Process to maintain large clean recreational water bodies

• US 8,790,518 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2011
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crystal Image Technology Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Crystal Lagoons (Curacao) B.V. (Crystal Lagoons Corp.)
• Inventors: Fischmann Torres, Fernando Benjamin
• Primary Examiner(s): Soohoo, Tony G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Keyworth, Peter
• Application Number:
  US13/076,151
• Publication Number:
  US 20110210076A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,217 Days
• Field of Search: 210/709, 210/758
• US Class Current: 210/747.5
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/00 Treatment of water, waste water, or sewage C02F3/00 - C02F9/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/40 Devices for separating or removing fatty or oily substances or similar floating material cleaning or keeping clear the surface of open water from oil or like materials E02B15/04; devices in sewers for separating liquid or solid substances from sewage E03F5/14, e.g. for use in drains leading to the sewer E03F5/16
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/46 by electrochemical methods
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/505 by oligodynamic treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/56 Macromolecular compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/72 by oxidation C02F1/4672 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/722 Oxidation by peroxides
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/76 with halogens or compounds of halogens C02F1/4674 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/766 by means of halogens other than chlorine or of halogenated compounds containing halogen other than chlorine
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/78 with ozone C02F1/4672 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2103/007 Contaminated open waterways, rivers, lakes or ponds
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2103/42 from bathing facilities, e.g. swimming pools
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/04 Oxidation reduction potential [ORP]
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/06 pH
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/11 Turbidity
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 7/00 Aeration of stretches of water
• CPC Class Codes: E02B 1/003 Mechanically induced gas or liquid streams in seas, lakes or water-courses for forming weirs or breakwaters; making or keeping water surfaces free from ice, aerating or circulating water, e.g. screens of air-bubbles against sludge formation or salt water entry, pump-assisted water circulation moving sediments E02B3/023; for ice breakers B63B35/08; aerating or circulating water in fish-tanks A01K63/042; purification of waste water with addition of air C02F; distributing gases in liquids in general B01F23/20
• CPC Class Codes: E02B 3/00 Engineering works in connection with control or use of streams, rivers, coasts, or other marine sites barrages or weirs E02B7/00; Sealings or joints for engineering works in general
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/885 self propelled, e.g. ship
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/8866 self propelled
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/9243 : Passive suction heads with no mechanical cutting means E02F5/108 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 4/00 : Swimming or splash baths or pools
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 10/10 : Biological treatment of water, waste water, or sewage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 10/37 : using solar energy

Abstract

The invention discloses a process to implement and maintain large water bodies with color, transparency, and cleanness characteristics similar to swimming pools or tropical seas, at low cost. The present invention also discloses a structure to contain large water bodies, comprising a system for the removal of impurities and surface oils by means of skimmers and a suction device to clean said structure.

Claims

1. A process to implement and maintain a large water body, wherein the process

comprises:

(a) providing a structure with skimmers able to contain a large water body larger than 15,000 m³;

(b) feeding the structure of step (a) with inlet water having iron and manganese levels lower than 1.5 ppm and turbidity lower than 5 NTU;

(c) measuring water pH, wherein the pH is maintained no lower than 5 and no higher than 9;

(d) adding an oxidizing agent to the water body contained in the structure of step (a), to maintain an oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of at least 600 mV in the water body for at least 4 hours within a 48 hour cycle;

(e) adding a flocculating agent to the water body in concentrations within 0.02 and 1 ppm over a time period no greater than 6 days to precipitate impurities in the water to the bottom of the structure of step (a);

(f) cleaning the bottom of the structure of step (a) with a movable suction device to remove the precipitated impurities from the bottom of said structure, together with the additional flocculants; and

(g) generating a displacement of surface water containing impurities and surface oils by means of injection of inlet water according to step (b), which generates said displacement in such as way to remove said surface water using said skimmers provided in the structure of step (a), which together with step (f) replaces filtration to remove suspended debris from the water body.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein providing a structure further comprises:

providing a bottom and walls made of low permeability materials coated with a non porous material;

providing a system for removing impurities and superficial oils using skimmers;

providing a feeding pipe system for introduction of fresh water; and

providing a feed water intake system.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein the flocculating agent is a cationic polymer added in concentrations from about 0.02 ppm to about 1 ppm over a time period no greater than 6 days.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein the flocculating agent is a cationic polymer added at a concentration of 0.05 ppm every 24 hours.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein bromine salts are added to the water body if the pH is higher than 7.8.

6. The process of claim 5, wherein the bromine salt is sodium bromide, and wherein the bromide concentration is maintained at values higher than 0.6 ppm.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein adding an oxidizing agent comprises adding an agent from the group consisting of ozone, sodium persulfate, potassium persulfate, chlorine derivatives, hydrogen peroxide, bromine derivatives, and agents produced by electrochlorination.

8. The process of claim 1, wherein treating the water to maintain ORP further comprises adding algaecides to the large body of water.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein the algaecides are selected from the group consisting of quaternary ammonium salts and copper compounds.

10. The process of claim 9, wherein the copper compounds have copper levels between 1 ppb and 1.5 ppm, depending on temperature and sunlight.

11. The process of claim 9, wherein the copper compounds are added at copper levels of about 0.3 to about 1.5 ppm for temperatures between 10°

C. and 30°

C.

12. The process of claim 1, wherein the inlet water comprises sea water, well water, spring water, or water from other sources.

13. The process of claim 1, wherein the large water body is for recreational use.

14. The process of claim 1, comprising adding the oxidizing agent to the water to maintain an ORP of at least 600 mV in the water for about 4 hours within a 24 hour cycle.

15. The process of claim 1, wherein the large body of water is an outdoor body of water.

16. The process of claim 1, wherein the oxidizing agent comprises halogen.

17. The process of claim 16, wherein the halogen is bromine or chlorine.