Wet	Conductivity (us/cm)	3	720	720
Chem.	pH (pH units)	0.1	7.8	7.7
	Turbidity (NTU)	0.10	0.30	0.50
Metals	Aluminum (mg/L)	0.01	0.02	0.02
	Barium (mg/L)	0.01	0.08	0.08
	Beryllium (mg/L)	0.001	<0.001	<0.001
	Boron (mg/L)	0.05	<0.05	<0.05
	Cadmium (mg/L)	0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001
	Calcium (mg/L)	0.5	84	85
	Chromium (mg/L)	0.001	0.001	0.001
	Cobalt (mg/L)	0.0008	<0.0008	<0.0008
	Copper (mg/L)	0.001	0.059	0.052
	Iron (mg/L)	0.05	0.11	0.11
	Lead (mg/L)	0.001	<0.001	<0.001
	Magnesium (mg/L)	0.5	20	20
	Manganese (mg/L)	0.001	0.004	0.004
	Molybdenum (mg/L)	0.001	<0.001	<0.001
	Nickel (mg/L)	0.002	<0.002	<0.002
	Potassium (mg/L)	0.5	1.9	1.9
	Silver (mg/L)	0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001
	Sodium (mg/L)	0.5	19	20
	Strontium (mg/L)	0.001	0.24	0.24
	Thallium (mg/L)	0.0003	<0.0003	<0.0003
	Uranium (mg/L)	0.005	<0.005	<0.005
	Vanadium (mg/L)	0.001	0.003	0.003
	Zinc (mg/L)	0.003	0.004	0.004
	Zirconium (mg/L)	0.001	<0.001	<0.001

EXAMPLE 2Kill Time Study

The following table illustrates the kinetics of the destruction of microorganisms using the Turbu-Flow™ system. This example shows that regular tap water treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system results in an equivalent level of decontamination as sterile, deionized water.

Inoculum Preparation:

Cultures ofS. aureusATCC #6538 andL. monocytogenesATCC #19111 were transferred from stock cultures to individual tubes of Soybean casein digest broth (SCDB) media. Cultures were incubated at 30-35° C. for 24-48 hours.

A. nigerATCC #16404 was inoculated onto Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDEX) and incubated at 20-25° C. for 6-10 days.A. nigerwas harvested by removing the mycelial mats from the surface using a sterile spatula. The mycelia were placed into a sterile funnel containing moist cotton and rinsed with SALT, a solution of 0.9% saline with 0.05% Tween. Organism concentration was adjusted in Physiological Saline Solution (PHSS) to produce a challenge level of approximately 10^6-7CFU/mL using visual turbidity.

A. nigeris a fungus commonly found on textiles, in soils, grains, fruits, and vegetables and is a common cause for skin, pulmonary, and ear infections.S. aureusis a spherical bacterium and a common inhabitant of human skin.L. monocytogenesis a gram-positive, motile, rod-shaped bacterium that is found principally in contaminated food products.

Sample Preparation:

Samples were tested as received without any additional dilution or manipulation.

Test Procedure:

Tubes containing 9 mL of each test sample were brought to 50±2° C. in a waterbath. One mL of the prepared test microorganism suspension was added to each tube containing the test sample to yield a minimum of 1×10⁵CFU/mL challenge organism. The samples were mixed by swirling. The tubes were placed back into the waterbath. At 50° C., 60° C., 70° C., 80° C., and 90° C. (all temperatures within+2° C.) exposure temperatures 1.0 mL aliquots of sample solution-cell suspension were removed and added to 9 mL of Letheen broth (LETH). The tubes were mixed thoroughly. Ten-fold serial dilutions were made in blanks containing 9 mL of LETH through the appropriate dilution. Triplicate aliquots were plated from selected dilutions onto Soybean casein digest agar (SCDA) forS. aureusandL. monocytogenessamples and SDEX forA. nigersamples. Bacterial plates were incubated at 30-35° C. for 48-72 hours and mold plates were incubated at 20-25° C. for 3-7 days.

Positive Control:

Tubes were prepared containing 9 mL of sterile deionized water at 200 ppm hard water for each organism type. The tubes were equilibrated to 50+2° C. At T=O, 1 mL of test organism was added to the tube. Aliquots of the control were removed at the same temperature and relative time points as the test sample. Ten-fold serial dilutions were prepared in dilution blanks containing 9 mL of LETH. Triplicate aliquots were plated from selected dilutions onto Soybean casein digest agar (SCDA) forS. aureusandL. monocytogenessamples and SDEX forA. nigersamples. Bacterial plates were incubated at 30-35° C. for 48-72 hours and mold plates were incubated at 20-25° C. for 3-7 days.

