When we think about water, concepts of purity, cleanliness and freshness spring to mind. But warm the water, store it and circulate it through pipes and suddenly that pure water represents a hazard to human health. The most widely known and most common risk is from the legionella bacteria, which is the cause of deadly Legionnaire’s disease.
Legionella was first identified in the US in the mid-1970s after an outbreak of a pneumonia-like illness among attendees at an American Legion conference in Philadelphia. More than 40 years on, there are still outbreaks and deaths from Legionnaire’s disease in Australia and overseas. Legionella is always present in water. But when the temperature of the water increases to between 20-45°C, bacteria thrives. Unless of course the water system is carefully managed, monitored and treated.
That is the challenge for users and operators of any water system. It may be hot water system in an aged care facility, a cooling tower on a hospital or a public swimming pool. What if there was a way to create a water system that stayed healthy, was safe, easy to monitor and saved money? Holland Water has developed just that by combining naturally occurring elements, with cutting edge technology. It’s called Bifipro®.
Water Woes
For decades, manufacturers have been attempting to find ways to prevent the build-up of biofilm and prevent the associated health risks it poses. Biofilm is the collection of micro-organisms on a surface. It can happen on all sorts of surfaces – in your mouth, on rocks alongside a stream, or in pipes. But all the surfaces where biofilm forms have one thing in common – they are moist the majority of the time.
Pipes make the perfect surface because of course, they are always wet. In water systems, it usually appears as sludge, potentially along the length of pipe, with greater amounts accumulating on corners or at endpoints. This sludge is the perfect breeding ground for nasties. Once bacteria flourish in a system, it is difficult and time-consuming to eliminate, leading to costly removal processes and monitoring programs. Traditional, preventative treatment systems require intense and frequent monitoring. And they also often require the use of other chemicals to eliminate bacteria, including the legionella bacteria.
Holland Water’s Bifipro® system is different. It’s cost-effective, safe and without many of the drawbacks of other methods. It’s all done with state-of-the-art copper-silver ionization technology.
Chemical-Free Clean
The anti-bacterial and sterilisation properties of copper and silver have long been recognised. In fact, the ancient Egyptians and Greeks are believed to have used forms of copper for water sterilisation and as a treatment of common ailments such as headaches. The use of silver to prevent the growth of microbes also dates back centuries, with silver used to coat water storage containers, while coins made of the precious metal were once dropped into bottles to keep milk fresh.
Fast forward to the 21st century, combine these elements, add an electric current and you’ve got a water treatment system like no other. Electrodes made from pure copper and silver are installed in the water system, and an electric current is passed through them, releasing ions into the water.
It’s a carefully monitored process, with the electric current level calculated on the amount and rate of water flowing through the pipes. The copper is crucial to breaking up the cells structure of bacteria, thereby preventing the creation of biofilm. The presence of silver ensures bacteria is unable to reproduce – another factor in the build-up of dangerous biofilm. It’s important to note, the ions in the water are minimal and well within levels the World Health Organisation considers safe for humans.
Edson Global – Bringing the best down under
In an exclusive distribution deal and in partnership with Holland Water, Edson Global is bringing this revolutionary technology to Australia for the first time.
Edson Global Managing Director Rick Ward says this technology is a gamechanger in water systems, in particular for the health care sector.
He and the team at Edson Global have worked in this area for 25 years. In that time, they have seen, researched and trialled systems from all over the world. In fact, Rick has been at the forefront of developing many of the solutions now in the marketplace. But Rick is convinced the Bifipro® system is like no other, in particular, because of the way it removes the need to estimate the levels of copper and silver in the system.
“I’m a Google troll and I’ve investigated and researched products from all over the world. I believe we need a more professional solution. Many of the current copper-silver ionisation solutions don’t eradicate biofilm due to the incorrect location of their installation. “And the actual dosing of copper and silver is done by guesswork. There’s little science behind it and the system operator has no way of knowing what it is doing. The Bifipro® system is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with weekly reports provided to the customer and this can all be done online.”
Edson Global is proud to be partnering with Holland Water on this exciting innovation. If you would like to know more about Bifipro®, please contact the sales team on 1300 880 154.
To download our Edson Global / Holland Water – Potable and Cooling Tower Water Brochure – please click here
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