No more chlorine dioxide, less risk of pipe corrosion, savings on maintenance costs, longer service life of the entire water network. And legionella absolutely under control.
These, in short, are the results of the testing of the MDI Module, for the prevention and thermal elimination of legionella, at the RSA Pablo Neruda in Castelfiorentino. A completely innovative experiment, the first in Italy, begun a few months ago and carried out with the collaboration of the Asl Toscana Centro engineers, Luca Tani and Luca Salvadori. Following the experimentation, the MDI Module, produced by Techno System srl, Certaldo and therefore made in Italy, was gifted to the same RSA.
This was discussed on Wednesday 17 July 2024, at the Council Hall of the Town Hall in Castelfiorentino, during the event ‘Heat prevents and eliminates legionella at the RSA Pablo Neruda. And saves money‘. Speakers included Francesca Giannì, Mayor of Castelfiorentino, Franco Doni, Director of the Empolese Valdarno Valdelsa Health Society, Federica Parisi, Councillor for Social Policies, Carlo Boccacci, engineer and president of Techno System srl, Marco Bartolini, engineer and production manager of Techno System srl, Luca Salvadori, engineer and director of the S.O.C. Manutenzione Immobili Empoli – ASL Toscana centro, Luca Tani, engineer and director of the SOC Gestione Investimenti Empoli, Maintenance and Investment Management Empoli Area.
‘We are satisfied of this virtuous collaboration between the private and public sectors – points out Francesca Giannì, mayor of Castelfiorentino – We know well how working in synergy with the business world is a key element in the development of a community: the gift made is an example of this, a confirmation of this positive relationship that produces wellbeing, social care and health benefits”.
The results of the experiment and the donation The results, as explained by engineer Luca Salvadori, who followed the entire trial, start from a real saving for the facility produced by the use of hot water to eliminate legionella compared to the use of products such as chlorine dioxide, which, of course, must be purchased continuously. The MDI module therefore represents an investment that produces this result. And again, by no longer using chemicals in the company, there is a lower risk of corrosion and therefore a saving in maintenance costs over time. Not only that, it also results in a longer service life of the entire pipe network. Which is a further form of savings.
And the results on the presence of legionella bacterium? They are good, the analyses that are carried out periodically according to regulations show low or close to zero values. For dead branches, flushing is carried out, with programmed openings of the water taps. Finally, there is no increase in energy consumption. The times when the water must be raised in temperature are short, limited in time, at night, a couple of hours. Here the water, which is already in the ring at 50 degrees, is raised to 65. The temperature gap is not so great and the consumption too.
How does the MDI Module work? Legionellosis is a widespread disease in healthcare. The bacterium lives and grows between 20 and 45 degrees. The MDI Module is an appliance with an on-board plate heat exchanger that produces domestic hot water and allows, by means of an electronic control unit, raising the temperature of the water (up to 70 degrees) for as long as needed and when needed, to kill legionella. Everything is set according to the system and acts automatically.
MDI is produced by Techno System, www.techno-system.it, a company that manufactures made in Italy heat exchangers based in Certaldo, Tuscany, near Florence. It is registered, the only one in Italy, on the Ministry of Health Portal as a class 1 medical device with the stamp for the prevention of infectious diseases.
With a single device, you essentially produce domestic hot water and fight the legionella bacterium. When combating the bacterium is done with hyperchlorination or hyperoxidation or other chemical additives, draining the systems can also be envisaged. This means dumping hot water and re-injecting cold water, to be heated. By using heat as a means of killing the bacteria, this risk does not exist. Another advantage: the risk that the continued use of chemical disinfection, and increasing the concentration of chemical disinfection, may encourage the growth of resistant legionella colonies is avoided.
