Page History

Linear Chemical Dose Controller (LCDC/LFOM)

The system has evolved steadily with major advances every year. The ability to accurately and predictably control the alum and chlorine dosages without electricity sets AguaClara apart from other water treatment technologies.

Spring 2013: The main tasks of the Spring 2013 team are to fabricate a new chemical dose controller based on the design created during the Summer of 2012 after finding a substitute to anodizing or after determining why the black anodized part turned purple and figuring out a way to prevent it, create a better manifold system that is chemical resistant, determine a method of scaling up the constant head tank for larger flow rates, make improvements to the tank floats and most of the floats in Honduras move excessively due to in-fluent water in the entrance tank,  retrofits to existing plants (scale the liver arm, dosing tubes), prepare clear concise product data sheets AutoCAD explaining how everything will be done, experiment and determine how well the system behaves as compared to MathCAD output (especially the dosing tube length), finally, determine if the dosing system should be manufactured and sold by AguaClara LLC or produced locally in the host country or a combination of both. 

Fall 2016: This semester the CDC team redesigned the CHTs so that all four tanks are connected to each other, and so that the calibration columns are attached to the CHT module. Additionally, the team recreated and modified the modular CDC system designed in past semesters to address the goals of being fully chemical resistant, compact, and simple in operation and maintenance. The new CHT will be demonstrated and eventually implemented in Honduras.

The chemical dose controller consists of four total stock tanks, two calibration columns, and four constant head tanks. There are two stock tanks for chlorine and two stock tanks for polyaluminum chloride. If one tank for a particular chemical runs out, the second stock tank serves as a backup. The two chlorine stock tanks have individual outlet tubing but this tubing joins together into one tube. At this point, there is a diverted pipe that leads an upright rigid clear PVC pipe which serves as our calibration column. There is one calibration column each for chlorine and for polyaluminum chloride.

The calibration columns serve to measure the dosage of the chemicals being added to the treated water. The calibration columns function by first closing the valve to the CHT and then opening the valve to the calibration column from the stock tank. The plant operator allows the calibration column to fill, closes the valve to the stock tank, then opens the valve to the CHT. The operator then measures how much much time it takes for a predetermined amount of chemical to drop and based off this, determines the dosing rate.

The design of the second and final iteration for the semester maintained the same basic structure as the first iteration of Fall 2016, save for the alterations in plumbing orientation. In the second iteration, the tanks were extended in the direction of the float valves, so that the plumbing can be vertically oriented in the back of the CHT and attached to the wall as opposed to being horizontally oriented through the back of the CHT.

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