Wiki Page, Community Fluoridation: Module 2 - Fluoridation Costs Part 2

Wiki Page
2017-06-18T22:06:16-06:00

Installing the equipment will likely be the most costly part of beginning the fluoridation process within a community. For this reason it is important to know the different types of fluoride feeders.

For small systems, a dry feeder system will have an equivalent capital and operating cost as an acid feed system. However, as the system sizes grow, the acid feed system will have a more favorable factor of scale for both operating and capital cost. Medium sized systems will only have a small difference in cost, but larger systems will become increasingly cost effective.

Capital Cost

Equipment Installation |
Feeders |
Volumetic | $6,500 - $25,000
Feed Hopper Addition | $20,000 - $60,000
Gravimetric | $10,000 - $30,000
Feed Hopper Addition | $30,000 - $80,000
Saturator | $2,000 - $8,000
Pipework |
Monitoring Equipment |
Pacing Meter | $1,000 - $2,500
Fluoridation Pump |
Diaphragm | $800 - $4,000
Peristaltic | $800 - $4,000
Tank Area |
Scale | $900 - $3,500
Piping | $1,000 - $4,000
Continuous Analyzer | $8,000

Re-occurring cost

Fluoride compounds/Chemicals

Sodium fluoride $0.80-$2.00/lb

Sodium Fluorosilicate $0.50-$1.50/lb

Supersacks can reduce cost

Fluorosilicic acid bulk $0.60-$2.00/LB

Cost to transport water content

Monitoring

Maintenance and upkeep

Operating

Pumps

The electronic metering pump is the most common of the metering pumps used in water fluoridation and has a price tag of $300+.

The peristaltic pump is under utilized in fluoridation, but has a similar price tag to the electronic pump.

The mechanical pump is hard to maintain and keep running, and is the least used in fluoridation.

For areas where the discharge pressure is high, over 150 psi, a piston pump must be used. Though this is the most expensive option, the pumps can meter acid into a line with several thousand psi.

Equipment Costs |
Pumps |
Diaphragm | $800 - $4,000
Peristaltic | $800 - $4,000
Extras |
Scales | $900 - $3,500
Pacing Meters | $1,000 - $2,500
Piping, etc. | $1,000 - $4,000
Bulk Acid/Storage Per gallon | $2 - $3
Continuous Analyzer | $8,000

Feeders

Volumetric dry feeders can cost one half as much as a gravimetric feeder, but it does have a scale built into the unit and calibration is easier.

Saturators are the cheapest fluoridation systems and can be bought for as low as $1,000. They can be fabricated in any size, but typically are not constructed for very large facilities. The equipment cost is lower, but has a higher labor and operating cost.

Clearly, for a very small system, a saturator would make sense, but the labor costs to operate a saturator system would be overwhelming for larger facilities. A more expensive feeder system might pay for itself in a couple of years by avoiding labor costs.

Fluoride Additives

Sodium fluoride is the most expensive of the fluoride additives. For this reason it is the least used fluoridation method.

Sodium fluorosilicate generally costs about half the cost of sodium fluoride. Fluorosilicate requires less handling and less added chemicals than sodium fluoride.

The fluorosilicic acid is the most commonly used chemical in fluoridation due to its ease of use and the low cost. However because FSA is 75% water, sodium fluorosilicate can be cheaper based on freight cost.

Now, it's time for a quiz! Click next at the bottom for Module 2 - Quiz 2.