Dissolved Air Flotation

Why Dissolved Air Flotation Works

The problem of suspended solids in wastewater whether a by product of food processing such as proteins and oils, or mechanical processes where metals such as arsenic and other metals are suspended in water, and the resolution of that problem arise from the same science- and it isn’t always well explained in the best of reference materials.

Here it is: the smaller the particles, the greater the surface area, and therefore- the greater the amount of electro-chemical charge inherent to the particles is present.

Dissolved air by itself isn’t much to crow about. It rises to the top of any water it’s injected into, and escapes.

The basis of the problem, as I said and the cure, dissolved air flotation, both center on this basic physical fact.

Let’s say you have a cube that is 1 foot on each side. That’s 6 sq ft. of surface area, right? Now cut the cube in half. How much surface do you have? You retain the former area and add two more square feet. That’s 8.

Cut each piece in half again and you have 10.67, each piece contributing 1/3 x its original surface area. You grow the surface area by a substantial fraction each time you divide the original. We have a long way to go here because this can go on and on right down to the molecular level, in theory.

You turn a few sq. ft. of surface area into potentially millions when the division gets to the microscopic or molecular level.

If those billions of individual pieces have an electric charge, let’s say a positive charge, you’ve got problems because the particles now have enough charge and small enough mass that they all repel each other- Voila! suspended and unwanted particles in water. They may settle- in days, weeks, months, years… virtually never. You just may want to return the water a little cleaner than you just made it processing food or textiles, so what now?

Dissolved air, as mentioned, won’t help you alone- but you can give it its own charge too. Trace chemicals, usually based on aluminum, usually in parts per million, can be introduced to your water. Seems like more of a mess, doesn’t it?

The chemicals create their own charge and the particles now have something to which they can bond or attach electrically speaking. If you’ve got positive charges on each waste particle, you introduce negative charges on the newly introduced aluminum. A particle of aluminum may attract many waste particles and form a clump. Now we’ve got suspended clumps.

One more introduction of something in very tiny particles with a lot of surface area- and an opposite charge. Air. Not just air bubbles, but microscopic ones with an attitude (a charge) Now we’ve got action. The water is white with these very microscopic bubbles. They have little mass and buoyancy, so they’re not in a dead run for the surface. They collect plenty of your particle/aluminum clusters on their way to the top with millions of units of opposite charged surfaces. All the clusters- original waste solids, clumped in microscopic size bits around flocculant aluminum or other introduced medium, and billions of tiny air bubbles that collect around these larger particles (the air bubbles are extremely small). All rises to the top in a nice sludge the consistency of cooked oatmeal. Skim it off and you have clear water that is clean enough to send back to town without the taxi fare of pollution credits.

This operation is known as dissolved air flotation and it’s relatively cheap compared to systems that use membranes to squeeze water through under high pressure. The equipment that does this is called a DAF so that the acronym becomes a noun. A DAF uses varied techniques and DAF pumps to achieve the right balance of chemicals, charges and volume to clean the water for each application. Formulas are generally used and adjusted while the waste water flow is analyzed and the balance of flocculant and air are tweaked. The biggest expense of the operation tends to be the DAF pumps, followed by chemicals to use as flocculant. The cost of chemicals is ongoing, but when a DAF pump must be replaced, it can far outweigh what was spent on chemicals. The Keystec Air-Whip DAF pump reduces this replacement cost to a fraction because it’s both cheaper to manufacture and buy and lasts far longer than the 6 or 12 month life expectancy of most competitors.

DAF Pumps | Air-Whip Pump Out of the Ordinary

DAF Pumps

Dissolved air flotation, the process of injecting microscopic bubbles into an influent to create a flocculant, which is skimmed away. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It is a simple enough concept. You create small enough parts so that things can be handled on a electro-chemical level. Charges attract suspended particles whose charges are keeping them apart. Microscopic air bubbles, correctly produced, along with the right chemical agents collect all the garbage in wastewater and float it to the top- each particle surrounded by microscopic bubbles that carry each particle away. Mind you, this isn’t the large bubbles produced by some equipment that produces something like chocolate mousse. This is ultra fine microscopic bubbles that do more than just produce a coagulant. Your end result is flocculant, a more solid and “load bearing” composition of very small bubbles. Your end product is much higher in waste content, leaving nearly pure clear water.

The savings can be enormous.

Treated water is much cheaper to send to a municipality than buying pollution credits.

Are you using Hellbender DAF pumps or Edur DAF pumps or another brand that costs thousands of dollars, but wears out in short order under industrial loads? Who wants to spend $25,000 every six months on replacement DAF pumps?

