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Zach Adams, project engineer for Arch Chemicals Inc., sat down with Water Online Radio for this live interview from the show floor at WEFTEC 2011 in Los Angeles. Among other topics, Adams offers perspective on increasing government regulations and the relative safety of calcium hypochlorite for disinfection. Listen or read on to learn more.

Water Online Radio: Arch Chemicals Increasing Safety, Practicality For Disinfection Market

Todd Schnick: And we are back, broadcasting live from the Los Angeles Convention Center and the tradeshow floor of WEFTEC. I'm Todd Schnick, joined by my cohost Todd Youngblood. Todd, we are kicking off hour seven, with what I think should be an interesting guest.

Todd Youngblood: Hour seven. Didn't they promise us an ice cream cone or something at hour seven?

Todd Schnick: We were supposed to get ice cream at the beginning of hour seven.

Todd Youngblood: I think I'm going to change my request now since we missed on that.

Todd Schnick: Well, I have other things on the list, but we'll get to that. Hour seven promises to get off to a good start. We have an exciting guest. He is a project engineer with Arch Chemicals. Welcome, Zach Adams, to Water Online Radio.

Zach Adams: Thanks a lot.

Todd Schnick: So, from Atlanta? So good to be from the old hometown.

Zach Adams: Oh yeah, this heat is nothing compared to the Atlanta heat.

Todd Schnick: Isn't it lovely here? I mean, there is this thing here that they don't have humidity, which is just a wonderful thing.

Zach Adams: I forget what that's like.

Todd Youngblood: Come on down in August and you'll remember.

Todd Schnick: Oh yeah, oh yeah. Hey Zach, before we get into a conversation, why don't you just take a second and tell us a little bit about your background and what you're doing with Arch Chemicals?

Zach Adams: Thanks. My background is in chemical engineering, and I've been working with Arch for about seven years and I'm a project engineer. And what I do is – we manufacture calcium hypochlorite, which a dry form of chlorine – generate the feeders and all the technical literature and engineering specifications for the feeders, which are used for municipal disinfection of drinking water.

Todd Youngblood: You're talking about calcium hypochlorite feeders. I mean, how does that work?

Zach Adams: Well, calcium hypochlorite is, like I said, a dry form of chlorine. It's dissolved onsite, so it's kind of like an onsite generator in that regard.

But it dissolves the calcium hypochlorite into an aqueous solution. So, in that form, it's like bleach. So it's kind of the best of both worlds: you get onsite generation, but you're dealing with an aqueous solution, onsite, of lower concentrated chlorine.

Todd Schnick: What's the major advantage of that versus other approaches?

Zach Adams: The major advantage, from a standpoint of safety, you know, gas chlorine is becoming more regulated. Calcium hypochlorite, in the other regard, is less regulated. It's dry chlorine, it's more stable, it's going to have a longer shelf life.

And then on the other side is bleach, and so when you compare calcium hypochlorite to bleach, like I said, it's got a longer shelf life; it's less corrosive; it's about 10 times less concentrated, so it's much more stable than bleach.

Todd Schnick: We also want to ask you about your Constant Chlor feeder. How does that work?

Zach Adams: Right. The Constant Chlor is a patented technology that Arch Chemicals manufactures. We have four different-sized feeders, and I'll get into that in a minute. But the way that it works is that our patent-pending…excuse me, we have two patents: we have a patent-pending circulation system and a patented spray technology. And what it does is it sprays the cal-hypo onsite and generates a reservoir of solution that is mixed and metered out – usually with a diaphragm or peristaltic-style pump for disinfection.

Todd Youngblood: How many different feeders do you offer?

Zach Adams: We have four. We have four different sizes, and I'll just run through the sizes to help you understand. We call them the MC4. So, that's municipal chlorinator, and that's generation 4.

So, we've been at it for a little while. We've got the MC4, and the four designations after that are -50, -150, -400, and -1000. And what those numbers mean is the "-50" would mean that the feeder holds 50 pounds of available chlorine. So the "-150" holds 150 pounds…and so forth.

Todd Youngblood: Got it.

Todd Schnick: Zach, help Todd and I and our Water Online audience understand who your customers are. Who are you selling these feeders to?

Zach Adams: For the most part we have a distributor rep that is going to use diaphragm – like I said, diaphragm of peristaltic pumps – to sell into the chem-feed market. But mostly it's going to operators, it's going to small municipalities, usually 5 – let's say 1-, to 3-, to 5-MGD, up to 10-, 20-MGD, depending on the site.

But these are usually smaller communities. We certainly do have some larger cities that we work – El Paso, for example. But usually cities that are in the 5-MGD or less, we sell to those operators and those municipalities.

