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Ber-Mac’s innovative, environmentally-friendly
polymer technology solution offers customers a compact and user-friendly option
to traditional hydration of large volumes of polymer. Our solution not only
improves the overall quality of the polymer, but also significantly reduces
operator involvement and the amount of water required for the hydration
process.
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The Solution
Our polymer technology solution, based on the widely-accepted,
industry-standard Comitrol* processor, uses innovated equipment and engineering
to hydrate high-quality polymer faster than ever before. Our compact and
easy-to-use design significantly improves material handling techniques and uses
better injection methods and equipment coatings.
*
The
Comitrol Processor is manufactured by
and is a registered trademark of Urschel
Laboratories, Inc
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Environmental Benefits
Our solution requires significantly less fresh water. Our
high-speed mixer hydrates each piece of polymer in the hydration process. The
result is less “fish eyes”, solids, and unhydrated gel balls in the final
product.
Our solution produces volumes of polymer four to five times larger than
conventional technologies. In the same footprint as traditional methods, our
solution yields a higher concentration of polymer, typically 15,000 ppm.
Ber-Mac worked with a local coating company develop a floral polly coating on
our tanks. This enables us to make the tanks of carbon steel, rather than
stainless steel, which reduces maintenance because there is less build up or
crusting on the tank walls.
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Innovative, Compact Design
Ber-Mac’s proven, polymer technology is a turnkey solution that is designed on
a 16' x 40' skid. Our customers supply only the water, electricity, and dry
polymer — Ber-Mac takes care of the rest!
Conventional polymer hydration methods require a significantly larger footprint
and offer little flexibility. For example, a conventional skid takes
standard-sized polymer particles, mixes them with water, and pumps the solution
into an aging tank where they are combined during the 45 to 60 minute hydration
period. While one tank is aging, the other tank is supplying polymer to the
injection pumps. Depending on the capacity of the source well, a surge tank may
also be required. The result is three tanks: two age tanks and one surge tank.
Conventional systems are also limited in polymer hydration by size, quantity,
age of tanks, water quality, and temperature. Our solution does not require
high-pressure water for hydration. Rather, our process takes a continuous
stream of polymer into the processor. Particles are sliced to less than 1,000th
of an inch and completely covered in water. By increasing the polymer surface
area, we shorten the hydration time and hydrate higher concentrations of
polymer without clumping.
The Ber-Mac solution produces polymer concentrations as high as 15,000 ppm;
conventional hydration is limited to 5000 ppm. Thus, our solution requires one
third less source water and requires injection pumps that are one-third smaller
than in traditional methods. In addition, our process requires only one
stratification age tank and a pump mounted below it. The result: a smaller
footprint and less piping rotating equipment, operator input, and cost.
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Polymer
Technology