Acceptance Criteria:

Positive controls must demonstrate a titer of ≧10⁵CFU/mL. Negative controls must not show any growth of the test organism.

Results:

The percent reduction and log reduction results in Table 2 show that tap water treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system has at least the equivalent ability to reduce growth of various fungi, bacteria and spores as deionized water. Negative controls did not show growth of the test microorganisms. The data as shown in Table 2 also demonstrates that tap water treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system has superior ability to reduce growth of microorganisms than that of deionized water at lower temperature (50° C.).

TABLE 2


Organism	Temperature	Percent reduction	Log₁₀reduction

A. niger

	50° C.	47	0.28
Treatedwater	60° C.	81	0.72
	70° C.	99.9989	4.97
	80° C.	99.9989	4.97
	90° C.	99.9989	4.97
A. niger	50° C.	0	0
Deionised water	60° C.	84	0.8
(Control)	70° C.	99.9989	4.57
	80° C.	99.9989	4.97
	90° C.	99.9989	4.97
S. aureus	50° C.	20	0.1
Treatedwater	60° C.	56	0.36
	70° C.	99.9956	4.36
	80° C.	99.99959	5.39
	90° C.	99.99959	5.39
S. aureus	50° C.	0	0
Deionised water	60° C.	99.959	3.39
(Control)	70° C.	99.99959	5.39
	80° C.	99.99904	5.02
	90° C.	99.99959	5.39
L. monocytogenes	50° C.	−310	−0.61
Treated water	60° C.	37	0.20
	70° C.	99.989	3.97
	80° C.	99.989	3.97
	90° C.	99.989	3.97
L. monocytogenes	50° C.	0	0
Deionised water	60° C.	98.9	1.97
(Control)	70° C.	99.989	3.97
	80° C.	99.989	3.97
	90° C.	99.989	3.97

EXAMPLE 3Water Surface Tension Analysis

Samples of untreated water and water treated by passage through a Turbu-Flow™ system were generated and analyzed for surface tension at room temperature and at 80° C. The results of the analysis are summarized in Table 3.

	TABLE 3


	Untreated Water	Turbu-Flow Treated Water

Date	Room Temp		80°C.	Room Temp	80° C.

May 5, 2004	79.0	na	69.5	na
	dynes/cm		dynes/cm
May 25, 2004	79.1	69.2	77.4	67.5
	dynes/cm	dynes/cm	dynes/cm	dynes/cm

Table 3 shows a dramatic decrease in water surface tension after a single pass through the Turbu-Flow™ system. The sample was analyzed approximately one week later. Based on a one-week-old sample, the surface tension dropped from 79.0 dynes/cm in the untreated water to 69.3 dynes/cm in the water treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system.

To further delineate the impact of time and temperature on the surface tension, the analysis was repeated almost three weeks later. At this time, the treated water sample exhibited only a slight decrease in surface tension over the untreated water at both room temperature and at 80° C. This analysis demonstrates that water treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system will revert back to its original surface tension over time. The most significant findings of this experiment is that for a period of more than a week after the water sample is passed through the Turbu-Flow™ system, it exhibited a surface tension that is similar in magnitude to water that has been heated to 80° C.

Thus, the water treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system has the ability to cause microorganisms to be less heat-tolerant due to the lower surface tension of the treated water.

EXAMPLE 4Comparison of Water Characteristics over Time

On Jul. 19, 2004, a sample of tap water treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system from Jun. 29, 2004 was submitted for analysis along with a tap water sample treated by passage through a Turbo-Flow™ system on Jul. 19, 2004. The results of these analyses are summarized in Table 4 below.

TABLE 4


Treated -	Initial Tap	Treated -
June 29	Water July 19^th	July 19^th

pH (pH units)	6.63	7.89	7.16
Turbidity (NTU)	0.91	0.17	0.45
Colour - Apparent (TCU)	<1	1	5

The results in Table 4 demonstrate that water treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system collected on Jun. 29, 2004 had a significantly depressed pH compared to the untreated and treated samples of Jul. 19, 2004. Also, the turbidity and the color of the three week old treated water sample are higher than that of the untreated water. The increase in turbidity and color of a three week old water sample that was treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system had not been previously observed.

