ABOUT US

Picture a wastewater stream from a French fry potato plant in semi-arid Southern Idaho. About 2 MM gpd of wastewater containing a high loading of soluble and suspended starches is being pumped into a land application system to be distributed to a myriad of crop circles for reuse on the fields. Unfortunately, once the wastewater enters the distribution system force main, any oxygen present within the water is rapidly depleted, leaving an anaerobic environment throughout the remainder of the plumbing system. In the presence of such a high level of nutrients, the microorganism population converts to an anaerobic activity, with the formation of acids, such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from residual sulfate (SO42-) in the water, as well as volatile organic acids (VOCs, such as butyric acids). The resulting pH and alkalinity in the distributed water can fall dramatically, causing accelerated corrosion to crop circles, and releasing tremendous levels of foul-smelling odors (rotten egg smell from H2S coupled with the putrid rotten potato smell of butyric acid). Rather than offering the never-ending cost of chemical additives to "knock out" the odors, we decided to approach the problem from its root cause – the lack of oxygen in the system. Therefore, Gener-Ox™ was developed to maintain an oxygenated environment in land application systems. The concept is simple: concentrate oxygen from the air, drive it into solution on-the-fly, and inject the maximum saturation concentration of dissolved oxygen into the force main that the static pressure will hold. In so doing, the microorganism population within the distribution system always remains aerobic. Aerobic microorganisms do not release odors, nor do they depress the pH. Problem solved without the use of a chemical – other than Mother Nature's air!

IER's owner, Dick Handley, and Joe Hennessey have a combined 75 years of experience in water and wastewater treatment, with the majority of time spent working with food processors. Dick and Joe also have a strong desire to minimize the use of chemicals, or to employ the most environmentally-friendly products when appropriate. Therefore, the Gener-Ox™ concept for odor and corrosion control fell directly in line with their corporate scientific philosophy. There are now numerous food processors in the Pacific Northwest that have chemical-free Gener-Ox™ systems protecting their crop circles from odor and corrosion.

It didn't make sense to us to replace the use of a chemical, say Bioxide (Nitrate) or Ferric Chloride, with the purchase of a different chemical, such as Liquid Oxygen (LOX). Therefore, IER's Gener-Ox™ and Odor-Ox systems employ on-site oxygen generation. For this reason, we have added to our team two of the most prominent experts in North America on on-site oxygen systems. Through the additions of Joe Hennessy, IER has added a combined 50 years of experience in the design, operation, and maintenance of on-site oxygen concentrators. Joe lives in Washington State and covers sales and service.

From this industrial experience, IER has rapidly grown into the municipal market, where there is a growing awareness of the need for more cost-effective odor and corrosion control technologies. This is where we discovered that many city and county utility districts have extremely high yearly budgets for odor and corrosion control chemical treatment costs. Through the application of Gener-Ox™ and Odor-Ox, IER has helped these organizations greatly reduce their dependency on chemicals and save hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. With this team of wastewater experts and on-site oxygen experts, IER is well positioned to handle any and all odor and corrosion control situations in the industrial and municipal marketplace.