Chemicals for pH Balancing and Cleaning Pools

Summer is right around the corner, which means it is time to step up pool maintenance to ensure a safe, clean environment for the ultimate summer fun. You want to be the company people call when they need pool cleaning services, so you’ll want to make sure you’re using all the right chemicals. Industrial chemical supplier Bell Chem’s extended range of chemicals and advice will elevate your pool company above the rest.

Sanitizers

Every pool needs to be sanitized to keep swimmers safe. Most community pools and major pool companies rely on chlorine as their main sanitizing agent. Here are a few examples of commonly used chemicals for pool maintenance:

• Chlorine is inexpensive and works quickly to oxidize bacteria, algae, and other microorganisms. A similar product is calcium carbonate, which is more commonly known as unstabilized chlorine or shock. 

• Shock works quite quickly (hence the name) but breaks down rapidly in sunlight. It is recommended to add shock at night for beautiful morning results. The up-and-coming challenger to chlorine is bromine. 

• Bromine remains active longer than chlorine, but is generally more expensive at the outset. Bromine is also kinder to skin and hair, which pool patrons truly enjoy. Bromine also works well under varied temperature differences, making them ideal for spas and heated pools.

Alkalinity Controllers and pH Balancers

A crystal clear pool with the proper amount of sanitizer won’t stay clear without ensuring the pH levels are balanced. To that end, baking soda and soda ash are effective at balancing acidic pH levels, while muriatic acid corrects alkaline water. An alkalinity increaser should be the first line of defense for adjusting the pH; baking soda can actually increase pool alkalinity!

Flocculants and Sequestrants

Even the best efforts cannot stop nature from dropping unwanted debris into a pool. From lizards to leaves, plants and animals drag bacteria and other unwanted waste into pools. An abundance of debris, excess chemicals, metals, floating algae lifted from the bottom, or other small amounts of matter lead to cloudy water. In some instances, the water may be healthy, just unsightly. 

To remove minute floating matter, use flocculants and sequestrants. Flocculants chemically bind small pieces of material, which causes them to sink to the bottom of the pool because of their added bulk. Sequestrants focus on binding metals, such as excess calcium or metal present in hard water. Both processes take at least a day to bind and sink. Afterward, clean-up consists of a thorough vacuuming. If your filter is up to the challenge, filter the debris through. It may be wiser to vacuum the flocculant directly to an external drain.

Water Clarifiers

Much like flocculants and sequestrants, water clarifiers address cloudy water. Clarifiers are short-term fixes for immediate gratification, only lasting a day or so under ideal conditions. To completely eradicate the undesirable floating matter, use a flocculant or sequestrant.

Bell Chem is your industrial chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including CSANTM sanitation products and chemicals to treat pools. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Water Treatment Chemicals

Clean water is closely associated with good health. In the United States, our water is considered among the safest in the world due to the different processes used to clean and decontaminate it before it reaches the general public. Water treatment chemical supplier Bell Chem’s strong line of water treatment products will ensure the safe consumption of your water. 

Before water is disinfected, any unwanted materials are removed. Generally speaking, the preferred method of clearing waterborne debris is coagulation and flocculation. Positively charged chemicals such as Bell Chem’s aluminum sulfate, ferric sulfate, or sodium aluminate are added to raw water. Unwanted dissolved particulate matter often carries a negative charge, so the ionic bonds formed between the opposing charges cause the debris to clump into much larger, heavier pieces. The weight of the waste material sinks to the bottom to be removed. 

The water is then physically filtered through a variety of sand, gravel, and charcoal filters with varied pore sizes to collect any non flocculated material. As the water is filtered, it is often treated with a disinfectant, such as chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, or sodium hypochlorite, all part of Bell Chem’s water treatment chemical lineup. These disinfectants are strong enough to kill salmonella, norovirus, and other harmful microbes. Their power lasts beyond the initial addition, though, by protecting water from infestation until the time it reaches a home’s faucet.

Selecting chemicals to adjust wastewater pH requires considering the chemical makeup of the wastewater. Fresh water should be a neutral pH of 7, but within a water treatment plant the pH will vary from acidic to basic depending on the chemical composition of the water. Because microbes prefer a limited pH range, adding an acid or base to the water will significantly change the overall pH, creating an inhospitable environment for dangerous microbes. Good choices for pH adjusters include 93% sulfuric acid (diluted concentrations are corrosive), calcium oxide (lime), and magnesium hydroxide.

