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you know?
Reverse osmosis is the finest water filtration method known. This process will
allow the removal of particles as small as ions from a solution. It is used
to purify water and remove salts and other impurities in order to improve the
color, taste or properties of the fluid. R.O. uses a membrane that is semi-permeable,
allowing the fluid that is being purified to pass through it, while rejecting
other ions and contaminants from passing.
This technology uses a process
known as crossflow to allow the r.o. membrane to continually clean itself. This
is the reason of why an r.o. element can last many years before clogging or
need replacement. This
water purification process requires a driving force to push the fluid through
the membrane, and the most common force is household water pressure or pressure
from a booster pump. The higher the pressure, the larger the driving force and
efficiency.
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Summary
of Water Quality and Environment
The source of any water supply determines the kinds and
amounts of its impurities. Groundwater obtained from deep wells usually
contains high concentrations of dissolved minerals. This water is usually
clear and colorless due to its filtration through rock and sand. It also
may contain various types of pollution, including detergents and industrial
wastes. It is now known that such forms of pollution may travel quite
some distance in water. Shallow wells provide water with varying amounts
of mineral impurities. There is also the danger that water from such sources
may become contaminated with human and animal wastes.
Surface waters contain many impurities, silt, sand and clay, which give
them a muddy or cloudy appearance. If run-off to them passes over agricultural
land, it may also absorb chemical wastes and toxic refuse from animals.
Where water flows sluggishly through swampland, it may acquire objectionable
taste, odor and plant color. During periods of flooding, these swamps
may discharge their decayed vegetation, color and microorganisms into
moving streams and rivers.
Deep wells and large lakes alone provide water that is more or less consistent
from season to season. Smaller bodies of water, shallow wells and springs
often reflect seasonal-even daily variations in their mineral content.
To understand why water from different sources varies in
quality, it is necessary to know something about basic water chemistry.
When suspended in the atmosphere, water vapor approximates distilled water.
It is free from impurities and remains thus as long as it stays aloft.
When water vapor condenses sufficiently to fall to earth, it comes into
contact with gases in the surrounding air-carbon dioxide, nitrogen and
oxygen. Atmospheric dust may also contain minute particles of silica,
oxides of iron and other materials together with dust, pollen and some
microorganisms.
In falling, moisture absorbs amounts of the atmospheric gases because these
are partially soluble in water. The colder the water, the more of the
surrounding gaseous content it dissolves.
If we chemically diagram the action of water as it dissolves
some of the carbon dioxide in the air, it would look this way:
H20
+ CO2 --> H2C03
Water dissolves and collects Carbon Dioxide to produce Carbonic Acid
Normally when such water reaches the earth, it is slightly
acid, corrosive and relatively soft (though not as soft as man can make
it through his skill in the treatment of water). After water reaches the
ground, it may pick up additional amounts of carbon dioxide from decaying
vegetable matter. Equipped with this booster action it acquires even greater
potential for dissolving minerals and other impurities on or below the
surface. Water at the surface is slightly acid. If, however, it has the
opportunity to seep into the soil and pass through a limestone stratum,
the acid condition due to the carbon dioxide will be neutralized. At the
same time, the water will get a large amount of mineral content. Chemically
this can be diagrammed:
H2CO3
+ CaCO3 --> Ca(HC03)2
Carbonic Acid reacts with Insoluble Calcium Carbonate to produce Soluble
Calcium Bicarbonate
Limestone, a common rock formation, contains varying portions of both
calcium and magnesium carbonates. These are the unseen hardness minerals
which plague so many supplies. The basic reaction shown in the above
diagram holds true for both minerals. Iron and manganese are found in
water supplies less frequently. But again, their basic chemical reaction
in water is quite similar. Because it is a solvent, water also picks
up the soluble chlorides, sulfates and nitrates of calcium and magnesium.
Similarly, it absorbs the carbonate, bicarbonate, chloride, sulfate and
nitrate compounds of sodium as well as quantities of silica. Close scrutiny
of a water supply after exposure to many common gases and minerals will
give a good idea of the active solvent that water can be.
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