GE Introduces Molybdate-Free Water Treatment Chemicals

General Electric has introduced a line of molybdate-free water treatment chemicals to prevent corrosion in sterilizers and pasteurizers used in the food and beverage industry.

GE’s new chemicals are cheaper than other conventional products, providing, on average, 30 percent most cost effectiveness when calculated on the treatment expense for 1 meter of water, because it lacks the high-priced raw material molybdate.

Molybdate often is used as a corrosion inhibitor in the treatment of process water in closed systems or in sterilizers. However, an increasing number of countries are restricting its use as discharge regulations tighten.

GE designed the FoodPro chemicals for use under soft water conditions where corrosion of food packages and sterilizer equipment can lead to severe problems. It offers equal or better levels of corrosion and scale inhibition than current molybdate-based products tested by GE, which contain heavy metals such as molybdate or zinc, the company said.

The FoodPro chemicals, which is a blend of organic corrosion inhibitors and phosphonates, is designed to improve the cleanliness of cans, leading to less required manual cleaning of spoiled food packages and to fewer rejects from can corrosion, GE said. It reduces the need for repair and maintenance of sterilizer and pasteurizer equipment, helps users meet discharge limitations and reduces overall water treatment costs, GE said.

A successful pilot study released in July has shown GE’s water treatment technology can help beverage companies safely treat and reuse water to achieve 99 percent or higher recovery in their plants, the company says.

This represents a vast improvement, GE says, since bottling companies can typically use 75 to 85 percent of the water supplied to their treatment room for bottled water and soft drinks. The rest is discharged as a waste stream.

GE also announced a system this summer it says overcomes a major technical obstacle for larger desalination facilities, by reducing the energy demands associated with pumping water by at least 10 percent.

Water and Sewerage Corporation, a desalination facility in Tarpum Bay, Bahamas, has installed a pilot Integrated Pump and Energy Recovery system to further test the technology.