Laguna Beach, CA employs a reservoir management system (RMS) holding 30+ million gallons of 100% imported, clean, chloraminated water for potable distribution and emergency firefighting efforts. It’s quite inspiring to learn about the amazing water conservation efforts at utilities like Laguna Beach County Water District (LBCWD).

This wasn’t a happy story. At least at the beginning… They had a Legionella outbreak that their previous water treatment solution didn’t eliminate.

You can read the full story here, but with MIOX they were able to:

• Eliminate 100% of Legionella within 3 weeks
• Lower their oxidant dosage
• Remove hazardous chemical drums from inside the hospital
• Reduce water and energy footprint

Click here for the full story.

Disinfection is a critical aspect of cooling tower water treatment for operational reasons like eliminating biofilm to maximize heat transfer efficiency and minimize microbial-induced corrosion.

We all know that cooling waters containing high levels of ammonia, which increases the complexity of the disinfection process, are commonly found in the ammonia production industry.

But here’s the thing…

Ammonia in cooling towers is commonly assumed to interfere with hypochlorite-based disinfection programs, which are in-turn expected to be insufficient alone to control microbial populations and require additives such as bromide or non-oxidizing biocides to provide sufficient disinfection.

However…

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that disinfection of ammonia containing waters with on-site generated Mixed Oxidant Solution (MOS) can effectively control microbial populations in these waters without additives. MOS is an industry-proven disinfection technology which is produced on-site through the electrolysis of sodium chloride (salt) brines, providing cost-savings, improved disinfection efficacy, and increased worker safety.

Recently, a large ammonia production facility converted their cooling tower disinfection program from a chlorine gas/bromide combination to treatment with MOS only.

And we have a side-by-side comparison of these two disinfection programs at the same facility to show the real difference.  

Read More from Andrew K. Boal, Ph.D…..

On-Site Generation: A Safe Replacement for Chlorine Gas in Water Disinfection Applications in Ammonia Production Facilities

Abstract Text: Disinfection is a critical component of industrial water treatment programs, and is especially the case in waters used in cooling towers. Cooling water that has not been properly disinfected can result in the growth of biofilms, which can damage equipment and allow for the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria which can result in increased human health risks. Chlorine gas is commonly used as the primary oxidative biocide in large scale industrial cooling water treatment programs, including many ammonia production facilities. While chlorine gas is inexpensive, facility managers are moving away from chlorine gas due to the hazards that this chemical presents not only to the work force, but also to surrounding communities. While there are several options for chemicals that can replace chlorine gas, On-Site Generated (OSG) systems are an ideal choice to deliver an oxidant for disinfection applications using the safest means possible. OSG processes work through the electrolysis of sodium chloride brines to produce sodium hypochlorite based oxidant solutions with active chlorine concentration of less than 0.8% and at a mild pH. These solutions are much less hazardous than bulk delivered oxidants, which are typically provided in concentrations of 10-15% with solution pH values of over 11. This presentation will provide an overview of OSG processes and systems and will describe in detail the replacement of chlorine gas with OSG systems for cooling water disinfection at a major ammonia production facility.

This customer wanted a safe, sustainable and “chemical free” biocide for their cooling towers and closed loop, and so they decided to try our MIOX Mixed Oxidant Solution (MOS) in a phased test.

After the test was rolled out and the systems were in place, it was discovered that more biocide had been used than previously documented at this location. As a result, the MIOX system was not the proper size to handle the necessary volume, so there was concern that it wouldn’t be able to achieve optimal operation.

The results?

The client replaced their proprietary biocides (stabilized bromine and glutaraldehyde) and got greater microbial control, despite the undersized MIOX system in the test phase.

How is that possible?

Read the full case study here.

MIOX electrochemical generators, or On-Site Generator (OSG), combine salt, water and power to generate your water disinfection on site and on demand.

The electrolytic cell, where the oxidants are produced, is central to the OSG process. Electrolytic cells consist of two electrodes, the anode and cathode. The cells are arranged so both electrodes make contact with the water and brine solution mixture. When the OSG is activated, an electrical current flows through the cell, causing chemical reactions on the surfaces of both electrodes that eventually produce the disinfectant.

MIOX electrolytic cells are developed with a proprietary geometrical design, electrolytic scheme, and solution flow characteristics. This proprietary knowledge is what allows MIOX to lead the hypochlorite market in terms of efficacy, stability, ease of use, safety and, in most cases, cost.

MIOX works in partnership with your site and current water treatment professional. We offer flexible procurement options ranging from capital sale, lease and rentals.

Read our Tech Brief: Electrochemical Generated Disinfectants by Dr. Andrew Boal for the full chemical reaction, technical explanation and applications breakdown. Click here to access. the PDF online.

MIOX’s Mixed Oxidant Solution is different from other forms of chlorine and biocides.

We put together a technical briefing that showcases the chemical and microbiological analyses differences between MIOX’s Mixed Oxidant Solution (MOS) to other biocides and forms of aqueous chlorine.

As a leader in on-site generation (OSG) innovation, MIOX learned early on that the electrolytic cell inputs and operational parameters could be tuned to produce aqueous chlorine solutions with substantially different oxidation and disinfection properties.

These observations, coupled with extensive engineering and microbiological research, allowed MIOX to develop a unique OSG product line capable of producing highly reliable MOS.

Click here to read the full tech brief.
Technical Brief: Electrochemical Generated Disinfectants