Emergency Equipment for Chlorine Adsorption in Hospitals

2021-10-04 11:44:54

Emergency equipment for chlorine adsorption in Hospitals

Chlorine is a strong oxidant that under normal conditions and in its pure state forms dichlorine, a yellow-greenish toxic gas formed by diatomic molecules (Cl₂) about 2.5 times heavier than air, with an unpleasant and toxic odor.

Among its many applications and due to its strong oxidizing character, it stands out especially for being a compound widely used in water purification in WWTPs (wastewater treatment plants) and as a disinfectant in other applications.

In WWTPs, instead of treating water directly with chlorine gas, hypochlorite solutions are used, which gradually release chlorine into the water and are capable of eliminating bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses. However, in other sectors such as hospitals, chlorine is usually stored in liquefied gas cylinders where a leak could generate dangerous environments and are therefore confined in containment rooms with safety systems. The disadvantage of using chlorine in this format lies in the necessary storage and transport conditions. The high toxicity of the gas, which causes damage at levels of 0.1 ppm in the air, makes it necessary to handle this product only with special equipment, with rescue and contingency programs duly established by trained personnel.

Main Chlorine elimination technologies; pros and cons:

Among the most common chlorine removal systems are adsorbents (dry media) and chemical scrubbers (wet scrubbers).

Classical adsorbents have several advantages over chemical scrubbers, chemical scrubbers require significantly more intensive maintenance than adsorbents. The instrumentation of scrubbers, consisting of pumps, nozzles and valves, is more complex. All this leads to greater risks in terms of operation.

Another aspect that penalizes chemical scrubbers is directly related to the use of caustic liquids that generate a liquid effluent that requires post-treatment. Adsorbents, on the other hand, eliminate the contaminant permanently, transforming it into harmless substances. Depending on the operating conditions, the spent adsorbent can even be used as fertilizer.

Finally, another great advantage of adsorbents over chemical scrubbers is the fact that they are a solution capable of maintaining efficiencies above 99.9% regardless of the load fed to the reactor.

All these advantages are leading the market to choose adsorbents as a more effective solution, both technically and economically, over chemical scrubbers.

BION Clear

Bioconservacion has developed a specific filter media to eliminate chlorine and acid vapors. BION Clear is a clay impregnated with sodium thiosulfate capable of achieving chlorine removal capacities of up to 9% w/w.

The reaction mechanism of BION Clear removes chlorine through the processes of adsorption, absorption and chemisorption. The chlorine is transformed into harmless solid substances that are irreversibly trapped in the pellet.

This media is specially designed for use in applications where significant concentrations of chlorine may be released such as the pulp and paper manufacturing industry, wastewater/urban disinfection or fumes from laser cutting PVC.

Case study: Hospital in Peru

In 2013, BION, together with its distributor in Peru, Requinor, carried out a project consisting of the implementation of a chlorine safety equipment in a hospital in Peru

Schematic of a chlorine adsorption safety system designed by Bioconservacion

In this hospital, the chlorine cylinders are confined in a room of a certain volume and, following the American standard Uniform Fire Code Article 63 (NFPA 1, 2006), an equipment packaged with BiON Clear was designed.

Depending on the standard followed in the design of the safety system, the equipment will have different dimensions. The conceptual basis of the standard is to design equipment capable of adsorbing a volume of chlorine gas emitted by a rupture in a chlorine cylinder. In this way, the safety system must be capable of aspirating a certain flow of gas to produce a depression in the room and be efficient in adsorbing the chlorine.

Bioconservacion designed equipment with the following characteristics:

Reactor made of fiberglass reinforced polyester.
Klopper-shaped roof.
Access railing.
Reactor height: 2950 mm.
Outer diameter: 1500 mm.

With this equipment it was possible to ensure a chlorine removal efficiency of more than 99.9%, ensuring an output below 50 ppbv at all times.

In addition to the reactor with the chemical media, Bioconservacion/Requinor designed the piping and the high-pressure centrifugal fan for the safety system.

As is customary in our company, there continues to be collaboration with Requinor in terms of data exchange, advice, incident resolution, etc., which allows us to strengthen ties and work together on future projects.

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Ethylene & banana

Banana is a climacteric fruit that increases its respiration and produces a lot of ethylene during its postharvest phase. They are usually harvested at a stage prior to ripening for transport and then artificially ripened in ethylene chambers. Banana quality can be seriously affected if bananas produce moderate amounts of ethylene during transport. Ethylene affects bananas in ways that: It accelerates ripening and over-ripening. Softening and causing loss of firmness. Alters the color of bananas causing yellowing. It suffers a higher incidence of rots and microbial infections such as: Calletotrichum Musae, Botrytis Cinerea or Lasiodiplodia Theobromae. Lower lot homogeneity after artificial ripening. To avoid wastage, measures must be taken to ensure that green bananas are not exposed to ethylene until artificial ripening is required. The most common diseases due to the effect of ethylene are obvious to the naked eye. Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum Musae, is a typical post-harvest disease that is evident on ripe bananas, showing wounds and skin openings. The removal of ethylene during transport delays the development of anthracnose after artificial ripening. In the case of the banana crown, it is common to see its rotting or degradation during postharvest. Crown rot is usually caused by Lasiodiplodia Theobromae, among other fungi, showing dehydration and blackening during ripening. This is activated by ethylene creating a degradation of the skin that invades the whole fruit. To avoid uncontrolled ripening, it is necessary to eliminate ethylene and prevent fungi from proliferating. BION's Transprotekt filters and Ethyl Stopper sachets have an antimicrobial action that extends the shelf life of bananas while removing ethylene from the environment thanks to the action of potassium permanganate. The use of Transprotekt filters and Ethyl Stopper sachets: Increases the shelf life of the product Reduces waste due to over-ripening or spoilage Maintains batch homogeneity after artificial maturation Eliminates odors in cold stores Avoids complaints, returns, renegotiations from customers Allows to benefit from price fluctuations Harmless to workers, bananas and the environment Maintains the color of the banana Easy to handle and inexpensive Compatible for use in organic products

