Posted by David McLaren on August 12, 2010 at 6:55am
There is now a way to permanently remove metals from water so that pools owners and service providers will no longer have to fight with metals in the water. This new product actually binds the metals out of the water for permanent removal. Therefore, the vicious cycle of adding more and more chemicals to keep the stains off the pool surfaces can be broken.
The product now has one bag. A single bag is recommended for one month depending on the amount of metal and size of the pool. We recommend replacing the bag so that the bag itself does not become weak after a month. Since we do not know the exact metal content of most pools, and it changes daily, we make the month recommendation to keep the product fresh. As you mentioned, the polymer is not damaged by cholorine.
I found the patent application 20090139929 that probably describes this product so the lack of nitrogen sites in the polymer likely makes it rather resistant to oxidation from chlorine. So this really is a rather clever and intelligent application of chemistry to a real-world problem -- physically removing metal ions from water. Good job!
I also found that the one-month supply as described in the easy steps to use implies two packets each lasting 2 weeks. So the one-month box would remove up to 0.4 ppm in 10,000 gallons for roughly $30. That's better than I had first assumed.
I found some answers on your FAQ document where you say the following:
Dosages are dependent upon the level of metal ions in the pool. One bag will bind 1/3 of its weight in met-
als. This large capacity, relative to other chelation and sequestering agents, is why such a small amount of
polymer is able to bind so much metal. In terms of pool water, one bag will lower the metal level of a 10,000
gal pool by .2 ppm (or .2 mg/L).
So is the polymer resistant to breakdown by chlorine? If so, then wouldn't a bag last for more than a month so long as there weren't more metals in the water than the bag could remove?
Thank you for introducing this product (I note that you work for the company that makes it). It's not cheap at around $30 for a "1-month" supply, but if it works as described it would be a very useful product. Can you please explain why the product only lasts for 1 month? Does the polymer break down from chlorine (and if so, how quickly) or does it fill up with metals and get saturated easily? What is the capacity of metal removal for this product (each bag)?
Conventional sequestering agents surround the metal ions and slow down the oxidation and precipitation
of the metal oxides onto the pool surface. These agents break down over time and need to be constantly
added. Many of these agents are phosphate-based and cause additional problems with the pool water.
CuLator is the world’s only true metal remover. Developed for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund
Program, these polymers are the only compounds that are insoluble in water, rapidly bind metal ions,
and are non-toxic.
CuLator takes conventional chelating groups and binds them to a novel, unique, insoluble, non-toxic
polymer backbone. This allows for the permanent removal of the metal from the water rather than simply
sequestering the metals in the water. The chemistry to produce these insoluble chelating polymers was
developed over 23 years.
Comments
I also found that the one-month supply as described in the easy steps to use implies two packets each lasting 2 weeks. So the one-month box would remove up to 0.4 ppm in 10,000 gallons for roughly $30. That's better than I had first assumed.
Dosages are dependent upon the level of metal ions in the pool. One bag will bind 1/3 of its weight in met-
als. This large capacity, relative to other chelation and sequestering agents, is why such a small amount of
polymer is able to bind so much metal. In terms of pool water, one bag will lower the metal level of a 10,000
gal pool by .2 ppm (or .2 mg/L).
So is the polymer resistant to breakdown by chlorine? If so, then wouldn't a bag last for more than a month so long as there weren't more metals in the water than the bag could remove?
Thank you for introducing this product (I note that you work for the company that makes it). It's not cheap at around $30 for a "1-month" supply, but if it works as described it would be a very useful product. Can you please explain why the product only lasts for 1 month? Does the polymer break down from chlorine (and if so, how quickly) or does it fill up with metals and get saturated easily? What is the capacity of metal removal for this product (each bag)?
Richard
of the metal oxides onto the pool surface. These agents break down over time and need to be constantly
added. Many of these agents are phosphate-based and cause additional problems with the pool water.
CuLator is the world’s only true metal remover. Developed for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund
Program, these polymers are the only compounds that are insoluble in water, rapidly bind metal ions,
and are non-toxic.
polymer backbone. This allows for the permanent removal of the metal from the water rather than simply
sequestering the metals in the water. The chemistry to produce these insoluble chelating polymers was
developed over 23 years.