In
order to understand how Filtersorb SP media can achieve
99.9% efficiency, we first must understand how hardness
comes into our water.
How
Calcium Gets Into Water
Our
drinking water comes from groundwater. This groundwater
is constantly being replenished by rain water. When the
rain falls through the atmosphere, it enriches itself with
carbon dioxide. Carbonic acid is formed from the mixing
of water and carbon dioxide. Carbonic acid is the solvent
of calcium. As the rain filters down through the soil, the
carbonic acid extracts the calcium from calcium rich stone.
Through this process, hydrogen carbonate is formed. This
extraction process ends when the water is saturated with
calcium. This means that the carbonic acid and the calcium
are in equilibrium. Depending on the ground quality, more
or less calcium is extracted into the water.
The
calcium carbonate creates scale on pipes, hardware and surfaces.
This leads to high energy costs for heaters and expensive
repairs for ice machines, cooling towers, coffee machines,
plumbing fixtures, etc. Another problem with calcium buildup
is the growth of bacteria on the scale.
Available
Treatment Methods for Calcium
1.
The conventional water-softening unit operates on the basis
of ion exchange, exchanging calcium and magnesium ions in
water with an equivalent amount of sodium. The result is
soft water with increased sodium content in the water supply.
When the ion exchanger is depleted, it must be regenerated
using a chloride solution (salt or potassium chloride).
Conventional water softeners require a brine tank which
must not run out of chloride solution.
2.
Magnetic and electric systems. These systems are supposed
to create crystals from the calcium ions. It is well known
that the calcium in crystal form cannot attach to surfaces.
However, these systems only have an effectiveness of up
to 10% - 30% which is not enough to prevent scale. It is
easy to create better test results in a laboratory by adding
certain amounts of iron to the water before treating it.
The conditions for these tests are unreliable.
3.
Polyphosphate has a scale prevention effect but releases
chemicals into the water and requires maintenance and related
costs. The media depletes itself.
4.
Filtersorb SP media technology prevents all of the negative
effects of temporary hardness while allowing for the positive
health effects to remain. The system is maintenance free,
chemical free, salt free and does not require mechanical
regeneration or backwashing.
How
Filtersorb SP Media Prevents Scale
Filtersorb
SP media has all of the scale prevention advantages of an
ion exchanger, for example the amount of soap and detergents
needed is smaller. There are less spots on dishes, bathroom
tiles, etc. Any lime spots left are easily wiped away. Filtersorb
SP reliably transforms the calcium and magnesium carbonate
ions into neutral calcium and magnesium crystals. These
crystals are stable and cannot attach to surfaces, hardware,
etc. The crystals are rinsed away by water flow. The size
of the calcium and magnesium bonds is in the range of nanometers
and so small that they can only be seen with a microscope.
Therefore the effect is the same as if the water was completely
free of hardness.
Several
years of tests showed that the neutral calcium and magnesium
crystals cannot attach to any kind of surface and the result
is 100% scale prevention. Also other ions can no longer
attach to surfaces because of the structure of the surface
created by Filtersorb SP. Because the ions are formed into
stable calcium and magnesium crystals, the TDS is lowered.
The
Filtersorb SP Process
The
most important factor in the development of calcium and
magnesium crystals from ions is the surface; the surface
which encourages the calcium and magnesium carbonate crystals
growth. These crystals are also formed in normal water pipes.
According to the Brownian
Motion of Molecules, a calcium crystal is created whenever
a certain number of calcium carbonate ions meet in a certain
constellation. This creation of calcium crystals is completely
random.
With
the knowledge about these surfaces, Filtersorb SP is designed
through nano technology, a resin with a surface plate which
the calcium and magnesium carbonate ions would accept as
a template and form into neutral calcium and magnesium crystal
partials, which would group together in cluster formations.
Critical for the development of the neutral calcium and
magnesium carbonate crystal formations is the enthalpy.
This is the energy required to form layers upon layers of
calcium and magnesium crystals that develop into neutral
calcium and magnesium crystal clusters on the surface plate
of the SP resin. A very important development in the Filtersorb
SP catalyst is that the nanostructure technology applied
on the resin plated surface provides the catalyst that decreases
the enthalpy needed enough to allow all calcium and magnesium
carbonate ions to come out of the solution and form into
nano-size neutral crystal clusters.
Summing
up the process altogether, the Filtersorb SP media can be
described as a nanostructure artificial catalytic template
that acts as a guide in shaping and allowing for all calcium
and magnesium carbonate ions to form into harmless neutral
crystal clusters on the surface of the SP plated resin.
When the neutral calcium and magnesium crystals grow to
a certain size cluster, they lose their grip on the resin
plated templates and are rinsed away with the water flow.
Now new calcium and magnesium carbonate crystals can form
into neutral crystal clusters on the SP resin plated template.
Example
Of An Artificial Template
If
you have a saturated salt solution in a glass, no crystals
will form. However, if you put a wool thread into the water,
crystals will start to form on it. The wool thread functions
as an artificial template, reducing the enthalpy and encouraging
the dissolved salt to form a crystal.
Descaling
Effects Of The Filtersorb SP Media
The
Filtersorb SP media also has a descaling effect on scale
already present in old pipes, plumbing fixtures, etc. The
water coming from the Filtersorb SP water conditioner is
neutral calcium and magnesium crystal clusters and free
of negative calcium and magnesium ions. Negative calcium
and magnesium ions in the already existing scale are attracted
to the neutral calcium and magnesium clusters formed in
the Filtersorb SP water conditioner and add on to the Filtersorb
SP crystal clusters that are now floating in the water from
the SP water conditioner. This way, existing scale is usually
reduced or eliminated within 1 to 2 months.
Lifetime
Of The Filtersorb SP Media
At
least 600,000 gallons of water flow or typically 3 to 6
years. A great deal depends on the hardness levels in your
water.
Applications
Filtersorb
SP is a completely reliable and environmental friendly scale
prevention and descaling system.
Boilers,
Water heater, Light/Heavy Manufacturing, Brewries, Food
processing plants, Restaurants, Hospital/medial, Hotels,
Cruise lines, Car/truck/bus wash, Dishwasher, Washing machine,
Ice maker, Cooling towers, Evaporative condensers, Coffee
machine, Pipes, Laundry industry and Steam presses.
Filtersorb
SP media works perfectly in combination with other media
such as heavy metal removing media. It is also great in
combination with a carbon filter. Because Filtersorb SP
media requires a contact time with water of 9 seconds, it
is inadvisable to mix with other medias. The Filtersorb
SP media should reside alone in its own vessel.
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