By installing Elga C1000 water treatment cylinders, Superior Seals has eliminated the need to store, handle and ultimately dispose of the potentially harmful chemicals required by the previous plant.

By installing C1000 water treatment cylinders from Elga Process Water, Superior Seals, an internationally recognised UK based manufacturer of precision O rings, seals and mouldings has, at a stroke, eliminated the need to store, handle and ultimately dispose of the potentially harmful chemicals required by the old plant. The new cylinders also take up far less space, than the ageing ion-exchange water conditioning equipment, and maintenance is reduced to simply ordering and connecting a replacement cylinder when the one in use has reached its maximum treatment capacity. In addition, the use of cylinders offers significant cost savings compared with installing and operating a new ion-exchange system.

'This is an excellent solution for us,' said David Payne, Quality Systems Manager at Superior Seals.

'Not only is it very cost effective, the space savings it offers are also invaluable, as we are constantly expanding our manufacturing capacity, and space is always at a premium.

The environmental issues, or rather the lack of them, are another a big plus,' he continued.

'We are a very environmentally conscious company, so the opportunity to eliminate the need to use strong acids and alkalis in our water treatment system was particularly attractive'.

The cylinders are used to purify water supplied to the machines which Superior Seals uses to wash its products prior to packing and despatch.

Three washing machines are currently in use, and a fourth will be installed shortly to handle the rapidly growing demand for the company's products.

Each machine is provided with two Elga C1000 cylinders, one in service, the other on standby.

Flow is switched to the second cylinder when water conductivity checks show that the first is nearing exhaustion, allowing replacement cylinders to be fitted with no interruption to the supply of treated water.

The cylinders are fed directly from the mains water supply, with no pre-treatment.

Elga Process Water offers cylinders with a wide choice of resins, allowing their performance to be accurately matched to user requirements.

For Superior Seals, a standard weak de-ionisation resin is used, which produces treated water with a conductivity 10microSiemens at a flow rate up to 2,835 l/hr.

While this is considerably in excess of the flow currently required, Superior Seals chose C1000 cylinders rather than their smaller counterparts to allow for future expansion, and also to maximise the interval between cylinder replacements.

While some applications undoubtedly need more sophisticated water treatment equipment, the experience of Superior Seals clearly demonstrates that, where the requirements are straightforward, Elga cylinders have a lot to offer in terms of economy, convenience and environmental friendliness.