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WATERFREE TECHNOLOGIES

The following is an Executive Summary of product

testing and evaluation research conducted by theDept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the

University of California Los Angeles. Contact us atinfo@falconwaterfree.com for the complete study

report.

Waterfree Urinals

The current national standard for new low-consumption urinals specifies a maximumflush volume of 1.0 gallons of water. Inno-vative technologies led to the developmentof the Falcon Waterfree Technologies urinalsin which no water is required. Waterfreeurinals require no water supply and, thus,no flush valve plumbing, thereby saving onthe initial costs of purchase and installation,water and sewer expense and reducedmaintenance. Furthermore they drain to astandard waste line.

The Falcon Waterfree urinal technology usesa recyclable cartridge that contains a specialbiodegradable liquid. The special liquid islighter than other liquids and, therefore,floats on and seals the urine from the roomatmosphere. The cartridge has a designduty life of 7,000 uses, at which time themanufacturer recommends replacement.

The Study

In September 2000, Falcon WaterfreeTechnologies, LLC. (FWT) arranged withthe University of California Los Angeles(UCLA) to install a Falcon Waterfree urinalin a men's restroom in Boelter Hall(classroom building) on campus for thepurpose of: (a) measuring usage, (b)comparing bacterial growth rates and odors

with traditional flush urinals and (c)performing lifecycle cost analysis modelingof waterfree urinal installation within typicaleducational institutions. The assignment wasperformed by the UCLA Department of Civiland Environmental Engineering under theleadership of Professor Birgitte K. Ahring,Ph.D.

Study Results

UsageMeasured over a period of six weeks, theFalcon Waterfree urinal averaged 814 usesper week. Based upon the actual urinal usagerecorded at UCLA, the urinal has operatedproperly and without problems. Themanufacturer's design duty life of 7000 usesbefore replacement was actually exceeded

both times the cartridge has been replaced.In the original installation, the cartridge lastedover 7300 individual users. The secondcartridge has lasted over 7500 individualusers and has only required normalmaintenance (cleaning and removal of trash,etc.) and has never clogged. (Note: theFalcon Waterfree urinal currently remains innormal service in Boelter Hall.)

Bacterial CountingA waterfree urinal differs from a water-flushingurinal in that it does not use water to rinsethe porcelain surface of the urinal bowlbetween each use. The research teamsampled and counted organisms from theinterior porcelain surfaces of both the FalconWaterfree urinal and an existing 3.0-gpf water-flushing urinal in the same restroom. Thecollected data indicated that the cell countper area of measure was lower for the Falcon

UCLA Waterfree

Urinal Study

Title: UCLA Waterfree Urinal StudyIssued: 12/01/03Page: 1 of 2

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WATERFREE TECHNOLOGIES

Waterfree urinal than for the flush urinal.While there were not sufficient data toconclude that the Falcon Waterfree wouldexperience lower microbial growth ratesunder all conditions, the data did supportthe conclusion that waterfree urinals will notexperience greater bacterial growth ratesthan a water flush urinal.

Ammonia (Odor) DevelopmentAmmonia, among the most common andoffensive odors found in restrooms, is acolorless gas that disperses easily. Yet, its

sharp smell makes it a candidate for manybeneficial applications as well (smellingsalts, household cleaners, and windowcleaning products). The research teammeasured ammonia concentrations at threelocations at each of the two urinals: (a)inside and immediately above the bottomof the urinal (or just above the waterline forthe water-flushing urinal), (b) six inches infront of the urinal at the level of the bowl lip,and (c) at ceiling height at the nearest air

return vent in the rest room. Study resultsindicated that there was no statisticallysignificant difference between the FalconWaterfree or the water-flushing urinals inthe amount of ammonia gas measuredinside the urinal bowl or at then bowl lip.No ammonia gas was measured at the returnvent for either urinal. Furthermore, none ofthe sampling data indicated ammonia gaslevels that even approached the lowerthreshold for human detection of 20 parts-

per-million. Therefore, odors perceptual tohumans were absent from the vicinity ofboth urinals.

Lifecycle Cost AnalysisLifecycle Cost Analysis (LCA) modeling isparticularly well suited to evaluating whetherthe higher initial cost of an alternative iseconomically justified by reductions in future

Falcon Waterfree Technologies, LLC1593 Galbraith Avenue SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49546Tel: 866.275.3718 (toll-free)

Fax: 616.954.3579E-mail: info@falconwaterfree.com

www.falconwaterfree.com

costs when compared to an existingalternative with no initial costs, but which hashigher future costs. This is the case whenmaking the decision to replace an existingwater-flushing urinal with a waterfree urinal.

The UCLA research team applied LCA tothree case studies representing urinalreplacement in three typical educational(grades K-12) applications in California.Internal Rates of Return (IRR) for replacementranged from 37 percent to 61 percent

annually; simple payback periods for thethree applications ranged from 1.97 to 2.67years. The variances in IRR and paybackwere caused by the varying student densitiesat the three applications. Based upon theLCA, the replacement of existing water-flushing urinals with the Falcon Waterfreeurinal is clearly justified.

Conclusion

In all categories of evaluation, the UCLA

research team determined that replacementof a standard water-flushing urinal with thewaterfree urinal by Falcon Waterfree wouldyield a competitive rate of return and wouldnot result in any increase in rest room odoror bacterial growth.

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