Process to maintain large clean recreational bodies of water

• US 9,708,822 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2014
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• 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): Keyworth, Peter
• Application Number:
  US14/444,781
• Publication Number:
  US 20140332472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,086 Days
• 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 water bodies larger than 15,000 m³ for recreational use, such as lakes or artificial lagoons, with excellent color, transparency and cleanness properties at low cost, which comprises the following steps:

a.—providing a structure 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, ideally it should be within a range lower than 7.8;

d.—adding an oxidizing agent to the water contained in the structure of step (a), with which a 600 mV minimal ORP is controlled in water for a minimal period of 4 hours and in maximal cycles of 48 hours;

e.—adding a flocculating agent in concentrations within 0.02 and 1 ppm with maximal frequencies of 6 days and cleaning the bottom of the structure of step (a) with a suction device to remove precipitated impurities from the bottom of said structure, together with the additional flocculants and;
f.—generating a displacement of surface water containing impurities and surface oils by means of the injection of inlet water according to step (b), which generates said displacement in such a way to remove said surface water by means of a system for impurities and surface oils removal arranged in the structure of step (a), which together with step (e) replaces traditional filtering.

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 the suction device to clean said structure.

Claims

1. A process to maintain a water body, wherein the water body has a volume of at least 15,000 m³ and is housed in a structure having a bottom and walls and provided with skimmers, the process comprising:

maintaining pH of water in the water body at pH 5 to 9;

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

adding a flocculating agent to the water at a concentration of 0.02 to 1 ppm at a frequency of at least once every 6 days to precipitate impurities in the water and to accumulate precipitated impurities at the bottom of the structure;

removing precipitated impurities from the bottom with a movable suction device;

feeding the water body with inlet water to generate displacement of surface water containing impurities and surface oils and removing displaced surface water using the skimmers, the inlet water having iron and manganese levels lower than 1.5 ppm and turbidity lower than 5 NTU,

wherein the process is performed without traditional filtration, wherein traditional filtration comprises filtering the volume of water once or more in 24 hours.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein maintaining the pH comprises adding bromide salts to maintain the pH at no higher than 7.8 when the water is not sea water.

3. The process of claim 2, wherein the bromide is added at a concentration of at least 0.6 ppm.

4. The process of claim 1, further comprising adding bromine salts if the pH of the water is greater than 7.9.

5. The process of claim 4, wherein the bromide salt is sodium bromide and concentration of bromide in the water is kept at higher than 0.06 ppm.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein the oxidizing agent is selected from the group consisting of quaternary ammonium (polyquats) and copper compounds.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein the flocculating agent is a cationic polymer.

8. The process of claim 7, wherein the flocculating agent is applied in a concentration of 0.05 ppm, every 24 hours.

9. The process of claim 1, wherein the bottom surface is lined with a non-porous liner.

10. The process of claim 1, further comprising maintaining a copper concentration of 1 ppb to 1.5 ppm in the water.