Safer Water Treatment

Electro-deionisation (EDI) and electrolytic ozone generation are now widely used for water treatment since they require no chemicals. However, both of these processes generate hydrogen and, since mixtures of air and hydrogen with a wide range of relative concentrations are explosive, the exhaust gas must either be diluted sufficiently by means of efficient ventilation or must be vented into the open air via an explosion-proof exhaust-gas duct. With the patented catalytic exhaust-gas converter Hydrokat, Christ now offers a safe solution to this problem. The heart of this device is a catalytic combustion element with automatic supply of oxygen and an integrated temperature regulator. The Hydrokat is capable of completely converting hydrogen-oxygen mixtures with any relative concentration in a controlled manner.

The electrolytic ozone generators of the Steritron series which are used, for example in the Loopo compact racks for pharmaceutical distribution systems can be retrofitted easily with the Hydrokat converter. For treatment of the exhaust gases from Osmotron systems, a Hydrokat degassing unit is needed. This has two functions: it separates the gases from the rinsing water of the EDI electrodes and it converts the explosive gas mixture into water vapour in a controlled manner.

The Hydrokat concept offers many advantages over the commonly used ventilation systems. Firstly, the installation location for the water treatment system can now be selected freely without having to worry about special ventilation systems. The lack of moving parts ensures safe and reliable treatment of the explosive gas mixture. Since the Hydrokat is designed as an independent component, it can be installed without intervention in the piping or the controller of the water treatment system. This, in turn, means that it can be retrofitted easily on existing systems. Maintenance of the Hydrokat is restricted to replacement of the catalytic cartridge at regular intervals, which can be done as part of the annual inspection of the ­water treatment system.