Line Cleaner and Water Penetration Aid
- Renews
Irrigation Systems to Design Potential
Dissolves Scale and Other Deposits
Increases Water Penetration in Alkaline Soils
Removes Mineral Deposits that Clog Emitters
Reduces Maintenance Costs on System
Environmentally Sound and Low Cost per Acre
GENERAL
INFORMATION:
EnviroMax Line Cleaner provides a state of the art Line
Cleaner that keeps your irrigation system free flowing. This unique combination of the
natural dispersant polymers coupled with the long chain linear polyphosphates keeps
mineral deposits in solution thereby preventing biological contamination from attaching to
the system. The EnviroMax component aids in maintaining pore space and soil tilth
on soil which has been treated with EnviroMax. This new formula is on the forefront of
irrigation technology.
EnviroMax Line Cleaner is a unique concentrated blend of various
polyphosphates. Technically it is called a "Polymerized Linear Long Chain
Polyphosphate ". This unique material has proven to be far more effective than
ordinary polyphosphates or phosphate-zinc combinations. Before you examine EnviroMax
Line Cleaner, it's important to understand some of the background of polyphosphates
and how they differ from other chemicals used in combating corrosive water.
| In 1936, Rosenstein recognized and described this
valuable scale inhibiting property of the inorganic phosphate in his work on an irrigation
system used in a Florida orange grove. His work was with the precipitation of calcium and
magnesium carbonates which caused "plugging" of the valves, piping, and
sprinklers when ammonia fertilizer was added to the irrigation water. The ammonia dosage
had to be held down to 125 pounds to 225,000 pounds of irrigation water or the
precipitated carbonates would completely block the flow of the irrigation water. Treatment
with only 1.0 ppm of the polyphosphate allowed the addition of 9 times the amount of
ammonia previously added without any precipitation forming. Rice and Partridge were
among the first to publish case histories of the early use of polyphosphates. They
reported the threshold effect of the polyphosphates and the fact that as much as 200 to
300 ppm of calcium carbonate could be kept in "solution" with only 1 to 2 ppm of
polyphosphate. They also noted the polyphosphates could hold most of the mineral salts
such as iron and manganese in solution at these low threshold dosages.
There have been many problems in the past from using the polyphosphates
or phosphate zinc due to their natural gravitation towards reversion to the "ortho
phosphate" molecule. For example, the hexameta polyphosphate (sometimes called
glassy phosphates) reverts readily to the "ortho" form in an open container and
is rapidly accelerated as the temperature rises above 100° F.
Because the ortho phosphate can intensify problems of calcium scale,
iron precipitation, and biological growth and contamination it is critical that the
phosphate is fed to the system in the inorganic form as a "poly" phosphate. If
it reverts to ortho phosphate out in your system you can still experience major problems.
Ortho phosphates are organic and provide excellent food source for all forms of bacteria
growth.
The difference between the two forms of phosphate is like comparing
night and day. The "poly" phosphate is inorganic and supplies no food to the
bacteria. It's ability to hold all mineral salts in "solution" and not allow
them to precipitate even at low threshold dosages makes it the obvious choice for
municipal water treatment. It even has the ability to remove old deposits or build-up that
has accumulated in the system. Compare this to the "ortho". It's mechanism of
reaction is only to precipitate these mineral salts, often converting the carbonate form
to a phosphate form which makes a larger deposit that is much harder to remove. Ortho
phosphates can only make the mineral salts "insoluble". |
The use of EnviroMax Line Cleaner in the field
has produced some remarkable results. There is a definite reduction of the bacteria growth
in the systems we are treating. Logically, as you remove old deposits in the lines and
keep the mineral salts soluble and in solution, you have removed all available nutrients
for the bacteria cells.
| A large municipal water plant in the Midwest had been
using sodium hexameta phosphate and were faced with the necessity of building satellite
chlorine stations because their bacteria counts were too high in the outlying sections of
their system. This distribution system covered over 100 miles of piping from the plant and
they found "zero" chlorine residuals in the outskirts. By changing only the type
of polyphosphate treatment to the linear long chain, they were able to establish chlorine
residuals throughout their entire system with no other change of chlorine dosages. The
combination of polyphosphate-zinc or the phosphate-zinc has gained popularity in naturally
soft waters as a corrosion inhibitor. Zinc has the ability to protect by forming a film on
the surface. However, at the threshold treatment levels this film is extremely
fragile and can be destroyed by even moderately rapid flows. Invariably, dosages have to
be increased in order to maintain the level of zinc that gives good corrosion protection.
If you were to really protect with a zinc-film you would carry between 5 to 8 ppm as zinc
in the system, which is well beyond the allowable levels in most communities. |
By contrast, the EnviroMax Line Cleaner combination
exhibits a natural synergism at the threshold level that offers excellent corrosion
protection against the aggressive soft waters. The formula exhibits a very high surface
activity, and in combination with a polyphosphate that is resistant to reversion back to
"ortho" phosphate, they exhibit a tenacious film that even protects against
copper or lead corrosion.
The problems from "red waters" caused by iron or manganese in
water can be a major complaint area in some water systems. The unique blend of different
polyphosphates gives EnviroMax Line Cleaner a distinct advantage in its ability to
hold either iron or manganese in solution. This formula has the ability to hold 17 times
more iron or manganese in solution than hexameta phosphate making it more cost effective
to use in municipal systems with this type problem.
DIRECTIONS and DOSAGES:
EnviroMax Line Cleaner requires a very small dosage and should be
fed with a small metering pump or a venturi injector. The feed point should be after your
service pump but before your filters.
EnviroMax Line Cleaner is normally applied at a low dosage each
time the micro-irrigation system is run. The normal dosage is from 1 to 2 ppm which is
equivalent to 1/3 to 2/3 gal/acre foot of water applied. The quality of your feed water
will determine the exact amount of feed rate.
EnviroMax Line Cleaner helps in soils that have high salinity or
in mineral rich soils and waters. It offers a new measure of control by allowing
irrigation water to penetrate through compacted soils that have mineral deposits. It
modifies this soil structure by removing the mineral deposit blockage and allowing the
soil to absorb the water and increase the pore space.
When you are feeding fertilizers into the system, always jar test to
check for compatibility of the products before mixing and injecting into the system.
Consult your fieldman for proper timing and rates.
IMPORTANT: READ BEFORE USING
Consult, read and thoroughly understand the material safety data sheet for this
product.
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