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Did
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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FLUORIDE IN DRINKING WATER
II
Fluorides
in water can be detrimental or beneficial. It all depends on the concentration.
Surface water supplies are normally low in fluorides (less than 0.5 ppm).
Some have no fluoride at all. Well waters may contain excessive amounts
of fluoride. There are some wells which contain the recommended amount
(1 mg/1) for drinking water.
Fluorides are important
because they have a definite relation to dental health. Research has shown
that a concentration of 1 mg/1 of fluoride in drinking water reduces tooth
decay. On the other hand, some children under nine years of age exposed
to levels of fluoride greater than about 2 mg/1 may develop a condition
known as "endemic dental fluorosis." Sometimes called "Colorado
Brown Stain," this condition appears as a dark brown mottling or
spotting of the permanent teeth. In certain cases, the teeth become chalky
white in appearance. Further, federal regulations require that fluoride
not exceed a concentration of 4 mg/1 in drinking water. This is an enforceable
maximum contaminant level standard, and it has been established to protect
public health. Exposure to drinking water levels above 4 mg/1 for many
years may result in cases of crippling skeletal fluorosis, which is a
serious bone disorder.
Research
studies indicate that fluoride concentrations of 1 mg/1 are optimum. Authorities
generally agree: (1) Where concentrations are greater than 4 mg/1, the
excess fluorides must be removed from water; (2) Where concentrations
are less than 1 mg/1, fluorides should be added. As a result of studies,
cities are presently required by some states to add fluorides in optimum
concentrations to municipal water supplies. Where the fluoride concentration
is too great, it is necessary to reduce the amount to acceptable limits.
Various methods have
been suggested for reducing fluorides. These can be classified broadly
in three groups:
1. Reverse
osmosis.
2. Those involving
treatment with chemicals, such as aluminum sulfate, magnesium or calcium
phosphate, and others.
3.
Those involving percolation through a bed of material, such as
activated carbon, activated alumina, granular tricalcium phosphate or
ion exchange resins.
The first treatment
method has obvious advantages. Methods in the second category have distinct
disadvantages. They require use of elaborate treatment plants, careful
control of chemical dosage and pH. In some cases further treatment is
necessary to restore the pH of the treated water to normal.
Methods in the third
category do not require such elaborate control. Of these, the only widely
used method of reducing fluoride content involves the use of a tricalcium
phosphate filter. Such a filter functions in much the same way as a carbon
filter. As the water flows through a tri-calcium phosphate filter, the
fluorides are absorbed.
Healthy and Convenient!
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