Todd Youngblood: Is there a reason why you're focusing on those smaller communities?

Zach Adams: Well, we have a distinct advantage, we feel, in these more rural areas. Like I said, our cal-hypo is more concentrated: 68% of available chlorine versus the conventional 10% to 12% bleach. And so, from a shipping standpoint, you save a lot of money; from your storage you save a lot of money.

And a lot of these facilities are only using a few pounds a day…you know, some maybe 10 or 20 pounds a day. But handling bulk bleach can be an issue in those quantities. Usually, with the larger facilities, it's not as much of a problem. But when you get into the rural areas, it really has a distinct advantage.

Todd Schnick: That's really a different answer than I expected you to give to that question. You're obviously a very technically competent guy. And do you see the technical knowledge difference in a rural area versus an urban one? Is that a differentiator for you as well?

Zach Adams: It is, I mean, our RMC4s – we actually have what is called a "light" version, which is kind of a non-PLC, really straight, stripped-down piece of equipment which can go into the lower-tech facilities.

But it really depends on the state and the municipality. We've seen small facilities that were high tech and larger facilities that were, you know, lacking some. So, it really just depends on the customer.

Todd Schnick: Let's shift to a 10,000-foot view for a minute. What do you see, and your colleagues at Arch Chemicals, as the emerging trends and issues in the water and wastewater industry going into 2012?

Zach Adams: Well, I think it's what everybody is saying in this industry: increased regulation. I mean, you're seeing areas and states that are coming down on gas chlorine – increased regulation, handling the cylinders, transportation, all the risk management that has to go into it.

So it's not, any more, just the cost per pound of chlorine, there are a lot of other factors that are facilitated in there. And I think there is a drive towards safer, less hazardous chemicals, especially with Homeland Security and things like that. So, again, cal-hypo – or calcium hypochlorite – is much less regulated than bleach or gas.

Todd Schnick: You're the first person in that chair today who's talked about transportation as an emerging trend. Speak more to that. I'd love to know more about what you mean by that.

Zach Adams: Well, let's just take an example. There's nothing like a concrete example.

Todd Schnick: Outstanding.

Zach Adams: You look at Long Island, all right. The island itself, up in New York, is pretty much accessible by bridges and tunnels. Well, there are issues…you certainly can't send gas chlorine through there – it being a flammable gas and things like that. And bleach is an issue because the island is so rural. It's actually a very long island.

We have probably 80% to 90% of the water on Long Island is treated with our calcium hypochlorite. And so that just speaks to a situation where transportation was an issue – getting it all out to the island, getting it out there safely. And we just…we don't fall under the same regulations, from shipping and storage, that the other conventional methods of chlorine do.

Todd Youngblood: Zach, you're also the first guy that sat in that chair today that didn't mention the economy as an issue. Is that a non-issue, or just not as important?

Zach Adams: Well, it just depends, again, on the area, since bleach fluctuates with the range of delivery. Let's take, for example, in Alaska bleach may be $8 a gallon – you know, that's very expensive for chlorine – and in Florida it may be $1.50 a gallon. So it really depends on where you are. And with cal-hypo, we work with our customers depending on their volumes, and we can be very competitive.

Todd Youngblood: Got it.

Todd Schnick: Arch Chemicals is exhibiting here at WEFTEC. What are your primary objectives at the show?

Zach Adams: Well, we've got some technology. We actually got a feeder sitting there (obviously, we don't have any chemicals). But we have some pumps, we have it all set up and running. And we've got all of our technical sales reps over there. I'm here to meet people in the industry – our distributors are here – and to make new contacts and meet people like you guys.

Todd Schnick: What does the next three to five years look like for Arch Chemicals?

Zach Adams: We're really starting to take off. What we've really got is a strong distributor network now that we're building. We're seeing, again, this increased regulation. And we're going to see tremendous growth, we feel.

Todd Schnick: All right, outstanding. Zach, I hate to say it but we're out of time. But before we let you go, share with the audience how they can contact Arch Chemicals and learn more about the work that you guys are doing.

Zach Adams: Well, the website is www.archwaterworks.com, and our booth is South 357. Please come and see us.

Todd Schnick: All right. Project engineer of Arch Chemicals, Zach Adams, it was a pleasure having you. Thanks for joining us today.

Zach Adams: Yes, thank you. Thank you for having me.

Todd Youngblood: Thanks a lot, Zach.

Todd Schnick: Okay. That wraps this segment. On behalf of Todd Youngblood, I'm Todd Schnick. Water Online Radio will be right back.