While different sources of water across the United States demand a variety of treatments – ground water is less polluted than water from a river, for instance – all potable water needs to be safe. How important is access to safe water? Statistics prove close to 3.5 million people a year perish due to a lack of clean drinking water. 

Keep your water safe with quality products from water treatment chemical supplier Bell Chem. Bell Chem is based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including a vast selection of water treatment chemicals. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Uses of Heptane

Heptane, or C7H16, is a colorless, liquid, alkane hydrocarbon known primarily as a derivative of crude oils. Most people associate heptane with gasoline since it is a component in its manufacture and gives off an odor often associated with gasoline. Water treatment chemical supplier Bell Chem recognizes that heptane’s low density, low toxicity, low boiling point, slow evaporation rate, and insolubility in water strengthens its application in many industries. 

Anesthetics
When inhaled as a general anesthetic, heptane has the ability to numb pain receptors in nerve cells, which stops the sensation of pain. Heptane also induces short-term unconsciousness in patients. 

Gasoline
Heptane plays a critical role in the creation of gasoline. In fact, the octane rating of gasoline is due to heptane. Heptane is a hydrocarbon and combusts readily, releasing energy in the form of heat. High-octane fuel can be compressed more fully before igniting than low-octane fuel. At a 0% octane rating, heptane combusts much too quickly and is a poor ingredient in gasoline, but fantastic as a standard on how gasoline should combust.

Ink manufacturing
Heptane suspends the dye in printer ink, stamp pad ink, and other types of ink, which provides a smooth and glossy finish that lasts long after the stamp dries and the news is printed. 

Laboratory
In a commercial or school lab, heptane acts as a reagent and non-polar solvent. It also proves a catalyst for organic synthesis. Heptane is a solvent in the lab as well since it behaves like a noble gas by not readily associating with other molecules. Lab professionals often rely on heptane to dissolve substances that refuse to dissolve in water.

Oil Extraction
Extracting oil from olives or corn is expensive using a machine press. A chemical extraction that uses heptane is both efficient and cost-effective.

Bell Chem is a water treatment chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products such as heptane stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Using Hydrogen Peroxide

The hydrogen peroxide present in a traditional household’s medicine cabinet has amazing industrial-strength abilities. Bell Chem’s customers find it is a must-have for wastewater treatment, pools, and lakes, and has strong disinfecting properties in food and beverage, hospital, and laboratory settings. Read more to discover how hydrogen peroxide from your water treatment chemical supplier, Bell Chem, can contribute to the success of your business.

Environmental Control
Coupled with iron (II) sulfate, hydrogen peroxide forms the well-known Fenton’s reagent. Fenton’s treats industrial waste from drinking water, wastewater, soils, filamentous bulk, et cetera.

Biological Treatment Systems
Organisms that synthesize wastes during metabolic activity keep ponds and wastewater treatment plants healthy. When these organisms lack oxygen (excess biological oxygen demand, or BOD), the delicate balance can plunge water into a murky, unhealthy state. Hydrogen peroxide quickly addresses this issue with a burst of oxygen to feed bacteria and nematodes as they decompose the waste in wastewater and other aquatic environments. An unhealthy water system often reeks of pungent waste, so a bonus of hydrogen peroxide is the control of hydrogen sulfide release and other noxious gaseous odors.

 Gas Scrubbing
Odor control on an industrial scale is a necessity, and hydrogen peroxide is recognized as the chemical of choice for oil refineries, solid waste landfills, paper manufacturing, and chemical processing. 

Cooling Water Systems
Cooling loops, process water loops, and heat exchangers rapidly collect slime and organic matter. Hydrogen peroxide removes biological contaminants leaving clean, safe machinery.

Wastewater Treatment
Pretreating wastewater with hydrogen peroxide reduces BOD as well as chemical oxygen demand (COD) before water is refined. The result is fewer overall harsh chemicals to successfully treat water. A particular issue with wastewater treatment is the reduction of sulfur compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, thiosulfate, and mercaptans. Hydrogen sulfide quickly and inexpensively negates these compounds. 