EXAMPLE 5Redox (ORP) Analysis to Determine Effect of Chlorine Addition

ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential) or Redox is used in pool water treatment as an indication of sanitation in relation to free chlorine parameter. ORP technology is found to be a reliable indicator of bacteriological water quality. It is generally necessary for water to have an ORP value of at least 700 mV to ensure good water quality.

Samples of untreated and tap water treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system were submitted to determine the effect of chlorine addition on both sample types. The results are presented inFIG. 7.

FIG. 7 shows that on the day the samples were generated (Day 1 or D1 on the graph), the water treated by Turbu-Flow™ system required less of the standard chlorine solution to achieve an elevated ORP.FIG. 7 also shows that, by the next morning, both the untreated and treated samples were comparable to the results of the treated samples from Day 1. Furthermore, other that a slight difference in the early stages, bothDay 2 samples exhibited almost identical ORP response to chlorine addition.

EXAMPLE 6Study on the Effect of Turbu-Flow™ System on Iron Precipitation and Biofilm Formation

This example illustrates a study on the effect of the Turbu-Flow™ system on calcium carbonate deposition by measured the size of the calcium carbonate crystals in water before and after treatment through a Turbu-Flow™ system. The results showed that one of the observed crystals had changed from a typical calcite to an aragonite structure. Chemical analysis of various metals, conductivity, and pH had shown no measurable difference between the raw and Turbu-Flow™ treated water. However, the turbidity had increased from 0.3 to 0.5 NTU, which was attributed to the restructuring of the calcium carbonate crystals. The study also observed that water treated with the Turbu-Flow™ system had eliminated biofilm growth.

Methodology

A specific sampling and analytical methodology was developed to evaluate the performance of the Turbu-Flow™ units for each of the areas of concerns; calcium carbonate deposition, iron precipitation, and biofilm growth.

Calcium Carbonate Deposition

To measure the effect of the Turbu-Flow™ unit on calcium carbonate deposition in the water piping, water samples were collected upstream and downstream of the installed Turbu-Flow™ units and sent to a laboratory for analysis of total suspended solids (TSS). The total suspended solids (TSS) are defined as those particles that are larger than two microns based on standard methods. Based on the Turbu-Flow™ design information, the average crystal size downstream of the Turbu-Flow™ unit should be larger than those upstream of the unit, resulting in an overall increase of total suspended solids downstream of the Turbu-Flow™ unit.

Iron Precipitation

To evaluate the effect of the Turbu-Flow™ system on increasing iron precipitation, water samples were collected upstream and downstream of the installed Turbu-Flow™ units and analyzed for dissolved iron and ferrous iron (Fe₂). Furthermore, swab samples on the inside of the pipe surface were collected and analyzed for the presence or absence of iron bacteria. Dissolved iron is the total iron in solution larger than 0.45 microns based on standard methods. If the Turbu-Flow™ unit accelerates the precipitation of the iron, then there should be a reduction in the dissolved iron concentration subsequent to the Turbu-Flow™ unit. Similarly, there should be a reduction in the concentration of dissolved ferrous iron in solution subsequent to the Turbu-Flow™ unit.

Biosolids Growth

To evaluate the effect of the Turbu-Flow™ unit on inhibiting biofilm growth, swab samples on the interior surface of the pipe upstream and downstream of the Turbu-Flow™ unit were collected and analyzed for total aerobic bacteria plate count.

Sampling Program

Water and swab samples were collected upstream and downstream of Turbu-Flow™ units on Dec. 5 and 6 2005 at 8 different locations, including 5 homes, a maple leave hatchery (MLH), and 2 farms. Additional swab samples from the inside the cartridge filters downstream of the Turbu-Flow™ units were also collected to determine if there was any biofilm growth. When two or more cartridge filter assemblies were present, samples from the first unit downstream of the Turbu-Flow™ were collected. Details on the specific number and type of samples collected from each location are presented in Table 5. Table 5 presents the results of total suspended solids in the water samples upstream and downstream of the Turbu-Flow™ units collected on Dec. 6 and 7, 2005.

