Canadian Hydroponic Vegetable Farm Uses Rokon to Boost Water Recovery to 95%

The Challenge

 

A large Canadian cucumber farm needed a way to transform ground water into nutrient-rich water for hydroponic growing. After installing a competitor’s reverse osmosis system to filter hard water, the farmers ran into some unexpected challenges.

 

Designed to filter out carbonates, sulfates, chlorides and sodium salts, the reverse osmosis system only recovered 65% of the water and generated 35% brine wastewater. The excess in brine waste caused increased energy costs and environmental complications. In addition, the 65% recovered irrigation water did not retain enough bicarbonates to consistently buffer pH changes. As a result, the leachate’s nutrient-rich integrity was compromised.

 

Kontek’s Solution

 

Kontek designed and commissioned a customized Rokon system that would boost water recovery while sustaining the water’s important nutritional composition. SmartLogic controls were added to protect the system and guarantee steady flow rates.

 

Extra storage tanks were designed to homogenize fresh well water and store processed return water. These extra tanks ensured a closed loop irrigation process, which helped absorb leachate changes caused by variable weather conditions.

 

Benefits/Results

 

Just three months after installation, the client has boosted their water recovery from 65% to 95%. Their updated irrigation process now provides a good buffering capacity for pH control. In addition, a complete closed loop irrigation system has been achieved by retaining nutrient-rich return water.