A new technology from Graver Technologies LLC is helping wine producers in the northern California wine country, including Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino Counties, meet tough new drinking water standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California's Department of Health Services. Graver, in cooperation with its water treatment partners, has installed more than a dozen treatment systems that use MetSorb HMRG adsorbent media to remove arsenic from the groundwater used in wine processing and vine irrigation.
MetSorb, a patented nano-titanium oxide adsorbent, is both efficient and economical, according to Graver. Application of MetSorb in this wine-producing area is reducing both arsenic V and the more challenging arsenic III species without the need for traditional chemical oxidation. The product, a granular media deployed in treatment vessels, employs an adsorbent mechanism that attracts and tightly bonds arsenic V and arsenic III (present as anionic arsenate and neutral arsenite respectively) on the media surface and internal pore matrix of the granules. This advanced adsorption mechanism avoids the release of arsenic often experienced with traditional iron-based adsorbents and minimizes long-term media disposal liability. MetSorb also removes other contaminants of concern, such as manganese, silica, vanadium, selenium and uranium.
“The unique groundwater quality associated with the Northern California wine country region presents significant arsenic removal challenges for most treatment technologies,” said Jim Knoll, Graver Technologies' MetSorb manager. He added that Graver is very experienced with the Sonoma area, and its water quality issues, wine producers, regulations and regulating agencies. “The technical advantages of MetSorb allow us to remove both species of Arsenic (+5 and +3), from waters containing elevated pH and high concentrations of competing contaminants, such as silica. Understanding the characteristics of the ground water and the adsorbent capability of MetSorb have been critical to our success in this region.”
Northcoast Waterworks, one of Graver's water treatment partners, uses MetSorb for its filtration systems. “In our area, the regulatory agencies do not allow onsite disposal of arsenic removed from the water so our only option is an adsorptive media,” says Gene Broderick, president of Northcoast Waterworks. “After researching the available medias, we determined that MetSorb was the most effective product to design our systems around. We have several winery customers that have used MetSorb successfully for a few years. Most wineries are classed as public systems and have to get county and state approval for their method of treatment. With the history of performance of the MetSorb media, these agencies are comfortable approving it. We continue to believe we can provide the best service for our winery customers by using this media.”
Source: Graver Technologies LLC