TABLE 5


Total Suspended Solids for Water Samples Upstream
and Downstream of the Turbu-Flow ™ Units

Total Suspended Solids (mg/Location L)

	Location	Upstream	Downstream

Home 1	6	6
Home 2	<1	<1
Home 3	<1	2
Home 4	<1	<1
Home 5	<1	<1
Farm 1	2	6
Farm 2	6	6

On average, there was no measurable difference between the upstream and downstream water samples for total suspended solids (TSS), with the exception ofHome 3 and Farm 1. At both these locations, there was a slight increase in the total suspended solids.

Table 6 presents the dissolved iron, ferrous iron, and iron bacteria results upstream and downstream of the Turbu-Flow™ units from the samples collected on Dec. 6 and 7, 2005. As shown in Table 6, both the dissolved and ferrous iron concentrations were measured below the laboratory analytical detection limit, with the exception of ferrous iron inFarm 2. The ferrous iron concentration increased subsequent to the Turbu-Flow™ unit. Therefore, the effect of the Turbu-Flow™ on accelerating iron flocculation cannot be determined. However, a significant result is that at locations upstream of the Turbu-Flow™ unit where the presence of iron bacteria was detected, there was an absence of iron bacteria downstream of the Turbu-Flow™ unit. This suggests that the Turbu-Flow™ inhibits iron bacteria formation.

TABLE 6


Dissolved Iron, Ferrous Iron, and Iron Bacteria in the Samples Collected
Upstream and Downstram of the Turbu-Flow ™ Units

	Dissolved Iron	Ferrous iron	Iron Bacteria
	mg/L	mg/L	(presence/absence)	Cartridge

Location	Upstream	Downstream	Upstream	Downstream	Upstream	Downstream	Filter

Home 1	<0.02	<0.02	<0.05	<0.05	Absence	Absence	Absence
Home
2	<0.02	<0.02	<0.05	<0.05	Presence	Absence	Absence
Home
3	<0.02	<0.02	<0.05	<0.05	Presence	Absence	—
Home 4	<0.02	<0.02	<0.05	<0.05	Absence	Absence	—
Home 5	<0.02	<0.02	<0.05	<0.05	Presence	Absence	Absence
Farm 1	<0.02	<0.02	<0.05	<0.05	Absence	Absence	Absence
Farm
2	<0.02	<0.02	0.24	0.72	Absence	Absence	Absence
MLH					Presence	Absence	—

Table 7 presents the results of the total aerobic bacteria plate count on the water piping both upstream and downstream of the Turbu-Flow™ unit from samples collected on Dec. 6 and 7, 2005.

TABLE 7


Aerobic Colony Count from Samples Collected Upstream
and Downstream of the Turbu-Flow ™ Units

Aerobic Colony Count CFU/swab

	Location	Upstream	Downstream	Cartridge Filter

Home 1	<10	<10	200
Home 2	<10	20	<10
Home 3	<10	390	—
Home 4	180	<10	—
Home 5	<10	<10	<10
Farm 1	1900	4100	2100
Farm 2	<10	2000	—
MLH	90	<10	—

The results presented in Table 7 show that there is no consistent increase or decrease in the aerobic colony counts between the collected upstream and downstream swab samples.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the sampling study showed that iron bacteria was found to be absent downstream of all of the Turbu-Flow™ unit where samples were collected. On average, there is no measurable difference between the upstream and downstream water samples for total suspended solids (TSS). There is no consistent increase or decrease of aerobic bacteria in the water pipes and cartridge filters downstream of the Turbu-Flow™ unit. Additional aerobic colony counts should measured at regular time intervals to identify if there is a sustained inhibition of biosolids growth and biofouling in the water pipes.

EXAMPLE 7Continuous Spray Test with Untreated and Treated Water

A continuous spray test with treated and untreated water was performed in April 2005. A shower curtain was hung in a 4 foot diameter cooling tower barrel. On one side of the curtain, Turbu-Flow™ treated city water was continuously distributed via 6 spray nozzles, and on the other side of the curtain, untreated city water was continuously distributed via 6 spray nozzles. Swabs were taken weekly to count microorganism levels. At the end period, the samples from the treated side did not have enough microorganisms to measure. The untreated side was saturated with microorganisms. This test showed that city water treated by the Turbu-Flow™ system cannot grow microorganisms, while untreated water will encourage the growth of microorganisms.

While certain embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be understood that various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention. It is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.