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Save To FavoritesDiatomaceous Earth Filter Aids
(Wastewater Treatment Chemicals)
Alar carries a wide variety of Diatomaceous Earth Filter Aids blends that:
- Improve filtrate quality
- Help improve flow rates
- Improve cost efficiency
Diatomaceous Earth Filter Aids Grades Include:
Available in 50-pound bags, and 900 - 1,000 pound Super Sacks
- FA-120-F
- FA-140-F
- FA-200-F
- FA-400-F
- FA-500-F
- FA-600-F
Perlite Diatomaceous Earth Filter Aid Grades Include:
Available in 2.8 cubic ft. bags and Super Sacks
- PA-700S
- PA-900S
- PA-1500S
- PA-1800S
- PA-1900S
Contact Alar for more information
PERLITE vs Diatomaceous Earth Filter Aids
Perlite is not a trade name, but a generic term for naturally occurring siliceous rock. When heated to a suitable point, it expands from four to twenty (20) times its original size during manufacturing. This is why Perlite gets blown into a bag, because of its weight [it's lighter and fluffier and is hard to get the same weight into a bag every time].
Diatomaceous Earth, also called diatomite, is a mineral from the vegetable origin. It represents the accumulation of an enormous number of fossil diatoms which is a natural filter media producing the highest quality of effluent. The only things measurable by comparison, is the amount of silica, and amount of bags required to cover the total surface area.
Both products will cover bag for bag the same surface area. The other advantages or disadvantages are on a customer-by-customer basis.
Advantages of Perlite are as follows:
- 1. Location to Mill
- 2. Lower Silica
- 3. Less weight per bag for handling
- 4. More bags per pallet
- 5. Usually less cost per bag excluding freight
Disadvantages of Perlite are as follows:
- 1. Shipping Cost [less weight]
- 2. Shipping Code [85 vs 55]
- 3. More concentration of water in slurry
- 4. Clarity of effluent flocculating
Perlite |
vs |
Diatomaceous Earth Filter Aids |
39 bags/pallet |
36 bags/pallet |
|
25-30 lbs./bag |
50 lbs./bag |
SAFE HANDLING OF DIATOMACEOUS EARTH FILTER AIDS
What isDiatomaceous Earth Filter Aids?
Diatomaceous earth (diatomite, or D.E.) is an industrial mineral composed primarily of the skeletal remains of microscopic aquatic plants, called diatoms, which have the unique ability to extract silica from water to form their own skeletal structures. Under certain conditions, deposits accumulate over millennia, the water recedes, and the deposits become accessible to mining of the soft, powdery material.
How is D.E. Made?
D.E. is selectively mined, usually from open pits, and stockpiled for initial drying in open air. After crushing and further drying, D.E. may be heated in a kiln through a process called calcinations, in order to achieve certain useful performance characteristics.
Crystalline Silica and Human Health
Crystalline silica-containing dusts can be irritating to the eyes and nasal passages. Inhaling crystalline silica-containing dust can also aggravate upper respiratory conditions such as asthma or emphysema. Long-term, unprotected exposure to large enough quantities of mineral dust which contains crystalline silica can cause a fibro tic lung disease. The International Agency for research on Cancer (IARC) recently reclassified silica as a known human carcinogen.
Current legal standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), based on the crystalline silica content of airborne dust, have been established for the protection of employee health. The maximum permissible exposure limit over a time weighted 8-hour average working day is currently 0.05 mg/m3 for cristobalite and 0.10 mg/m3 for quartz. Where dust levels exceed these limits, personal respiratory protection is highly recommended.
Recommended Safe Handling Procedures
Proper handling ensures that airborne dust concentrations are maintained at or below the PEL's discussed above. Safe handling procedures include, but are not limited to, good work practices, proper engineering of material handling equipment, and use of personal respiratory and eye protection where appropriate.
Work Practices
- Receipt of shipments: Good housekeeping includes inspection of bagged shipment on arrivals. Powder spills should be removed before and during unloading by vacuum cleaning. Broken bags should be taped or covered by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health for protection against pneumoconiosis-producing dust should be in areas where this airborne dust is likely to exceed the PEL.
- Warehousing: Good housekeeping practices during warehouse storage dictates that bags be carefully handled and adequately protected to prevent breakage and spillage. Forklift truck operators should exercise care to avoid bag damage. Spills should be promptly cleaned up, preferably by vacuum. If vacuum cleaning is not possible, wet sweeping is an acceptable alternative, but dry sweeping should be avoided.
- Waste Management: D.E. itself is not considered to be hazardous waste under applicable Federal and state laws. The filtered liquids and solids remaining in the spent filter cake should be analyzed to determine if they are deemed hazardous under applicable law, as their presence in the spent filter cake could cause the entire filter cake to be deemed hazardous waste.
Personal Respiratory Protection Equipment
Effective engineering procedures can control dust concentrations in compliance with the OSHA specified PELs and protect persons handling and using D.E. from potential health hazards. Where proper engineering controls are not feasible and airborne dust concentrations exceed allowable limits, proper respiratory protection should be worn. The respirators discussed below (and their equivalents) are based on OSHA regulations and the NIOSH certification program for respiratory protection.
Requirements for selection, training, storage, fit testing, maintenance, and medical surveillance can be found in 29 CFR 1910.134.
The 3MŽ model 8212 respirator is certified under NIOSH standards as a single use, or nasal face-piece type respirator for dust. Following is a representative list of other respirators which meet the same NIOSH certification, and are generally available in retail outlets such as building and industrial supply centers, hardware store, and automotive supply outlets:
- 3M Company 8710
- Also identified by retail number 8654
- Aearo Company AO Safety 1010
- Also identified by retail number 99493
- U.S. Safety Company AD10
- Also identified by retail number AD10