Answers to common questions about FlocBlocs
- FlocBlocs should be removed from their plastic containers before use.
- FlocBlocs do not affect the pH or salinity of the water being treated.
- Simply placing a FlocBloc in a dam or body of water will not clarify the water. FlocBlocs require running water to ‘scour’ the chemical from the FlocBloc.
- FlocBlocs should not be left in still water for long periods of time as they will swell to form a gel around the outside of the FlocBloc. When this occurs the scouring mechanism is disrupted, and the FlocBlocs will become much less effective.
- The dose rate can be increased by providing more FlocBloc surface area. This can be achieved by:
> using more than one FlocBloc at just a single location,
> using several FlocBlocs in series at different locations along the water path,
> breaking a single FlocBloc into smaller pieces and applying all pieces. Breaking into smaller pieces will increase the consumption rate, thus a single FlocBloc in pieces will be exhausted sooner than a complete FlocBloc.
- Jar tests can be used to establish the best FlocBloc grade as well as the best dose rate for a particular application. Jar tests compare the floc size, the rate of floc settlement, and final water clarity when equal quantities of FlocBloc are added to equal volumes of water.
- Typical application (dose) rates are 0.5–10 mg/L. Another way of saying this is 0.5–10 kg per 1,000,000 litres of water.
- Do not overdose. Avoid overdosing by using only the appropriate number of FlocBlocs suited to the volume of water for treatment.
- Too much turbulence after flocculation may degrade the ability of the flocs to increase to a suitable size. This is overcome by providing an area after the initial mixing zone where the turbulence is quite low or almost negligible (like in the dam itself). This low turbulence area allows the flocs to join together and increase in size without breaking apart again because of the high turbulence. This in turn should help maximise the settling rate of the flocs.
- The speed of flocculation is affected by water temperature and the water solids content:
> colder water requires a longer mixing period than warmer water,
> low solids water requires a longer mixing period than high solids water, mainly due to low solids water having a lower particle ‘collision’ rate. This is really only applicable though for very low turbidity (i.e. quite clear) feed waters.
- The active ingredient in FlocBlocs have been used for over 50 years in applications such as dam water clarification, drinking water purification, pollution minimisation, industrial wastewater treatment, mining, paper making and sewage treatment. The active ingredient is safe and is widely used to minimise pollution from many industrial and mining applications. It has a very low order of aquatic toxicity and when used according to Application Instructions is safe for most aquatic environments encountered in normal use.