Heavy Metal Flocculant
Ferrous iron and other metals present in industrial processes and wastewater are dangerous. Hydrogen peroxide binds these metals so the larger particulate matter is more easily filtered.

 Food and Beverage
Hydrogen peroxide is recognized as aseptic and, as such, is often used to sterilize machinery and prepping areas for packaging foods. Natural foods, such as sugars, oils, and waxes, add hydrogen peroxide to safely whiten their final products.

Bell Chem is a water treatment chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in its 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Utilizing Borax in Water Treatment

Borax is most readily recognizable as a household detergent, but this chemical distributed by Bell Chem, a water treatment chemical supplier, is also a great component in water treatment. Borax, with the chemical formula of Na2B4O7 . 10H2O, may also be called sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, disodium tetraborate, or sodium tetraborate decahydrate. Borax and boric acid are related but different boron compounds. Borax is a natural mineral mined from underground deposits or collected from evaporation deposits aboveground. Once this mineral is processed, the purified chemical is boric acid. In other words, borax is a mineral salt of boric acid. 

• Heat-exchange devices in wastewater treatment plants are notorious for metal corrosion, which is an extremely common problem in the presence of oxygen. When borax is added in the presence of oxygen, a chemical reaction stimulates the formation of ferric oxide film. This important film forms a protective, passive layer along the interior of pipes, which repels oxygen molecules from corroding the pipes’ metals.

• Borax acts as a buffer to keep acidic chemicals from destroying metals and other important surfaces within wastewater treatment plants. When borax works with other inhibitors, their combined abilities outweigh how well they work individually. Working in conjunction, two or more chemicals and borax greatly decrease the amount of damage incurred by low-pH products.

• Heat transfer decreases when metals corrode, so borax is able to maintain pipe environments, which gives pipes a longer, more useful service life.

• Borates act similarly to water softeners, removing most of the insoluble minerals calcium and magnesium from water samples. Customers receiving “soft” water appreciate how their dishes and clothes appear cleaner, and their skin and hair feel softer and better maintained. Household appliances that utilize water, much like the wastewater treatment plants, last longer when their supply consists of soft water rather than water containing dissolved minerals.

• Borax is often used as a surfactant (a cleanser) and effectively controls slime.

Bell Chem is a water treatment chemical supplier with hundreds of products, including a fine array of water treatment chemicals, stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Boric Acid

Boric acid is recognized by myriad names, such as hydrogen borate, boracic acid, acidum boricum, and orthoboric boric acid. Its functions are even more numerous than its aliases. Boric acid appears as a hydrophilic, white, odorless, and basically flavorless powder or colorless crystals. Combining the elements of hydrogen, oxygen, and boron, boric acid is naturally occurring in almost every fruit variety. Several significant examples of water treatment product and chemical supplier Bell Chem’s pure boric acid’s uses are listed below. 

Antiseptic

Boric acid has been used for centuries as an antiseptic for minor burns and cuts; it also serves as an acne treatment because of this property. Boric acid is a fungicide and has been frequently administered for athlete’s foot or other fungal infections. 

Fiberglass

Boric acid’s main industrial role is in the production of fiberglass. It decreases the melting point of fiberglass as it strengthens the fibers. Textile fiberglass, such as that used in skis and circuit boards, also rely on boric acid. Along the same lines, boric acid also strengthens glass used in cooking, laboratories, fluorescent tubes, fiber optics, and LCD monitors and screens; this product is known as borosilicate glass.  

Flame Retardant

Adding boric acid to insulation, mattresses, furniture, gypsum board, plastics, and textiles either during the manufacturing process or as a coating gives these products more resistance to extreme temperatures by reducing the release of combustible gases. 

Insecticides

Many products controlling ant, cockroach, flea, and termite infestation contain boric acid for its insecticidal properties. Boric acid disrupts the electrolytic metabolic functions of insects and abrades their exoskeletons by acting as a desiccant. Because it is sticky, boric acid adheres to one insect’s exoskeleton and is easily transmitted to all other insects it contacts.  

Lubricant

Ceramics and metals that demand direct contact with other products with minimal friction rely on boric acid to help these surfaces glide past each other more easily. 

Pool Care

Swimming pools have a narrow pH range in order to maintain clear, odor-free water. Boric acid acts as a pH buffer to keep water homeostatically constant and often replaces chlorine as a less caustic chemical. 

