Solid Chemicals - Lessons from the Food Industry

The idea of using solid powders and concentrates to reduce shipping weights and costs has been a source of innovation in the food industry for years. Instant coffee, for instance, was developed in the 1930’s. During WWII, the US Army developed its infamous K-rations to permit a lightweight, nutritious meal for its field soldiers. (At the time, the rations also included cigarettes!)

In the 60’s, I was part of an effort to replace latex in chewing gum with solid rubber, an effort that reduced process times by about 75%. And in the 1970’s, I participated in various projects involving concentrating tomato juice during fresh tomato harvesting season which could be reconstituted and shipped as a concentrate, then reconstituted to juice strength at a location closer to the end user.

The reason for such a slow development time in the food industry is that maintaining flavor while drying or concentrating was and is a technological challenge. Fortunately for us who manufacture products to treat the water in boilers and cooling tower, we are not faced with such a huge challenge. Indeed, once the manufacturing nuances of solids are met, the technology of using the product is exactly the same as for liquids.

With EnduroSolv products you can start realizing the advantages that the US Army was after when it developed K-rations in WWII:
• Lighter weight - enabling reduced shipping costs.
• Convenience - no need to wheel around heavy drums, totes, etc.
• Ease of use - the technology is the same as for liquids.

Thousands of facilities are already making use of this Solid Water Treatment technology for sustainable boiler and cooling tower water treatment. And since we have done the work of “solidifying” the chemicals, by removing the water, you can take advantage of one of the easiest ways to reduce shipping costs and create a greener planet.

Posted on Behalf of Al Heimert