Reduce Energy Costs in your Air Filtration System

Rising energy costs force us to think of new ways to reduce our energy consumption in air filtration and air conditioning installations, in addition to the need to reduce CO2 emissions. When renovating and designing new ventilation and air filtration systems, it is essential to apply energy-saving solutions without sacrificing performance. Many factors affect energy consumption, the most commonly known are fan operation, cooling/heating of HVAC system and % of renewed air, particulate filter type and maintenance, and molecular filter choice including pellet shape and size which also have a significant impact on energy costs. The importance of the blower operation The cost associated with the blower will depend directly on the operating time, and the consumption, which in turn will depend on the power and efficiency of the blower, the airflow to be treated, and the pressure drop. Two parameters can be adjusted from this equation, the airflow to be treated and the pressure drop. Air conditioning conditions are crucial Air conditioning costs and filtered airflow can be optimized by adjusting the ratios of mixing outside and recirculated air. For this, it will be necessary to consider both indoor and outdoor air quality and pollutants, indoor and outdoor temperature difference, and the humidity of the external air to be filtered. Air conditioning costs and filtered airflow can be optimized by adjusting the ratios of added outside air and recirculated inside air. For this, the quality, temperature and humidity of the outside air to be filtered and the interior air's quality must be considered. How to reduce energy costs by achieving the right pressure drop When renovating and designing ventilation and air filtration systems, it is critical to find solutions that allow us to reduce energy consumption and its associated cost. One of the most important parameters to reduce energy costs is achieving the right pressure drop. Pressure drop can be reduced through the correct selection of equipment, filter media and particle filters. Right filters and media can help reduce more than 10 % of consumption The selection of filter media must be adequate for the elimination of polluting gases in the atmosphere, however, the selection of a media in the form of pellets instead of spheres will considerably reduce the pressure drop (between 10 and 20% for passage speed between 0,5 y 2,5 m/s), reducing the costs associated with the power of the blower. The kWh used by the blower is directly proportional to the pressure drop, meaning that the kWh and their cost will be also reduced by more than 10%. The design of the equipment must be according to the room conditions. Equipment selection is another important parameter to consider. The design of the equipment and the type of media to be used must be specific for each case, depending on the parameters to be considered and the room conditions. However, in general terms, it can be concluded that equipment with bulk media will generally have a higher pressure drop for a standard passage speed of 0.5 m/s, compared to equipment with modules with filter media in its structure. Bulk media equipment typically has a higher bed height. Instead, modules containing thin layers of media can be used inside side access unit-type equipment with a lower pressure drop at the standard velocity of between 1.27 to 2.54 m/s. Save up to 30% of energy costs by optimizing equipment design and selecting the right filtration media. The decrease in pressure drop by optimizing the equipment design and correctly selecting the filtration media can be up to 30 %. This means that lower power will be needed, decreasing the initial cost of the blower. Moreover, having this decrease in pressure drop translates into a decrease in the yearly operation cost due to a lower energy consumption of the blower of over 25 %.

Kiwi and Ethylene

There are more than 400 varieties of kiwifruit, the most common being green (HAYWARD) and yellow (GOLD). The demand for kiwifruit is increasing year after year due to the boom in consumption of the fruit and its high nutritional properties and pleasant taste. Kiwifruit is a highly sensitive climacteric fruit and as little as 5-10 PPB (parts per billion) of ethylene will induce general softening. This means that exposure of kiwifruit during harvest, transport and storage should be avoided. More and more producing countries are exporting around the world, posing a logistical challenge for a fruit that is extremely sensitive to ethylene. Scientific studies have shown that ethylene has negative effects on kiwifruit: - Accelerated ripening and overripening. - softening and loss of skin firmness - White central inclusions - Increased incidence of rots and mycobacterial infections. - Green core due to overripening - Aggravates pericarp translucency - Kiwifruit wilting and weight loss due to increased respiration BION with its TRANSPROTEKT filters and ETHYL STOPPER sachets delays ripening and increases the storage time and shelf life of kiwifruit. Utilize BION's ethylene and other volatile compound absorption technology: - Increases shelf life - Reduces waste - Eliminates odors - Maintains batch homogeneity - Maintains fruit color - Maintains skin firmness - Harmless to workers - It is compatible with organic farming as no additives are added. - It is disposable and recyclable once the product is used up. - Easy to handle and cheap

Emergency Equipment for Chlorine Adsorption in Hospitals

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Ethylene & banana

Reduce Energy Costs in your Air Filtration System

Kiwi and Ethylene

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