04.12.2024Acquisition of a hydriFilt-Filter for antimony removal by the municipaity of Gallzein
At the end of October 2024, the municipality of Gallzein in the Tyrolean district of Schwaz took over a hydro-Filt antimony filtration plant. Within the municipality of Gallzein, in the Hochgallzein supply area, residents obtain their drinking water from shallow groundwater from various shallow wells. The water from these shallow wells is collected in a feed pipe and fed into the water basins of the newly constructed water treatment building.
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In the event of heavy frost, the filling of these shallow wells is reduced. In these cold winter months, the treated water from the Vogelsangquelle and Vogelsangwegquelle (Vogelsang springs for short), which contain antimony, is now drawn in and fed into the Hochgallzein water basin. Antimony is dissolved out of the rock through water-rock interaction with the Schwaz dolomite and is dissolved into the Vogelsangquellen. Schwaz dolomite is a pale ore deposit that occurs in the Schwaz area in a silver-rich variety known as schwazite and was mined for centuries in the course of silver mining.
With the handover of the new antimony filtration plant, antimony will now be selectively removed from the spring water as part of a multi-stage filtration process using hydroFilt®Sb, an iron-based granular filter material. The adsorption capacity of the filter material is significantly increased by adjusting the pH value upstream of the filtrate. Antimony concentrations between 35 and 40 µg/l are effectively reduced below the limit value of the Drinking Water Ordinance by the treatment. The antimony filtration plant is fully automatic and switches from intermittent to continuous operation depending on the volume flow in the shallow wells. This automated operation allows the new antimony filtration plant to be operated in a cost- and resource-efficient manner during the winter months and in a hygienic manner during the summer months. With the installation of the new antimony filtration plant, the Vogelsang springs can now be freed from antimony and the security of supply for the inhabitants of Hochgallzein can be guaranteed all year round.
