Review: Ukrainian Eco Matrix Coagulant

Eco Matrix (former Giacint) coagulant is produced by ECOTECHNOLOGIES – 21 CENTURY which created it based on its own technology of polyhydroxyl aluminum chloride synthesis.

There are several packaging options available depending on the application. I’ve tried all volumes that have ever been produced. Some of them are no longer used but I’ll describe everything I’ve put my hands on for these four years.

The best option for everyday use is a 5 ml bottle. It is easy to keep in your pocket, wallet or bag and can be used as an antiseptic to wash hands or vegetables, treat wounds and scratches. The volume is enough to purify 5 liters of water. It is a new branded packaging of the company.

10 ml capsules are convenient to use in first-aid and emergency kits and as hunting, fishing or traveling equipment. These leak-proof, extra strong containers have enough coagulant to purify up to 10 liters of potentially drinking water in emergency. This packaging is no longer available, it was introduced by the manufacturer as a sample, but I believe they will agree to meet their customers’ needs if required. Personally I preferred this packaging in my expeditions and autonomous travels, partly because after the capsule is empty it can be used as a handy leak-proof container, for example as a salt cellar.

To meet the needs of military units, rescuers, medicals, volunteers and other people whose activity involves spending a lot of time in the field or in areas without access to quality drinking water there is a special anatomically shaped bottle 200 ml in volume that is enough to treat up to 200 liters of potentially drinkable water. It is a new branded packaging of the company.

For everyday needs the product is available in standard 330 ml bottles, big enough to purify over 300 liters of drinking water. Previously the bottles were equipped with a push-pull cap and a dosing cap. New models are manufactured with a usual cap but have several levels of counterfeit protection – the same as the old ones. I won’t go into details of protective elements used by the company as all of them are shown in the picture. The first element is not used in new models.

When it is necessary to use the coagulant on industrial scale to treat large amounts of water, there is a possibility to get the coagulant in 5 liter canisters to purify up to 5 tons of drinking water. The producer also provides 5-, 10- and 20 liter containers with a tap to drain the purified settled water.

Mechanism of action

It should be noted that the Giacint formula works selectively and only binds the substances which negatively affect living organism physiology. All the minerals and salts, necessary to ensure the optimum composition of the extracellular fluid, are retained (the principle of human kidney work). The optimal level of mineral content is up to 300 mg/l.

The coagulant is a water solution of an inorganic polymer, and its action is based on the combination of two mechanisms: the main (electromechanical) mechanism involves neutralization of suspended particle charges while the additional mechanism involves chemical bonding of the particles.

When the polymer is mixed with the treated water, its active formula – polyhydroxyl aluminum chloride – undergoes hydrolysis and forms hexacyclic aquahydroxyl complexes with a structure similar to that one of the mineral known as hydrargillite (gibbsite, or white clay).

Aquahydroxyl complexes interact through continuing hydrolysis and form three-layer aquahydroxyl complexes.

These polynuclear complexes are micelles 0.0018–0.0024 microns in size. The micelles further interact through van der Waals forces to form larger spherical aggregates that consist of multiple micelles.

The micelles and spherical aggregates are positively charged and thus they chemisorb organic and mineral impurities on their surfaces and at the same time they are chemisorbed on impurities suspended in the water. This leads to neutralized charges of the micelles and spherical aggregates.

As a result of the interactions, all suspended in the water impurities get coated with smaller particles of aluminium hydroxide and coalesce with other particles by means of chain structures to form floc. It can be clearly seen in the course of experiments.

The resulting large particles of floc either sink, carrying heavier impurities down, or partially float on the surface, as they incorporate gases which are also dissolved in water as a rule.

In the process of coagulation we can observe the concentration of neutralized impurities at the bottom or top of the container. This is directly related to the nature of the impurities and the amount of dissolved in the water gases including chlorine: the more gases are dissolved in the water, the more sediment goes up.

What the sediment looks like, its amount and structure can vary within a wide range and depend on the geographical position of the area, time of the day and other factors.

This type of purification:

– bonds impurities such as mineral particles (sediment, metal salts including radionuclides), surfactants, organic particles (resulting from decomposition of plant and animal remnants), biological particles (protozoa, bacteria, plankton etc.);

– is efficient at any water temperature;

– does not change the рН level;

– does not produce toxic compounds;

– retains all the microelements and salts which are good for health;

– revitalizes water after chlorination by neutralizing organochlorides;

– neutralizes oxidation potential and increases reduction potential of the treated water which is very valuable;

– being frozen and then defrosted, the product retains its coagulating properties and can be successfully used for purification.

Water purification (disinfection) procedure

1. Dissolve the coagulant in the proportion of 1 ml per 1 l of water. The cap of the standard bottle or sample capsule can be used for dosing as its volume is 1 ml.
2. Let the water settle for 6–8 hours, separate clean water from the sediment and use the water for drinking and hygienic purposes.
3. In case of emergency, the water can be used in 30–60 minutes as the main process of coagulation and neutralization of impurities occurs immediately and sedimentation time is necessary for the floc to consolidate and settle to the bottom. In this case the water can be filtered through a cotton filter which can easily separate the coagulated floc.
4. If the coagulant is added to some water from an open water body or a source of unknown origin, it is recommended to double the amount of the coagulant, that is, add 2 ml per a liter of water.

Testing

Three types of water were treated using the procedure:

1. Water from the Southern Bug River
2. Tap water from the city water supply system in the central part of Nikolaev
3. Water from a bore 37 m deep in a suburb of Nikolaev (the properties of spring water)

All the water samples were taken on the same day. The water was purified in identically transparent half-liter jars at room temperature in the shade. Curves of the jars somewhat distorted the view in picture 9, but in reality the water in the last two cans was equally transparent (in the picture there are some glare distortions at the bottom of the jars). The water under testing is presented in the same sequence as the samples were taken: river, tap, bore water.

The manufacturer instructs to pour the coagulant first and then add the water to ensure better mixing. I did quite the opposite (as any person who doesn’t read manuals would): I poured some water and then added 1 ml of the coagulant and didn’t mix them.

The reaction began during the first minute which is clearly seen in the picture.

Then I took the comparison pictures in an hour and in two hours. By the end of this time the main biochemical processes were over and the water became drinkable.

Nevertheless, I mixed the resulting sediment and let the water settle for 10 more hours as recommended by the manufacturer.

The pictures give a clear idea of how the coagulant interacts with particles of heavy metals and other impurities. The fact that it helps to eliminate pathogenic bacteria is proved by relative certificates, diplomas, awards, grants and years of personal experience of using it in the wild.

The results of my testing were expectable. The river sample proved to be the most contaminated with heavy dissolved particles, the tap water was the second worst and the spring sample was the cleanest one. The same is true about lighter compounds that formed in the upper part of the jars. The spring water didn’t have any of them!

There are no light fractions in spring water; as for the heavier ones, there formed some bright white calcined sediment. It was difficult to identify the components of the tap water sediment by mere looking, but judging from the color of the bottom and surface layers it was anything but healthy. In the river water sample microorganisms and algae sank to the bottom while industrial and domestic pollution was collected in the upper layer. The smell of the river remained, but it didn’t matter – the water in all three jars was drinkable!

I’ve had other kinds of testing since 2011 during both individual and group expeditions. For years I’ve used the coagulant in different geographical and climatic conditions. So far, it has been successfully used during expeditions and autonomous travel to different remote places, including mountain and steppe areas of the Crimea, forests and moorland, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (Ukraine), Sinai Desert and The Eastern Desert (Egypt), mountains in Turkey, and Oman coast.

I’ve used the coagulant to purify potentially drinkable water from standing and low flow water bodies as well as from water sources in areas contaminated with radiation. 4 years of drinking this water didn’t affect my health so I can say without any doubt that any water purified in this way can be safely used for domestic purposes as well as in tourism, emergency situations or areas affected by armed conflicts.

