Chemical Technology

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The global team for Wedeco, one of Xylem’s
flagship brands, has developed another
product in their new Aquada UV-range.
The Aquada UV range uses ultra-violet (UV)
technology to eliminate bacteria in drinking
water. These systems have been specifically
developed for residential and commercial
applications and are also available in South
Africa.
Although water delivered to homes and
commercial zones is usually treated with
chlorine or other processes, certain micro-
organisms can survive and make it into
water used for bathing, washing and drink-
ing. While most of these micro-organisms
are harmless, there are quite a few that
are harmful and are capable of causing
severe illness.
UV is by far the most effective way to ren-
der these micro-organisms harmless. While
other home water purification systems im-
prove the taste and clarity of drinking water;
Aquada UV systems employs UV-technology
to eliminate micro-organisms and improve
water safety.
There are several benefits to using the
Aquada UV-technology for homes and busi-
nesses. Apart from the overall water safety
being improved, it is low cost and easy to
install. The Aquada-system is simply con-
nected to the main water supply line and
then provides UV-treated water to all the
water outlets on the premises. There are
also no harmful by-products and the taste
and appearance of the water is not affected
by the UV-treatment. UV-lamps are also easy
to replace and only require replacement
after a full year of use.
Aquada UV-systems are available in three
distinct models – Altima (economy); Proxima
(medium spec) and Maxima (high spec).
Each of these is available in five different
sizes for homes or businesses, depending
on the amount of purified water required.
Xylem Water Solutions now offers South
African clients the opportunity to obtain
these affordable UV-systems throughout
the country.
For more information contact Zea
Serfontein on tel +27 72 378 2616 or
email:
Clean drinking water with Xylem’s Aquada UV Systems
‘Green’ architectural aluminium powder coating plant a first for sub-Saharan Africa
Chemical Technology • November 2015 34
A Cape Town-based company is the first in
sub-Saharan Africa to offer an environmen-
tally friendly method of pre-treating archi-
tectural aluminium prior to powder coating.
Blue Willow Aluminium has built an au-
tomated processing plant in line with Inter-
national Best Practice which is Hexavalent
chromium-free for environmentally friendly
pre-treatment manufacturing. Recognised as
a human carcinogen if inhaled, Hexavalent
chromium is also what infamously contami-
nated groundwater in Hinkley, United States,
leading to a lawsuit with amulti-million dollar
settlement and the movie Erin Brockovich.
“We have built the first plant in sub-
Saharan Africa that fully complies with
international legislation and are proud to
have created a processing plant which in-
cludes the most environmentally advanced
and technically sophisticated chemical
processes for preparation of architectural
aluminium prior to powder-coating,” said
BlueWillow AluminiumGM, Schalk Pretorius
of the Atlantis Industrial plant.
“Our guaranteed quality comes from the
constant reproducible production standards
generated by the automated system. Previ-
ously, local companies had the frustration of
irregular quality with high wastage factors,
and were forced to import and hold substan-
tial stock to counter the inconsistencies of
local alternatives. Blue Willow Aluminium
has filled a growing need in the local market
for access to world class powder coating
technology, which results in aluminium of
an equally high quality.”
The pre-treatment process begins with
the production of ultra-pure water, used
throughout the process to provide a transi-
tional medium from one chemical process
to the next.
All water fed into the system is used in the
process, including the reverse osmosis waste
stream. Once the water has fulfilled its func-
tion through the pre-treatment process, it is
automatically treated and then re-utilised in
the garden irrigation system. “The process is
so advanced the recycled water is, in fact,
cleaner than municipal water that goes into
the pre-treatment plant,” Pretorius said.
Aluminium pre-treatment is done in two
chemical zones at ambient temperature.
The first zone deoxidises the aluminium by
Schalk Pretorius (right) MD of Blue Willow Aluminium, Shawn Williams (Wet chemical process
technology partner), Jean Van der Westhuizen (Technical Director) and Heinrich Primic (Sales
Director).
Ultra pure water used in the pre-treatment
process.
Nordston’s most advanced powder coating
facility.