Description
About Activated Glass Media
Activated Glass Media also known as “Activated Filter Media” replaces traditional sand media in all filtration applications. It is manufactured from a specific glass type and processed to obtain the optimum particle size and shape, and then activated to increase the surface area by 300 times over crushed glass or sand. The high surface area is negatively charged (zeta potential) to electro-statically attract organics and small particles. It also has permanent metal oxide catalysts, creating a high redox potential, to make AGM self-sterilising.
AGM (Active Glass Media) is a water filtration media manufactured from recycled glass bottles and used as a direct substitute for sand in sand filters. In sewage treatment works and even drinking water and swimming pool filters, bacteria will colonise the sand, and after a few days they will start to produce a sticky alginate coat that prevents the filters from working properly. AGM actively prevents bacteria growing, so the performance of the filtration systems are maintained. AGM can almost eliminate pollution by improving the quality of sewage effluent by 90%. AGM will also improve the quality of drinking water by removing 30% more waste from the water. The public heath and aquatic environmental benefits are therefore substantial, and at the same time AGM could eliminate all of the waste green glass bottles in the UK.
Main Benefits
- Over 30% lower running costs vs sand
- Over 50% lower chlorine consumption and lower disinfection by-products vs sand
- Filtration down to several microns at 100% efficiency without filtration aids
- More than 4 times longer life cycle than sand
- Specifically engineered product, targeted for an efficient removal of priority metal oxides and other target constitutes
- Guaranteed prevention of channeling & biological fouling on the AGFM surface
Excellent performance of Activated Glass Media ( AGM) in comparison with quartz sand and other glass filter media
AGM comes with important certifications such as NSF 50 (swimming pools) and 61 (drinking water), HACCP, UK DWI and others. AGM has been indepently tested by IFTS Institut de la Filtration et des Techniques Séparatives in France in 2014 and its superior performance over quartz sand and other glass filter media was confirmed and and is documented in the the 2014. AGM more than doubles the performance of a quartz sand filter and it performs multiple times better than all other glass filter media tested.
Recommended applications for AGM
This media can be used in any pressure filter application like our range of backwash filters including commercial sediment filters. More about sediment filters.
Application Type | Removed by use of AGM |
Drinking water | Iron, Manganese, Arsenate and some priority chemicals |
Municipal Wastewater | Phosphorous & Bacteria, BOD, COD & TOC |
Industrial Process Water | Organic pollutants & oils, TSS, VSS & Particles < 1 micron |
Industrial Wastewater | Colours and fine fibers, Residual mineral oils |
Product Details
Name | Activated Glass Media (AGM) |
Usage | Replacement for sand in all media filtration applications |
Material | Green recycled glass, uniquely shaped particles with activated surface |
Unique Features | Bio-resistant, self-sterilizing, sustainable, activated filtration media |
Recommended operational parameters
Parameter | Value |
Filtration velocity | 1-15 m3/hr/m2 |
Back Wash velocity | 35-55 m3/hr/m2 |
Max. operating differential pressure | > 0.4 bar |
Back Wash Duration | 5 – 10 mins |
Water pH limits | 3 – 9 |
Water temperature limits | 1-100 ° C |
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before first use of AGM backwash the media for 10 – 15 minutes 3 consecutive times with potable water and then rinse it for a further 1 hour.
Wastewater treatment
Most of the pollution entering the aquatic environment and chemicals entering the human food chain are derived from
aquatic pollution such as sewage effluent and industrial wastewater. Sand filters can treat the wastewater but they are
rarely used because the very rapid growth of bacteria in the nutrient rich water makes it difficult to keep the sand working. AGM actively resists bacteria so the problem is eliminated, this allows conventional sand filters using AGM media to work in wastewater.
In sewage effluent, AGM will consistently remove in excess of 90% of all the contaminants, including toxic chemicals. Industry and the Water Companies now have a simple, low cost tool, that that can be used to eliminate the majority of our aquatic environmental pollution. The public health benefits and ecological implications for Life and the Environment are substantial.
We know that sand filters occasionally discharge retained solids and bacteria back into the drinking water. The bacteria also cause channeling through the filter bed, which allows solids as
well as cryptosporidia oocysts to pass through into the public water supplies.
In order to improve the performance of the sand, flocculents such aluminum is used to clarify the water. The aluminum salts coagulate the solids making the particles larger and easier for
the sand to remove. However due to the channeling caused by bacteria living in the sand, some of the aluminium will pass through the sand and enter the public water supplies. It has been
reported that aluminium may be a trigger for Alzheimer’s.
Chlorine is added to drinking water, however the chlorine reacts with bacteria in the sand filters and contaminants in the water to form carcinogenic chemicals (THM’s). The demonstration
trials have confirmed that AGM filters do not dump retained solids and bacteria into the water and that AGM will remove at least 30% more waste from the water. The results confirm that less chlorine and coagulants will be required, and that the chemical concentration will be lower in the product water when AGM is employed