PRESS RELEASE
27 October 1995
Natural purification guarantees
reasonably priced drinking water

Drinking water which contains high levels of iron, manganese, various
organic materials, nitrates and
other impurities is a common problem
for many water suppliers blocking
pipes in the public water networks
and causing health problems. But
there is a solution which does not require chemicals, filters or re-filtering. The system uses two
methods are used, Vyredox and
Nitredox, which have been developed
by the Swedish based company, VYR Metoder and are now, after 20 years,
in their third generation.
By using nature’s own purification process, impurities are removed under- ground, before the water is pumped
to the surface and used. Surface
water is cleaned using artificial
hydro-formations. According to the manufacturer, the method is up to 80
per cent cheaper than competing systems.

The Vyredox systems serve the sixty thousand people who live in the Swedish towns, Nyköping and Oxelösund. The two most recent installations, which were built in 1993, are of the third generation and were chosen as they give a favourable combination of economy and effect. Each m3 of water delivered costs as little as 13 öre with investment costs currently costing around 10 öre.
”Compared with competing systems, this installation has provided savings of up to 70 per cent in investment costs and 90 per cent in running costs”, says Rudolf Martinell, founder of VYR Metoder.
In the first generation Vyredox installations, water was taken from another source, oxygenized and pumped underground where it stimulated the purification process. In the third generation, oxygenation is done in the rock formation from which the water is taken.

Natural oxidization zone
As with earlier VYR systems, a number of oxygenation wells are drilled around each of the extraction wells.
A blind-pipe is then installed about half way down the filtration pipe in each oxygenation well which are connected to a pump and oxigini-zation equipment. Water is then alternatively pumped from the lower section of the filtration pipe and up, and from the upper section and down. This creates a flow of water from the formation to the upper section of the filtration pipe which then flows back into the formation creating an oxidization zone around the main well.
”This zone activates micro-organisms which react and free various contaminants such as iron and manganese from the ground water before it is pumped to the surface. Alternative pumping at two to four hour intervals, one or two days a week ensures high quality water at a far lower cost than competing systems,” says Rudolf Martinell.
So far there are more than 150 Vyredox installations in operation in 13 countries. The largest is in Bratislava, Slovakia which provides more than 500,000 people with pure water. The only country where the system has, until now, not been used is Great Britain were most of the bedrock is limestone which lacks the finely distributed porosity which is essential for the system to work. However, this problem has ben solved by a new method where the rock is hydro-fractured, or shattered into very small pieces./ins

Caption:
Vyredox III works by using water which is oxygenized under- ground in natural or artificial formations. These create oxygenation zones which remove impurities such as iron and manganese. Pure drinking water is then pumped up to the surface. According to the manufacturer, the method is up to
80 per cent cheaper than competing systems.


For further information contact:
VYR Metoder
Rudolf Martinell
Rågvägen 4
183 67 Täby
Sweden
Tel: +46 8 756 02 48