Aerator, degasifier

AKV aerators/degasifiers are designed to combine and intensify the processes of liquid aeration and gas removal in a simple and effective way without bulky or complex equipment. Gasses dissolved in water can present numerous problems for the consumer. For example, hydrogen sulphide gas gives water a rotten egg odor; carbon dioxide gas causes high corrosion of concrete, pipes and equipment; methane gas, which is colorless, odorless and tasteless, accumulates in the water system and causes system noise, water hammering and faucet spitting; radon gas, which occurs naturally in groundwater in varying quantities is a known carcinogen

We propose to remove/reduce gasses from water by means of vacuum. Naturally, there is nothing new in applying vacuum. The novelty is in the fact that water itself creates vacuum.

Our device comprises a set of ejection heads and vacuum chambers. Feed water is supplied at the pressure of 3-4 atmospheres (65 PSI) and the velocity of water flow reaches up to 180 km/h, thus creating deep vacuum in the vacuum chambers. Dissolved gasses are immediately released. The water flow sucks atmospheric air into the device, causing water to break up and form a massive contact surface where the release of dissolved gasses is greatly intensified. The view is impressive: water seems to boil and turns as white as milk. Combination of vacuum and water break-up accelerates the process of gas removal by a factor of 1500 - 3000! Gasses are removed in a fraction of a second. It must be noted that these results are achieved without the use of additional equipment or electricity consumption. Water works to purify itself - with better results.
The AKV aerators/degasifiers can be designed for flow-rates from 0.3 m3/hour to 240 m3/hour and over.

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Typically, the length of a standard 50 or 100 m3/day aerator/degasifier is approximately 100 cm depending on the application, and diameter in the widest point is approximately 10 cm. Weight: approximately 2 to 3.5 kg depending on the fabrication material.

The AKV aerators/degasifiers can be fabricated from carbon steel or stainless steel or plastic.

The aerator/degasifiers featured in the photograph above are made from acetal - a high performance engineering polymer.

The AKV aerators/degasifiers have been used in USA, Australia, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine in the following applications:

  • Removal of high concentrations of iron and manganese from groundwater with low capital and operational costs;
  • Non-reagent raise of pH value of groundwater (from рН 5,4 to рН 6,8…8,0);

   AKV aerator-degasifier

  • Preliminary aeration/degasification of water for the reduction in reagent consumption;
  • Removal of dissolved gasses to reduce corrosion of pipes, equipment and concrete;
  • Aeration/degasification of wastewater and cavitation processing of active sludge to increase the efficiency of biological treatment systems;
  • Increase of dissolved oxygen levels in water to saturation point;
  • Quick and effective mixing of reagents with water (in place of expensive volumetric reactors);
  • Intensification of water disinfection process (chlorine consumption is reduced by a factor of 1.5-2);
  • Hydrodynamic heating of water for the intensification of water treatment processes;
  • Control over backwash operation in self-backwashing filters with polymer floating media.
  • Removal of bicarbonate of calcium and magnesium from artesian water for water softening
    (power consumption: 1.0 KW/m3, current cost of softening: 0.05 USD/m3)

The AKV aerator/degasifier is a unique device that can provide solutions to a wide range of water-related problems. For example, in fish farming, a single AKV aerator/degasifier will perform the multiple task of: non-reagent increase of water pH; removal of carbon dioxide; saturation of water with atmospheric oxygen; degasification / fine fragmentation of active sludge, facilitation in the biological oxidation of nitrites and ammonia and slight increase in water temperature. The field of AKV aerators/degasifiers applications can be potentially extended to other liquids, including crude oil degassing, sugar syrup degassing, removal of VOC in groundwater remediation, etc.  

The AKV aerators/ degasifiers do not clog in as the main chemical transformations in water occur in the steps following the ejector, where the high velocity of water and the cavitation effect prevent particles deposition on the pipe inner surface.

Some other interesting processes occur in the device. For example, as gas bubbles burst, they develop an inside pressure of up to 1,000 atmospheres (cavitation), which results in the heating of water and the generation of radicals and oxidants (H2O2, ozone, etc.). The surface of solid particles in water is instantaneously refreshed and becomes more susceptible to chemical and physical reactions.

The curves below show specific energy consumption by a bore/recycling pump that supplies feed water to the AKV aerator/degasifier at pressure of 63 PSI (0.45 MPa) for some applications:

1 - Specific electric energy cоnsumption for the removal of CO2 from water

2 - Specific electric energy cоnsumption for raising the pH of water by the removal of CO2