The collaboration between IMSYS Kft. and HOLOFON Zrt. offers an environmentally conscious solution to the problem of water and wastewater treatment. The two Hungarian enterprises aim to explore the use of various ferrates in water purification and to develop new packaging material that enables the efficient transport of ferrate products. As a result of the project, implemented with the support of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, biologically contaminated water can be treated efficiently – from swimming pools to hospital wastewater.

The same solution may also prove useful in disaster management: in the event of natural disasters, experts could use potassium ferrate to disinfect drinking water rapidly on site.

IMSYS Kft., operating as an engineering consultancy since 1996, supports domestic and international companies in numerous fields, from environmental protection through materials testing to analytics. Its project partner Holofon Zrt. primarily focuses on plastic recycling, especially the environmentally friendly processing of thermoplastics. Their consortium’s objective is to produce a substance containing sodium or potassium ferrate that can be effectively used in water treatment. To achieve this, existing production methods had to be improved so that the ferrate product would be chlorine-free and low in alkali content. Another key aim was to develop a storage and transport solution that would allow ferrate solution or concentrate to be safely stored long-term, while preserving its active substance content.

Ferrate – an oxidised form of iron – was the subject of numerous studies as early as the 1950s and 60s, but its potential application in water and wastewater treatment has only been explored in the past decade. It was then discovered that ferrate is capable of removing a wide range of toxic compounds from water in an environmentally friendly manner.  

As part of the project, IMSYS Kft. developed a semi-industrial technology comprising three modules, which, due to its modular design, is suitable for the robust production of chlorine-free ferrate products of various consistencies and compositions that can be applied directly in water treatment. By using all technological modules, it is possible to produce a water-soluble, chlorine-free, low-alkali ferrate concentrate or tablet that is airtight-packaged and can be stored for an extended period under refrigerated conditions. The technology is based on a new cluster-structured electrochemical unit developed during the project, which serves as a suitable tool for industrial-scale ferrate production. Several subprocesses of the technology have been automated and installed in a container, resulting in a semi-industrial unit capable of carrying out the complete technological process in a mobile format.

As a result of Holofon Zrt.’s development, the packaging units for ferrate products have been completed, including the cartridge for storing viscous sodium ferrate and the plastic containers suitable for storing and transporting potassium ferrate concentrate in rigid perforated cases, along with the injection moulding tools required for their production. A prototype of a combined sodium and potassium ferrate transferring/dosing and mixing unit has also been built, which can be connected to a 1-cubic-metre IBC tank and used for ferrate-based treatment of the wastewater contained within.

As a result of the development, a technological solution has been created for the production of chlorine-free, low-alkali potassium ferrate concentrate suitable for direct application in water treatment, as well as for the dosing of ferrate products. Thanks to its paste-like consistency, composition and packaging, the product has a longer shelf life and is transportable, with a high ferrate active substance content, while also being highly water-soluble and easy to blend, making it excellently suited for water treatment.

The ferrate production technology that has been developed, along with the electrochemical cluster system suitable for large-scale ferrate manufacturing, may represent a long-term business opportunity. Due to its excellent shelf life, solubility and active ingredient content, the chlorine-free, low-alkali potassium ferrate paste produced using the new technology offers a promising segment within this specialised market.