The Intricacies Of Sand: Nature's Filter Media

Carmine Iacuone, General Manager and Billy Leiva, Marketing Project Manager for Holliston Sand, recently sat down with Water Online Radio to discuss sand filtration in the water business. The Company, which incidentally provided the sand media for the New England Patriots’ newest Astroturf field, produces numerous sizes of sand and uniformity coefficients that are integrated into both single and multi-layer filters for the water industry.

Two considerations are very important for sand. The first is the effective size of the sand and the second is its uniformity coefficient. As Iacuone explains, “We're working with civil engineers and filter system operators currently in providing sand media and helping them tweak it to meet the new EPA turbidity requirements, which is a challenge for a lot of municipalities.”

Often times these legacy systems are 30-40 years old and physical footprint provides a real challenge. Limited by square footage, the utility needs to parallel or upgrade their existing system and the media properties become all important in meeting new regulatory requirements.

As Leiva explains, “There’s a scientific process behind sand and it’s quite specific, quite detailed and there are many applications that sand is good for.” So many that Holliston Sand, headquartered out of Slatersville, RI runs a sand media course at the University of Rhode Island to get students actively engaged in understanding sand and its intricacies.

To learn more about Holliston Sand and the many applications for sand, click on the player below: