Water Education - Water and Health

SILICA IN DRINKING WATER - Page 2

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Colloids are extremely small solid particles suspended in a solution such as water. It is a polymeric form of silica where the particles are ultra-fine and cannot be filtered out of the water using normal filtration techniques. The weight of the individual particle is so low that a true colloid will not settle out, even after standing for an indefinite period. Colloidal particles are thought to have a charge which causes the particles to repel each other and prevent their agglomeration into larger particles. A colloid diffuses very slowly or not at all through a membrane, and has little if any, the effect upon the freezing point, boiling point, or vapor pressure of the solution.

Silica Removal Processes:

  • Filtration
  • Chemical precipitation
  • Reverse Osmosis
  • Strong base and ion exchange

Conventional precipitation technologies are messy and time consuming. When complete silica removal is required, various combinations of Reverse Osmosis and ion exchange processes are used. RO systems are currently unable to remove as much silica as ion exchange can but is far better at removing various forms of non-reactive silica and will remove many additional contaminants not addressed by ion exchange.

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