Enter the Air-whip DAF pump. It’s simple- our pumps last years. Some of our first pumps, installed several years ago are still operating at full capacity today,

Our technology produces the needed micron size bubbles with a specially engineered design that uses a modified standard style pump with much higher durability. One of our pumps actually had a work shirt introduced in the influent and is still running strong after the “experience”.

Inquire now about the Air-Whip DAF pump 888-216-1231. or email dave@dissolvedair.com

DAF Problem? Easy Solution

A DAF problem that drives an operator to start seeking a solution can usually be sourced to one of two causes: chemical or mechanical.

Chemical if a problem arises with proper flocculation or coagulation then an adjustment in chemical dosing is determined which resolves the core problem. In some dynamic environments, chemical dosing requires constant monitoring and adjustment.

Mechanical There are relatively few mechanical components in a typical DAF. The introduction of air in proper quantities creates many of the challenges found in dissolved air flotation applications including:

• Short pump life
• High Cost
• Complexity
• Intolerance of Entrained Solids
• Difficult or Impossible Maintenance

Air-Whip DAF Pump Impeller

The science and innovation behind the Air-Whip pump addresses all of these issues and does so with lower initial cost. The price of the Air-Whip DAF pump is fractional compared to typical DAF pumps on the open market.

The Air-Whip pump is engineered to tolerate both air and entrained solids. One of the pumps actually “ingested” a shirt that was accidentally introduced into the influent and continues to operate today. The Air-Whip pump has a very long life expectancy measured in years rather than weeks and months- typical lifespans of traditional pumps. The reliability and performance of the Air-Whip DAF pump provides both flexibility in operation modes and greatly reduced maintenance costs.

Some of our pumps have been in operation since they were first installed five years ago.

Call for new or replacement Air-Whip DAF pumps for your application and water treatment success.

Call Dave Keys at 714-924-4422. The Air-Whip DAF pump price is a low cost alternative to what you have been finding on the market.

An elegant design delivered inexpensively, the KeysTec Air-Whip DAF pump.

The KeysTec Air-Whip DAF Pump

Dissolved Air Flotation | DAF Pumps

Not By Flocculant Alone – How Dissolved Air Solves A Paper Recycling Problem

Inquire about the Keystec pump: Call Dave Keys at 714-924-4422.

My Brother Dan and I went to visit a paper company a couple of weeks ago, here in the Los Angeles area. In East LA and Commerce there are miles and miles of industries that run various processes and you can imagine that recycling wastewater is of premium concern both for the savings of water, and the cost of disposing of waste materials.

Problem Solved with DAF Airwhip Technology

Enter the paper company. They had done some online research and called on Keystec to solve the problem that had arisen from trying to solve another problem.

The paper company produces recycled, post-consumer content cardboard, the sort that is used to package up your typical products from dry pasta to cardboard bases for shrink-wrapped goods. In an effort to recover more of the ink, clay, ash and debris from the water used in the paper making process, they had made adjustments to a chemical flocculant in the water. This seemed to work great- lots of material was floating to the surface in the processing tanks, but before very long at all, the operators realized that the flocculant was the consistency of chocolate mousse and there was lots of it. So much that it spilled over the collection tanks and processing byproduct ran onto the basement and everywhere.

It left lots of clay in the tanks too. A big mess.

We arrived on a Tuesday morning and met with the folks there and had a look at the so called DAF they were operating. It was using an old style cavitation pump, sucking air into the pump and spinning it out via centrifugal force, producing some fairly large sized bubbles. In essence, instead of creating a flocculant, they were creating big bubbles with coagulant clinging to it.

Oops! We’ve got it a little backwards here. True dissolved air flotation creates microscopic bubbles and they collect around relatively large flocculant particles and float them to the surface where the flocculant has the consistency of oatmeal, not chocolate mousse! They needed the proper three stage process of coagulation, flocculation and dissolved air flotation. Their pump wasn’t going to do the job with the single flocculation turned coagulation stage they were using, neither would it do much with a better flocculation with a two stage process because the bubbles were like beach balls compared to what’s needed for dissolved air flotation.

We recommended the Keystec Airwhip pump for its perfect application to this problem and its longevity compared to standard DAF pumps.

Soon this company will be returning much of this paper by-product back to the new product and returning clear water to their system.

Result? Savings from reduced downtime, savings from reduced sewage fees and savings from reduced disposal of paper byproducts that should be re-integrated with new product.

