime (including Pharma industries) is used to change the pH of the effluent from Cationic to anionic. For effluents with a pH range of less than 4 (highly acidic).

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

• Physical State : Liquid.
• Appearance : Colourless Liquid.
• pH : 12 to 14
• Vapour Pressure : Nil
• Vapour Density : NA
• Evaporation Rate :NA
• Viscosity : As of Water.
• Boiling point : As of Water.
• Freezing/melting point : NA
• Decomposition Point: NA
• Solubility : Freely soluble in water.
• Specific gravity : 1.2 to 1.4
• Molucular Formula : NA
• Molucular Weight : NA
• Odour : None

The most commonly used chemicals for acid neutralization are Hydrated Lime (CaOH) or 50% Sodium hydroxide. In many cases these are very good choices. However, there are many considerations when selecting chemicals and these may not always be the best choice. An acid must be neutralized with a base, which, by definition, is characterized by an excess of Hydroxide (OH-) ions. The selection of the chemicals used for the neutralization of a base is almost as important as the design of the neutralization system. There are many considerations ranging from health and safety to cost and convenience of operation. Some of the major points to consider in the selection of chemicals are listed below:

1. Health and Safety
2. Cost and Convenience
3. Storage and Location

Health and Safety: Whenever mixing chemicals extreme caution must be exercised. Hazardous or noxious reactions may occur. For example: adding any acid to a cyanide bearing solution will result in the release of deadly HCN gas. Due to the complexity of the myriad of processes that are run in industry, most of which are either proprietary or undefined, Digital Analysis usually cannot comment on suitability of an acid or base selection for the neutralization of a wastewater stream. Although adverse reactions are very rare, the possibility exists and must be considered. The problem is even more complex when neutralising effluent water in a CETP with inflows from multiple industrial units. Sodium hydroxide (Caustic soda) is by nature caustic. It has to be handled with adequate protective gear, failing which, the handlers could suffer severe lesions of the skin.

Cost and Convenience: Most acids and bases will work in most applications. Therefore the determining criteria are usually cost and convenience. For neutralising high alkaline water, Sulfuric acid (H2SO4), for example, can be purchased in concentrations ranging from near 0% up to 98%. If a 55 gallon drum of 50% sulfuric is purchased, obviously half of that purchase cost was for water. Higher concentrations are generally less expensive.

Neutralising a cationic effluent using Caustic soda, though relatively less expensive, drastically increases the TDS of the water and also increases COD beyond the permissible levels for safe discharge. As a result, what is gained in the reagent cost is expended in the treatment cost. Neutralising cationic effluents with powder lime is even more cost effective as Lime is extremely cheap and abundantly available. This makes Lime the most popular pH neutraliser in the Indian market. However, this too sharply increases TDS and COD and also generates a lot of slurry/sludge from the undissolved calcium content. So, sludge separation and disposal becomes an added cost.

Storage Location / Environment: The physical properties of the selected reagent must be considered carefully. 50% Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), for example, begins to solidify at temperatures below 600 F. In most places throughout the country, if not all, the possibility of caustic freezing in tanks or in pipelines is a genuine concern. Decreasing the concentration to 25% eliminates this concern altogether. But then, one ends up paying for 75% water and only 25% of hyrdroxide!!

Powder Lime has a slurry that will rapidly separate from solution and settle creating a sludge mass that may be very difficult to suspend. The storage tank must be constantly agitated and chemical delivery lines must be kept in motion. Typically, recirculation loops are employed with an inline metering valve for chemical delivery.

Ecolime 2300C offers a viable solution to obviate sludge caused by Lime.  Ecolime 2300 C (a proprietary product of Ecoheath Products Pvt. Ltd.) is a highly concentrated liquid alternative to lime and 8 to 10 times more efficient. It is 100 per cent sludge free and can be the preferred non -polluting alternative to powder lime in textile dyeing units, leather tanneries and in Effluent Treatment Plants (including Pharma industries) where hydrated Lime is used to change the pH of the effluent from Cationic to Anionic.

Ecolime 2300 C is a concentrated sludge-less liquid extract from lime that is almost ten times stronger. 1 kg of Ecolime-2300 C can replace 8 to 10 kgs of conventional lime powder. It is a nano-extract of Calcium Hydroxide extracted using our unique, proprietary process. It neutralises without a drastic increase in TDS or COD and minimises sludge generation, resulting in considerable savings in cost, labour and infrastructure for sludge management. This product is non-toxic and, in diluted condition, is of edible grade as is borne out by lab reports.

You may explore range of Organic water and wastewater treatment reagents on the following webpage: Wastewater Treatment and Management