Acr™ and water treatment

Automated Concrete Removal uses hydrodemolition technology, where water consumption and disposal of water and solids are factors to be considered. That is why all hydrodemolition robots are operated together with a sufficient system for water treatment.

The main items to be considered for water treatment in connection to restoration of concrete structures are suspended material, pH adjustment and other pollutants such as organics and anhydrous substances / metals.

Suspended Material

ACR™ robots operate together with a multi stage water treatment system that allows for cleaning of the water, depending on the allowable discharge level stipulated and the chemical make up of the concrete including impurities.

Suspended materials and particle bound impurities are purified by minimizing particles in the water. The need for different purification steps depends on the size of the particles.

  • Level 1: Larger particles can be separated with a packed sedimentation container (lamella separator).
  • Level 2: For more stringent requirements regarding fine particle removal, a flocculant can be introduced to the flow, thereby binding the small particles in clusters that are removed in the sedimentation container.
  • Level 3: Finally, for very high requirements, a sand-filter can be added after these first two steps.

pH Adjustment

Depending on the specific requirements, different techniques for pH adjustment can be applied such as carbon dioxide or hydrochloric acid.

A CO2-based system for pH adjustments is normally recommended to be used together with the ACR™ robots. The CO2 system consists of an injection needle and a pH meter for monitoring and control. The CO2 is added at the inlet of the water treatment system, into a durable quality hose of adequate length to achieve sufficient mixing of the gas into the water. Thereby the desired pH-level can be achieved.

Other Pollutants

In rare cases, organic and water-soluble impurities are present in the concrete. If this is the case additional treatment must be applied:

  • Organic pollutants: Organic pollutants such as chlorinated solvents, petroleum pollutants and PAHs are effectively purified using activated carbon.
  • Suspended material: These occur as ions, e.g. arsenic, chromium, zinc, cadmium, copper and mercury, do not bind to organic materials, but must be chemically bound. This can be managed using ion exchange material, which binds the ions by being charged with + or – depending on the type of ion exchange mass used.

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