Bell Chem is a water treatment product and chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including boric acid. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message. 

Liquid Aluminum Sulfate

When water pours from a faucet, customers anticipate a clear, odorless, colorless liquid with no noticeable taste. Bell Chem, a water treatment product and chemical supplier, is recommended to bring water closer to what is regarded as potable water. 

• Liquid aluminum sulfate removes phosphorus, total organic carbon, biochemical oxygen demand, and suspended solids. It also buffers water by negating its charge and bringing it closer to a neutral pH of 7. As it flocculates small, floating particles of phosphorus, the heavier precipitate filters to the base of the container to be filtered out, a process known as sedimentation. The remaining water is less turbid and significantly clearer.  

In a similar manner, liquid aluminum sulfate benefits freshwater lakes and ponds as it flocculates phosphates and other nutrients necessary for the growth of algae. When algae no longer have a source of food, the rate of algal blooms is greatly reduced. 

• The acidic component of chicken litter falls significantly with the addition of liquid aluminum sulfate in poultry houses. The resulting odor is much less pungent. 

• In paper mills, liquid aluminum sulfate stabilizes the pH of the water bath, controls the pitch, removes impurities, and catalyzes rosin sizing. 

• In dye production, liquid aluminum sulfate acts as a mordant as it fixes dyes to both hard and soft surfaces. 

• Other interesting uses of liquid aluminum sulfate include foam in fire extinguishers, baking soda, the production of soap and deodorants, in fertilizer as a soil additive, and in the manufacture of major league baseball covers, giving the ball a tough, durable hide. 

Bell Chem is a water treatment product and chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message. 

BC EDTA-100

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) has a proven record of aiding in the protection of water treatment pipes and equipment. Bell Chem, the water treatment chemical supplier you can trust in Central Florida, carries this chemical for its ability to effectively sequester metals within pipes.

Deposition is a fact of life for water treatment plants. Water purity determines the likelihood of deposits left within the boilers and other portions of the feed lines. When feedwater contains even the slightest amount of impurity, the possibility of buildup along any metal surface is almost guaranteed.

Contaminants common in feedwater include metals (magnesium, copper, iron, aluminum), nonmetals (calcium and silica), silt, and oil. These categories are identified as either scale or sludge. Scale is formed by salt crystals that adhere to surfaces while sludge precipitates outside the water treatment system and is transported to the metal surface of the treatment system by means of incoming water.

Scale formations are soluble until they concentrate due to the high heat transfer rates that drive evaporation. Because the crystalline structure of scale is homogeneous, different areas of scale may have completely different chemical compositions and require varied methods of removal. Both metals (magnesium, aluminum, and iron) and nonmetals (calcium, silica, and occasionally sodium) can create scale. Scale forms extremely slowly, which causes the buildup to be hard, dense, and well defined, giving scale the ability to withstand most mechanical and chemical cleaning.

Sludge deposits may also prove to be dense, hard, and difficult to remove, especially after exposure to extreme heat levels, which bakes the sludge onto the surface of the water treatment equipment. Baked sludge is similar to scale in its tenaciousness.

Once either sludge or scale forms inside a facility, the chemical contaminants attract like chemicals. This results in larger and larger patches of affected metal. These accumulations inside pipes can significantly increase water pressure because the diameter of the pipes diminishes, causing overheating and, especially with salts, corrosion. Removing scale and sludge results in facility downtime.

EDTA acts to chelate every known metal on the periodic table. When metals are sequestered by EDTA, they lose a portion of their reactivity to each other and any other ions, rendering them nearly passive. As a water treatment chemical, EDTA is generally a colorless, water-soluble solid marketed as disodium EDTA or calcium disodium EDTA. Adding EDTA to water filtration systems greatly reduces scale and sludge, thereby decreasing unscheduled maintenance and replacement of equipment.

The water treatment chemical supplier experts at Bell Chem stock BC EDTA-100 knowing its importance in keeping water facilities online and running smoothly. Contact Bell Chem today at 407-339-2355 (BELL) to inquire about EDTA and their other water treatment chemicals. Our news page has a generous offering of our line of chemicals for industrial use.

