• Introduction
• Technology
• Applications
• Benefits

Chlorine (in form of chlorine solution, chlorine tablet, or from electrolysis of salt water) or chlorine compound such as sodium hypo-chloride are the most common disinfectant used by pool operators in swimming pools, hydrotherapy pools, spas and jacuzzis. Alone, chlorine is a very reactive gas, which is dangerous to humans. It can affect the nose, throat and lungs if inhaled. However, as a compound it is a cheap treatment to be used.

Chlorination results into release of harmful substances include bromodichloromethane, chloroform, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform (collectively called trihalomethanes - THMs). THM is a carcinogenic substance formed when chlorine reacts with bodily protein or organic substances present in the water environment. When chlorine reacts with amonia, chloramines are created which produces the distinctive smell ("chlorine-like" smell) and causes sore eyes, irritation and asthma.

One way of breaking down the chloramines is to shock dose the pool with chlorine. Adding 8 times the usual dose to the pool at once does this.

AquaKLEAR - Electronic Pool Water Conditioner or AquaKLEAR for short is an ideal solution to fix the problem.

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Technology

AquaKLEAR breaks down chloramines using an electric field that is generated in the pipe under the ferrite ring around the pipe. Chloramines are bi-polar molecules, the molecules are formed with bonds that leaves the molecule slightly positive and negatively charged on different ends of the molecule.

As opposite charges attract the chloramines molecule will align to the electric field generated by AquaKLEAR. These forces stretch the molecule. The stretching force is at it's maximum when the molecule is flowing inside the ferrite ring, causing the bonds to break. The free chlorine doesn't break up though. This is because free chlorine is a unipolar molecule with strong molecular bonds. Therefore, the free chlorine is released to become usable free chlorine once more. The remaining parts of chloramines are conductive molecules that are charged by AquaKLEAR and are flocculated to other suspended product as described and illustrated below.

Flocculants such as Alum are used in pools to flocculate solids. This means that small particles clump together forming larger particles. Flocculation makes the filters more effective as it is easier for larger particles to be stopped than it is for tiny ones.

With AquaKLEAR there is no need for flocculants as it is able to produce continues flocculation effect as illustrated. The signal applied to the water by AquaKLEAR is sinusoidal and will charge any suspended particle with a charge according to the state of voltage at the time.

Segments of water are generated inside the ferrite ring that are charged alternatively.

Water molecule as illustrated above is bi-polar, the hydrogen atoms have lost their electrons to the oxygen atom thus becoming positively charged, the oxygen has gained electrons thus becoming negatively charged. All charged suspended particles that are in the range of >1000Å will be surrounded by water molecules as illustrated above. The charge of the suspended particle is reflected out and will attract other particles of the inverse charge. The water molecules as arranged are pure water with a very low conductivity (38 billion ohm/cm at 0° C.), this prevents the inverse charges of the particles from being equalised. Large flock can be thus maintained and removed by ordinary sand filter.

In addition to be a chloramines and THM problem solver, AquaKLEAR itself kills bacteria.

The figure above illustrates the way the water molecules arrange around a negatively charged bacterium. A bacterium that has passed in the AquaKLEAR ferrite ring, will obtain a charge that is negative or positive according to the voltage induced in the water at the time. The illustration above is for a negative charge. If a positive charge is obtained the process is the same, the only difference is that the water molecules will be rotated 180° .

The result of this water molecules arrangement is that, a layer of pure water is surrounding the bacterium. The osmotic force will introduce water into the bacterium producing the osmotic pressure that depends on the concentration of the solute inside the bacterium. This pressure will cause the bacterium membrane to rapture and cause the premature death of the bacteria. Even if the osmotic pressure is not enough to burst the membrane, the dilution of the inside of the cell and the exclusion of all other minerals will disrupt the metabolic processes and cause the premature death of the bacteria.

The performance of AquaKLEAR for bacteria killing was tested by SGS Taiwan in 2004. An extremely high concentration of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) was put into circulation through a pipe with AquaKLEAR mounted. Within an hour, no more bacteria was detected in the solution.

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Applications

AquaKLEAR can be installed in any swimming pools, spas, hydrotherapy pools or jacuzzis to prevent the pool users from being threaten by the harmful substance, chloramines and THM. To maximise the performance of AquaKLEAR, a sand filter is needed and in fact this is a basic component in water circulation system of those facilities.

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Benefits

AquaKLEAR demonstrates its key function as an ideal solution to problem created by chlorination and an additional effect of bacteria killing for certain kind. The benefits that an AquaKLEAR can bring to you is numerous and summarised as below:

- Reduced Chlorine Consumption

- Reduced Water Consumption

Backwashing is done in order to clear the debris from the filter, and dispose of it as waste. By doing this, the pressure is reduced that has built up due to the debris blocking gaps. It lasts for around 5 minutes, but can vary between pools depending on the size of the pool and the filter.

To get rid of the debris that has been trapped by the sand (in a sand filter) the flow of water through the filter is reversed. This lifts and stirs the sand in a bubbling motion at the surface, and releases the debris from the gaps. The dirty water can usually be seen through a glass dome at the top of the filter, or a clear section of pipe from the tank.

With AquaKLEAR fitted the fine suspended particles are flocculated together with large particles and are thus stopped above the sand. The sand is not filled with fine debris and the characteristic increase of pressure will not occur until much later. This can save large quantities of water thus saving the cost of water and chemical cost.

As water used during backwashing is reduced, Energy required to heat up water is reduced accordingly. This energy cost is significant especially in winter time.

- Low Power Comsumption

AquaKLEAR normally consumes less than 20W for its operation. The electricity cost of it is negligible for continuous operation.

- Sparkling Clear Water

Chloramines and tiny suspended particles lower the clarity of water. AquaKLEAR breaks down chloramines and flocculates tiny particules and hence produces a ultra high clarity in the water environment.

- Secondary Disinfection System

AquaKLEAR is tested and proved to kill bacteria which are commonly found in pool water environment.

Ozone, as a very strong oxidising agent, is used as disinfectant. Whe ozone is used in a pool, the concentration of chlorine can then be reduced dramatically in order to minimise the harmful substances resulted from chlorinated water. However the investment cost, recurring cost and maintenance cost for an ozonator and carbon filter are extremely high.

There are installations of AquaKLEAR with the ozonator shut down and the carbon filter by-passed.

- Reduced Maintenace Cost

As the duration of backwashing is shortened and the interval between backwashing is extended, the required labour is also reduced.

Significant reduction in maintenance cost is achieved if ozone is no longer used.

- Ease of Installation

AquaKLEAR is not an intrusive method and installation can be completed within an hour provided that a single phase power socket is available. There is no change in the pipework and the original equipment.

- Minimal Attention Required

AquaKLEAR built on latest low power solid state technology and its typical power consumption is less than 20W. There is no problem of fatigue, wear out, over-heating and fast aging. It is maintenance free and the only attention to it is to make sure the two LEDs on the control unit are lit up.

- Environmental Friendly

Less chemical, energy and water is used with the introduction of AquaKLEAR.

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