Could a technique used in aircraft toilets also be used in greenhouse water management? René Gipmans, Technical Director of the Gipmans Group, asked himself that question two years ago after he read an article in HortiDaily about the SKW system for cleaning pipes. Two units have since been installed and Gipmans is experiencing the benefits.
Not long after René came across the technology, he and Pieter van Noord, the German company's Dutch representative, were in Gipmans' water technology room conducting the first tests. "Because we grow year-round, thoroughly cleaning the underground pipe system is a challenge. We decided to incorporate the SKW system, which is already being used successfully in numerous industries, into a ring main of the recycle water silo," says René. "The amount of dirt we saw released from the pipes after the first flush was huge."
© Thijmen Tiersma | HortiDaily.com
The SKW system in the water room at Gipmans Plants.
All the biofilm and algae that had come loose were collected by the fabric filter in the ring main. However, the first unit at the ebb and flow system did not get the biofilm and algae sufficiently dislodged. Thereupon, Pieter recommended installing a larger SKW unit of up to 72 tonnes of water per hour. "This allowed us to flush more water through the SKW system and clean our pipes optimally. When we did this, we immediately saw the ebb and flow floor fill up with biofilm," says René. "Since the installation, we have had cleaner and clearer water."
"Cleaning the pipes wasn't even the first thing I hit on in the GroentenNieuws article. In fact, cleaning the water through the SKW system also turns out to have benefits for plant growth." The Gipmans board member is responsible for facility and technical matters, but of course, the grower also has an eye for the plant. "We have been growing organically for years and also recirculate all our water. We had been looking for a long time for a sustainable technique to clean our pipes in the best possible way."
© Thijmen Tiersma | HortiDaily.comClear water above the filter.
Good for the plant
At locations where SKW has been installed, growers are observing positive effects on their crops as a result of the specialized water treatment. Among others, a cucumber grower and a basil grower say they are harvesting earlier than before since using the SKW system. Pieter: "Our system ensures better water distribution, a more compact and faster root structure and therefore a healthier plant."
After installing the system, René saw immediate effects, especially in the germination phase: "We saw more hair roots in the young herb plants. We also see that the crop in the greenhouse is more uniform." Pieter adds: "You always have some outliers in the crop. Our system ensures that even the lagging plants grow well."
© SKW NederlandBasil at Gipmans. Left is with SKW, right without.
Better hair roots through thinner water
The initially purchased, smaller unit is now connected to the sprinkler system for irrigation at Gipmans. "With positive results," says René. "We see effects on the droplet size, among other things."
Pieter: "The Lorentz force helps reduce the dynamic viscosity in water transporting systems. A magnetic pulse is used for this purpose. We change the viscosity of water. In this way, we actually make the water thinner." René: "The water pressure in the pipe became lower, while the water flow increased, allowing us to pump more water with less energy. We also see that hair roots grow better thanks to the thinner water."
Gipmans is now also looking at the possibilities of incorporating an SKW system into a central heating system. After all, the viscosity of the water can yield energy savings here too. "It is a law of nature that every millimeter of dirt build-up in heating pipes causes 9% energy loss," Pieter knows.
© Thijmen Tiersma | HortiDaily.comPieter van Noord and René Gipmans at the SKW unit in the water technology room in Venlo.
Installation and maintenance
A grower who decides to work with an SKW system should ensure that the SKW system is built as short as possible behind the pump in the pipework. Two other conditions are that the water being treated has a minimum EC of 0.3 and a minimum flow rate of 0.2 meters per second. Pieter: "The more minerals there are in the water, the thicker the water is and the more difference we can make."
The installation is done by an installation company or by the company's own technical department, as at Gipmans. "The installation involves taking a piece out of the water pipe, between which the SKW system is placed," says Pieter. "Depending on the volume of water to be processed, one or more of our systems may be needed, possibly side by side. We look at that on-site. Any water flow we can handle."
Maintenance is easy. Pieter: "We recommend taking a quick look at the inside of the system once a year to remove any contamination by metal particles from the water." René: "We invest in the plant with this system, with the added great benefit of less contamination in the pipes and fewer breakdowns."
For more information:
Pieter van Noord
SKW-System
noord@skw-system.de
www.skw-system.de
Gipmans Plants 
info@gipmans.nl
www.gipmans.nl