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New and used recycling equipment

Orange County SEO

Non-Clogging DAF Aeration Pumps – Low Cost – Efficient – Long Lasting

The KT-M Series Air-Whip Pump is the industry’s solution for:

• Short pump life
• High Cost
• Complexity
• Intolerance of Entrained Solids
• Difficult or Impossible Maintenance

The

KT-M Series Air-Whip Pump

provides:

• Lower Initial Cost
• Lower Maintenance Cost
• Simplicity
• Easily Passes Entrained Solids
• Flexibility in Operation Modes
• Very Long Life Expectancy

Get the longest lasting and most efficient, low operational cost

DAF Pumps

Recycling and Srap Processing Machinery and Equipment

In over 52 countries Alan Ross Machinery Corporation supplies the world’s scrap processors, recyclers and waste handlers with the machinery needed to compete and win.

Scrap Processing sales and appraisals at Alan Ross Machinery, your one-stop source to buy or used and new recycling equipment, balers, shredders, scrap processing equipment, magnets and more.
Scrap Processing sales and appraisals at Alan Ross Machinery, your one-stop source to buy or used and new recycling equipment, balers, shredders, scrap processing equipment, magnets and more.

They also have North America’s largest combined inventory of used and new recycling equipment and scrap processing machinery. Do you have used equipment or machinery for sale? Contact or visit: Alan Ross Machinery

Alan Ross Machinery is your best source for new and used recycling equipment, shredders, scrap processing machinery and magnets.

Scrap Processing

Alan Ross Machinery is your source for the sale and purchase of both new and used scrap processing equipment and machinery. Scrap processing equipment valuation available. Just call or visit for the best choice of recycling machinery, scrappers, shredders and more. Buy and sell scrap processing equipment with Alan Ross Machinery.

Rent A DAF Now

DAF (dissolved air flotation) wastewater treatment units in varied sizes and designs are now available for rent. In addition to providing effective solid separation for wastewater treatment, these DAF rental units have a modular, space-saving design, stainless steel construction, and low maintenance needs. Since the rental units are in sizes up to several thousand GPM, you can run full capacity tests before choosing to buy a permanent DAF solution. You can visit or call any time for information on DAF Rental equipment.

Dissolved Air Flotation Equipment Rental

PTEC Serve is ready to meet all your DAF purchase and rental needs. Contact them to day for the right wastewater treatment options for your needs.

Ready For Hurricane Season? Call Dan Keys

Ready for hurricane season? Of course, we’re not but it’s coming with its wind and waves. What will this do to the oil floating on top of the gulf? It will emulsify much of it, mixing it and dispersing it into such small particles that its electrochemical forces of like charges will suspend each particle in a force field of its own charge, repelling nearby particles with like charges away. The oil, though not chemically bonded to the water stays mixed, creating a sludge of tiny particles that can only be dealt with on a microscopic level. Some of this microscopic environment includes microbes that will readily eat the oil but then there are the little problems of waste and depleted oxygen. Now you have suspended oils, suspended proteins and depleted oxygen. A perfect environment for… nothing. No fish, no wildlife, just a growing dead zone in the gulf. If the problem spreads to wetlands, then you’ll have dead zones forming there as well.

Dissolved air flotation can be applied to these areas and the oil and microbe waste can be collected around the air bubbles and skimmed off. Now what’s needed are long lasting, high rate, high volume capable pumps that can handle the millions of gallons long term.

Enter the Air whip pump by Keystec.DAF pumps that defy common design and outlast most DAF pumps on an exponential scale.

More information at the Keystec website for: DAF pumps.

Dissolved Air Flotation Strategy for Oil Spill – Water Oxygen Replenishment Cleanup

Dissolved Air Flotation offers a double problem solving strategy in cleanup and removal of oil from the BP gulf oil spill. While centrifuges such as those designed by Kevin Costner, separate suspended oil, a more difficult “byproduct” emerges in the process. “Stick” water, the kind usually derived from fish processing. The resulting emulsified oil/water solution is typically separated using DAF – Dissolved Air Flotation equipment onsite at food processing plants.

Complicating the cleanup of oil contaminated water in the gulf the process that nature itself has already begun. Microbes are consuming the oil in a feeding frenzy and multiplying to match the supply. This new population, in turn, creates proteins in their waste and simultaneously depletes available oxygen in the water. Fish are reportedly leaving en-masse for water with enough oxygen to sustain life. Fish which normally avoid each other or hunt each other from sharks to marlin are swimming in virtual refugee convoys.

Dissolved Air Flotation can deal with the emulsified oil in the new dead zones, the proteins and replenish oxygen all at once. The Keystec Air Whip pump, installed in custom Dissolved Air Flotation equipment is the core of a long lasting super air-injecting and waste collecting system that is equipped to speed shallow water marsh recovery.