WATER & WASTEWATER
Drinking Water Treatment Plants Reduce Turbidity
Calibration Reagent Usage by 80% with Rosemount
Analytical Clarity II Online Turbidimeters.
RESULTS
• $58,200 savings in material and labor over three year
period
• 80% reduction in amount of calibration reagent required
• Reduction in the disposal volume of a hazardous reagent
• Reduced exposure to a suspected carcinogen
APPLICATION
Providing a safe and reliable source of drinking water requires proper
treatment including disinfection and filtration for removal of harmful pathogens. The filtration stage removes microorganisms that are
resistant to disinfection treatment. To meet government requirements on water clarity, an approved turbidity measurement method
must be used, the reading must be reported, and the calibration
requirements are also specified.
The USEPA requires Turbidimeters to be calibrated with a primary
standard at least once every three months using Formazin. Formazin is
not easy to work with and takes time to dilute to usable values.
Formazin is also a suspected carcinogen, is highly toxic and may be
fatal if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin. Therefore,
proper handling and protection should be employed and excess
reagents and wastes should be disposed of in an acceptable manner.
Any reduction in the amount of Formazin required to calibrate Online
Turbidimeters is welcomed by a drinking water treatment plant.
CUSTOMER
Two large drinking water treatment plants located in the Midwest have
a total plant capacity of 150 MGD. Both plants measure and report the
turbidity reading from their filtration stages. Monitoring the filtration
efficiency provides an indication of the need for a backwash cycle and
the measurement needs to be reported per the USEPA.
For more information:
www.EmersonProcess.com/QBR
www.raihome.com
Drinking Water Treatment plants can
realize a significant cost savings and a
reduction in the use of Formazin, a
hazardous material, by over 80%. The
Clarity II online Turbidimeter can also
help significantly reduce the disposal
costs and plant personnel exposure to a
suspected carcinogen.
WATER & WASTEWATER
CHALLENGE
Both plants were using over 80 Online Turbidimeter systems that
require monthly calibration using up to 2,000 mL of Formazin solutions per system. Using a large volume of Formazin during calibration
includes the cost of the Formazin stock, costs of labor, transporting
and handling a large volume of hazardous material, and the disposal
of the spent reagent after calibrating each system.
SOLUTION
Rosemount Analytical Clarity II Online Turbidmeters require less than
400 mL of Formazin during calibration versus 2,000 mL for the competitive product. This is a reduction of at least 80%. With the reduced
volume and labor savings, calibrating the eighty Turbidimeter systems will result in a savings of $58,200 over a three year period or
$19,400 per year for the eighty systems. Not included is the cost savings realized by the reduction in the disposal of suspected hazardous
material and reduced exposure to a hazardous material.
Emerson Process Management
Rosemount Analytical
Liquid Division
2400 Barranca Parkway
Irvine, CA 92606
T 949.757.8500
T 800.854.8257
F 949.474.7250
For more information:
www.EmersonProcess.com/QBR
www.raihome.com
WatQb0905e_DW-Turbidity © Rosemount Analytical Inc. 2005. All rights reserved.