R6 Lateral Pipe

R6 Pipe Laterals for GAC Contactors

R6 Pipe Laterals for Sloped-Floor GAC Contactors

The use of post-filtration contactors containing granular activated carbon (or GAC) has steadily increased in drinking water treatment for several decades. gac contactors

These contactors remove a variety of undesirable contaminants, to include algal toxins, taste and odor compounds, disinfection byproduct precursors, PFCs, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, organic compounds, and radon.

 

GAC Treatment Uses

GAC adsorbs these compounds until its capacity is spent and must be replaced.  This could be as frequent as every 6 to 12 months. For high flowrate applications, instead of numerous pressure vessels, large gravity contactors may be utilized. So how do you remove the spent media out of the large gravity contactor cells?  Using a vacuum truck is straight-forward, but laborious.

Some contactors are built with sloped-floor bottoms to sluice the GAC towards a central flume for easier media removal.  Pipe lateral type underdrains are required as common types of underdrains will not work because the floor is not level. Orthos’ R6 pipe laterals offer significant value over expensive-to-manufacture stainless wedgewire laterals.  

Lateral Sloped Floor
Sloped-Floor
R6 Lateral for GAC Filtration
R6 Mounted on 6" 316 SS Pipe

Type R6 screens with 0.2mm slots are injection-molded of glass-reinforced polypropylene and are mounted on standard 6”-diameter 316 stainless steel pipe. 

Orthos precision-drills each lateral with specifically-sized holes to provide proper distribution during contact flow and backwash.  Laterals are provided with mounting hardware and connection flange.

R6 Lateral Screen
R6 Lateral Screen
Precision Drilled Holes
Specifically-sized holes to provide Proper Distribution

The economy of the Orthos Type R6 over wedgewire allows more laterals to be used per basin to provide improved flow characteristics and media contact. This results in improved GAC utilization and longer bed life as well as improved backwash distribution, which will better clean the media and further increase its utilization.

These advantages clearly make Orthos Type R6 laterals an effective choice for sloped-floor GAC contactors.

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Remember Orthos’ HUGE life cycle cost benefits– At the end of the filter’s life cycle (~25 years), in contrast to a complete plastic block or folded sheet metal underdrain overhaul, nozzles are simply replaced
potentially saving $Millions.


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