The Oceanium, one of Rotterdam Zoo’s most popular attractions, was faced with a major challenge last year when its existing ozone generators failed. Thanks to the close cooperation between Xylem and a local partner, a creative short-term solution was found as well as a new permanent design using Xylem’s WEDECO ozone system.
Behind the scenes at the Rotterdam Zoo’s Oceanium exhibit, a complex water purification process provides clean water for the animals and ensures that the water stays clear for visitors. An essential part of this purification process is the removal of organic material by supplying the water with ozone using ozone generators.
“The Oceanium is a habitat with sea life that are extremely sensitive to changes in water quality,” says Mirsada Mutapcic, Chemical Analyst and Supervisor of Water Quality at Oceanium. “Rotterdam Zoo places a great deal of importance on the quality of the water and has installed high-quality purification systems to keep the water in the best possible condition. If one of the systems or ozone generators fails, action must be taken immediately, because the increased concentration of nitrogen, particularly ammonia, can be life threatening for the animals. Ozone plays a key role in the removal of these substances. Visitors see the failure of this system in the form of cloudy water.”
Last year when the ozone generator failed at Oceanium, action had to be taken quickly. In addition, the existing system was out of date. Xylem Water Solutions Nederland B.V. is well known for being able to deal with every phase of the water cycle, including ozone oxidation systems, and was therefore approached immediately by Rotterdam Zoo to find a solution to the problem. Xylem commissioned a local partner to install Xylem’s WEDECO ozone system.
“When our existing ozone generators failed, one of our suppliers told me about the ozone generators at a Dutch water company,” says Randolph Streng, Head of Technical Services at Rotterdam Zoo. “Their technical department put me in touch with Xylem, which in turn had a good local turnkey solutions partner. They immediately called to see if there was a temporary workaround solution they could offer, and within two days they had found the answer in the form of a containerized system.”
Part of the existing system was replaced to act as a temporary disinfection unit for the Oceanium while the replacement system was being built. This creative, temporary solution used a soil decontamination and purification technique for water treatment purposes.
“Within a week we had an ozone system again and it wasn’t long before we received a quote for replacing the faulty unit,” says Randolph Streng. “We also signed up for a long-term maintenance contract with Xylem’s local partner.”
While the temporary solution was being built, a design and construction process was undertaken in close cooperation with the zoo that would use Xylem’s new WEDECO ozone oxidation water treatment unit. The new system, which is fully in line with the zoo’s wishes and requirements, has now been in operation since the end of April 2013.
Learn more about Xylem’s WEDECO UV and ozone systems.