Water recycling technology

A commercial car wash in Queensland has implemented a water filtration loop to maximise this resource in a region classified as a Level 4 water restriction zone.

Baywash Southside car wash in Toowoomba, built in December 2004, washes up to 100 vehicles through its automatic car wash section each day from 8 am to 5 pm.

Proprietor, Mr Graeme Schultz, says that when the car wash was constructed 18 months ago, the business purchased a SPEL Puraceptor Model P002.CI.2CSC because Toowoomba Council stipulates all businesses of this type require a system for oil/water separation.

Before this, the only type of system used in commercial car washes were the traditional plate separators which are much more expensive and handle lower flow rates.

Baywash Southside convinced the council to try the SPEL Puraceptor on and it was pleased with the results, particularly as 50% of water used commercially in Toowoomba has to be recycled (a new rule as of six months ago).

Two months ago, the company purchased and installed a second SPEL Puraceptor to create a consistent water filtration loop 24 hours a day.

During the filtration process, ozone (instead of chlorine) is injected into the water just before it enters the system to kill germs and bacteria and improve the quality of water.

This recycled water comes from the auto wash section of the business. A self-service section is also set to be hooked up to this consistent loop using both Puraceptors.

"It has made an enormous difference," says Mr Schultz. "Since we installed the Puraceptors and the continuous loop we find we have to only clean the filters every day - a quick and simple job - because they are collecting so much unwanted material from the water."

The company is planning three more wash bays and is likely to install another system this year.

"The water cleans up to 1000 cars before it is due for disposal, but we are evaluating ways of how we can improve that return.

"Then ultimately we want to create a complete purification system for that water so that we never have to dispose of it at all."

Because it is manufactured as a full retention separator, the system is sized to hold more than the anticipated maximum spillage, so that it will be fully operational at all times. It features a coalescing unit, which is designed to ensure a maximum hydrocarbon concentrate in the outlet of 5 mg/litre. A sampling point is incorporated into the outlet. A fuel/oil and silt containment ensures optimum performance between maintenance periods.