Global water, energy and maintenance solutions provider, NCH Europe, has launched HandiBloc, a water treatment solid concentrate for dosing water systems in industrial and commercial building premises. A safer, greener and more economical alternative to liquid treatments, HandiBloc is designed for cooling tower and boiler systems that can be prone to corrosion, mineral scale build-up, deposition and microbiological contamination. Its benefits are most striking in large commercial buildings, offices, hospitals and industrial manufacturing facilities.
HandiBloc is suitable for systems that have a make-up rate over 24m3/day. The blocks are dissolved in HandiFeed SBS 500 or 750 block feeders that can take four blocks at a time. The simple top-up arrangement means that site operators do not have to get involved in replenishing the chemical stock.
The feeders feature a dissolution system using mains water, which produces a consistent concentration of chemical in the reservoir over the duration of the block. The addition of a manifold valve design means that a single feeder can dose two or more separate systems simultaneously. This results in a considerable saving on setup costs and a better return on investment.
"Managers and engineers are under increasing pressure to deliver greener operations as part of a concerted effort to meet Government targets," explained Dr. Simona Vasilescu of the Water Treatment Innovation Platform at NCH Europe. "We've developed HandiBloc using a concentrated formula rather than a compressed powder. By doing this, we've eliminated a large majority of caustic chemicals such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) present in liquid products, making it less harmful for the environment.
"There are also significant health and safety benefits associated with delivering the chemistry in the form of a solid block," continued Dr. Vasilescu. "Many of our customers' health and safety managers express concerns over the storage and handling of heavy liquid chemical drums which also take up valuable floor space and require operators to wear personal protective equipment. HandiBloc removes those issues."
Facilities using HandiBloc will be better able to comply with requirements for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH). When dissolved in the feeder, the typical concentration of the solid block is between one and two percent — up to 20 times less than liquid products — classifying HandiBloc as non-hazardous.