I’ve also used the coagulant to treat burns, wounds and scratches (which are inevitable while traveling in the wild), as body deodorant and skin care. Today the coagulant successfully substitutes water filters, activated carbon, various antiseptics, hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, medical alcohol, body deodorant and skin care.

Based on the above mentioned, I can recommend the following applications for the Giacint coagulant:

1. Post-treatment of water from centralized water supply systems – 1 ml of the coagulant per 1 liter of water. Proved by personal experience.
2. Purification and disinfection of water from open and contaminated sources (including contamination with radionuclides) – 2 ml of the coagulant per 1 liter of water (liquid). Proved by personal experience.
3. Wound treatment (including gunshot). Proved by personal experience. The coagulant is used as an antiseptic. Generously soak some cotton wool or gauze cloth with undiluted coagulant, apply it to the wound and bandage. It does not irritate the wound, soothes pain, stops bleeding and disinfects the wound (according to participants of the Antiterrorist operation).
4. Treating burns of any degree or bedsores. To facilitate regeneration and soothe pain wet some gauze cloth with undiluted coagulant and cover the burn. With deeper burns, cold can be applied on top of the bandage. With superficial skin burns, it is enough to apply some undiluted coagulant on the burnt area several times. Proved by personal experience.
5. Treating food poisoning (diarrhea) or general intoxication – add 5 ml of the coagulant to 100 ml of water and drink it. If necessary, repeat it 3–4 times a day. You can also drink 5 ml of undiluted coagulant followed with water (the solution is very astringent!). Proved by personal experience.
6. Treating sore throat and runny nose – use the mixture of 5 ml of the coagulant per 200 ml of water to gargle and drop into your nose 5–6 times a day. Proved by personal experience.
7. Treating toothache, gum or oral mucosa inflammation. Soak some cotton wool with undiluted coagulant and put it on the tooth or into the tooth cavity (or apply it to the gum). To treat inflammation, use the mixture of 5 ml of the coagulant per 200 ml of water to gargle or keep it in your mouth for 2–3 minutes. Repeat the procedure 3–4 times a day. Proved by personal experience.
8. Treating earache. Insert cotton wool turunda soaked with undiluted coagulant into the ear canal and leave them for some time. Proved by personal experience.
9. Treating insect and arthropod bites and stings. Apply some undiluted coagulant to the damaged area until edema and itching disappear. Proved by personal experience.
10. Treating feet for excessive sweating and fungal infection. Regularly apply some undiluted coagulant to affected areas. Proved by personal experience.
11. As a body deodorant. Apply some undiluted coagulant in the perspiration areas. The odor neutralizing effect is observed for 12–24 hours (while maintaining normal cellular respiration in the skin). Proved by personal experience.
12. Treating hands, fruit or indoor mold. Spray some undiluted coagulant over the surface that needs treating. Proved by personal experience.

Conclusions

Talking about disadvantages, it should be noted that the process of purification takes certain time and the amount of treated water depends on the volume of the container used for the treatment. Consequently, you need a container with a drainage outlet (for industrial purposes) and some cloth screen to roughly filter the sediment.

Apart from contaminated water treatment, the product can be used as a multipurpose medication especially in case of emergency or environmental disaster. Thus, the product allows us to minimize problems that arise while being away from civilization, without access to clean water. It helps to preserve health in emergency situations with minimum financial expenses and medication load on the body. Considering its low price, the coagulant can provide invaluable help for tourists, travelers, military and medical professionals, people whose work involves long trips to regions with unfavorable ecological and aquatic environment, and the population of tropical countries who desperately need quality water in their daily life.

The coagulant doesn’t need much storage space and can purify the amount of water a thousand times more than its own volume. It is multipurpose and the cost of purified water is less than $ 0.01 (on the day of testing). My conclusions are backed by numerous diplomas, awards and quality certificates granted to the company. They can be found at the company website.

© Igor Molodan

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