According to Statiflo, an engineering company, the water and wastewater treatment sector is progressively adopting ozone as the preferred oxidizing agent to eliminate various “environmental” pollutants that have surfaced in recent times.

Rebecca Gernetzke, the technical sales project manager at Statiflo’s North American branch, Statiflo Corp, has reported a significant surge in orders for the company’s gas dispersion system from treatment plants across the globe. This increase is attributed to the growing preference for ozone in the industry.

Over the past few years, Statiflo has witnessed a 50% rise in sales solely in North America. Additionally, the company has experienced an upsurge in orders from several European nations, including Germany, Spain, and the Czech Republic. As a result, the company’s gas dispersion system (GDS) has now been installed in over 100 locations globally.

According to Rebecca, there has been a substantial surge in demand, particularly from medium-sized treatment plants. Statiflo is currently receiving a higher number of inquiries and orders than ever before. The company’s GDS system is designed to be seamlessly integrated into advanced oxidation processes (AOP), and the advantages of this technique are becoming more evident on a larger scale.

She clarified that water contamination has become increasingly intricate, requiring more resilient treatment processes for water and wastewater. Advanced oxidation process (AOP) is one such process.

A new category of environmental pollutants has surfaced in recent times, which includes trace elements of pharmaceutical substances, such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, painkillers, and even other prescription medicines.

The levels of this kind of contamination in water and wastewater are on the rise. To combat this, plant operators are increasingly turning to oxidizing agents as a means of effectively removing these trace substances.

In the past, chlorine has been the primary choice as an oxidizing agent in water treatment, but there is a growing trend towards using ozone instead.

One of the primary factors contributing to the shift towards ozone is its significantly higher oxidation potential, which is twice that of chlorine. Besides being highly effective, ozone is also viewed as a more environmentally sustainable solution by some. Ozone is deemed a more natural option since it can be produced using atmospheric air, rather than harsh chemicals.

Rebecca described Statiflo’s GDS as a gas-to-liquid mass transfer system that can attain much higher mass transfer efficiencies than traditional bubble diffusers and other gas injection systems.

“Its design includes two static mixers and is tailored to overcome challenges linked with using a single static mixer for water and wastewater treatment applications. Flow fluctuations can result in reduced gas bubble sizes at low flow or very high velocities and pressure drops at high flow,” she stated.

“We are thoroughly familiar with this technology and its ability to address complex issues. Moreover, it is acknowledged as a cost-efficient device because it necessitates minimal maintenance, with a basic centrifugal pump being the only moving component,” she remarked.

The GDS system’s outstanding performance has led to over 100 installations worldwide, and the demand for it is growing rapidly, with much of it coming from North America.

Statiflo, a company headquartered in Macclesfield, Cheshire, is a frontrunner in static mixer and other chemical process equipment design and distribution, including gas dispersion systems.

The company exports to almost 100 countries, catering to various industries such as water and wastewater treatment, oil and gas, petrochemical, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and pulp and paper.