Your Corrosion Inhibitors Guide

Corrosion is the destruction of a metal by a chemical or electrochemical reaction with its surroundings. Some of the most caustic chemical reactions involve oxygen. The most easily noted reaction is the production of rust from the reaction of oxygen and iron. Controlling this reaction, as well as others, takes chemicals specific to each reaction. Water treatment plants have all the necessary components to harbor myriad types of corrosion. The chemicals, temperature, ambiance, and pH are all factors in the health of the pipes and tanks within a water treatment facility. Bell Chem, experts in water treatment chemicals, have created this handy guide on the chemicals needed to keep corrosion under control. Read on for the most reliable chemicals and their role in water treatment.

• Deaeration is the removal of water from pipes and tanks. Since water is chemically composed of oxygen and hydrogen, when oxygen is removed, corrosion is less possible. Deaeration is achievable with the addition of eight parts catalyzed sodium sulfite for each one part dissolved oxygen.

• Passivating (anodic) inhibitors form an oxide film on the walls of pipes and tanks, acting as a protective barrier. This form of corrosion control is inexpensive and, in many instances, self-repairing. Passivating inhibitors include nitrite, molybdate and orthophosphate. Nitrite works well in systems where oxygen is not present; molybdate is effective, but cost inhibitive, and orthophosphate is the most widely used because of its low cost and efficiency.

• Precipitating (cathodic) inhibitors form insoluble precipitates on metal surfaces. Precipitating inhibitors do not form as stringent barrier as passivating inhibitors, and while they repair with no outside influence, the repair time is much longer than anodic inhibitors. Zinc precipitates as hydroxide, carbonate, or phosphate to form a precipitating inhibitor. Calcium orthophosphate and calcium carbonate are also effective precipitating inhibitors.

• Copper corrosion inhibitors include benzotriazole and tolytriazole, which bond with cuprous oxide to form a chemisorbed film on the metal surface.

• Adsorption inhibitors block interior surfaces against adsorption. Amines and organic compounds containing sulfur or hydroxyl groups are good adsorption inhibitors. Because these molecules are often surfactants, they also act to lower the surface tension between liquids and solids.

• Aqueous corrosion is inhibited by silicates. While silicates are not truly passivators, they form visible precipitates along the walls of passages. Silicates may also inhibit corrosion via adsorption.

Many of these chemicals react more readily under specific conditions depending on temperature, pH, amount of oxygen, etc. Contact water treatment chemical supplier, Bell Chem, at (407) 339-2355 (BELL) to determine which corrosion inhibitors are best suited for your water treatment system.

Polyphosphate & Its Role in Clean Water

Water treatment facilities have long used chemicals to control unwanted organic and nonorganic material in potable water. One chemical in particular, polyphosphate, has such a variety of positive impacts on water treatment that most companies find they rely on it daily. Bell Chem has created this succinct list to explain the role water treatment chemical, polyphosphates, play on cleaning water in water treatment facilities.

• A major role for polyphosphates is the stabilization and dispersion of iron. Surprisingly, polyphosphates do not remove iron from water; instead, the iron remains in the water in a soluble form that does not affect the color, condition, or taste of water. Chlorinating the water causes the iron to become insoluble, leading to a telltale rusty color that stains clothes, porcelain, and other porous surfaces. Adding polyphosphates before chlorination eliminates the formation of insoluble iron.

• Manganese, another heavy metal, is also neutralized with polyphosphates. An excess of manganese leaves water looking exceedingly dark, often referred to as “black water,” which leaves brown stains on porous objects. Polyphosphates, before the addition of chlorine, will prevent manganese from becoming insoluble.

• Water hardness is reduced when polyphosphates are present in water treatment plants.

• Pressure tanks, hot water storage tanks, and pipes with iron deposits are scourged clean with polyphosphates. The addition of polyphosphates in these areas will temporarily increase iron in the water as it leaves the metal surfaces, but the uninterrupted use of polyphosphates retards iron from adhering to tanks and pipes within the water treatment system.

• Magnesium and calcium crystallize in the form of scale on potable water system surfaces. Polyphosphates impede crystalline growth, leaving interior walls free of scale.

Water treatment systems have found that polyphosphates are an economical, reliable source to counter many of the daily impediments to water safety, clarity, and taste. Contact Bell Chem today at (407) 339-2355 (BELL) to speak with one of our representatives concerning polyphosphates or any other water treatment chemical, and read our past blogs for information on all the chemicals in our inventory.