|
Learning
Center Categories:
Water
And Health
Learn
About Water Quality
Water
Can Heal!
Contaminants
Fact Sheets
Top
Water News
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.
|
When
did modern water filtration begin?
The
history of water filters is indelibly tied to the history of water, itself.
As human industry has grown and water has become more contaminated, water
filters have emerged over the centuries in response to the growing recognition
of the need for pure, clean water to drink and the realization that such
water does not occur naturally. Water has greatly affected humanity and
civilization for millennia. Because water is so absolutely vital to our
body systems, we, as living beings, are entirely dependent upon water.
In fact, this simple substance, more than any other factor, guided the
formation of civilization.
Early
civilizations were clustered around water sources, and it was water that
initiated the first substantial agriculture in the Fertile Crescent, leading
to more complex and sedentary civilizations. For centuries, water availability
guided the type of foodstuff that could be grown in an area. Water was
also the impetus and guiding force behind the first cross-cultural interactions.
Early trade was completely dependent upon water, for transportation of
goods and sustenance of people and animals. Throughout the centuries,
as technology developed, people have gradually gained more control of
water. They have been able to transport water to arid lands, stop and
redirect rivers, and even determine when, where, and how much rain will
fall.
Even
with increased control of water resources, water still continues to dominate
the political, economic, and social structure of all nations. This statement
can be verified by looking at political struggles within the United States
over water resources or throughout the Middle East over access to limited
water. Concerning conflict in the Middle East, former World Bank Vice
President Ismail Serageldin stated in 2000, "Many of the wars of this
[20th] century were about oil, but the wars of the next century will be
about water" (Smith, 2000). In modern times, concerns over water quality
remain supreme. Over the years, scientists have discovered more and more
contaminants in fresh water sources, and these same scientists have noted
a strong correlation between drinking water contamination and many significant
health problems.
Due
to the rampant impurity of water and the crucial, physiological need for
clean, fresh drinking water, several treatment alternatives have emerged
throughout the history of water treatment. Water filtration, one of the
more viable and prominent of these treatment alternatives, has something
of a remarkable past. Historians believe that the use of water filters
began more than 4000 years ago! The earliest recorded attempts to find
or generate pure water date back to 2000 b.c.e.. Early Sanskrit writings
outlined methods for purifying water. These methods ranged from boiling
or placing hot metal instruments in water before drinking it to filtering
that water through crude sand or charcoal filters (Baker & Taras, 1981).
These writings suggest that the major motive in purifying water was to
provide better tasting drinking water. It was assumed that good tasting
water was also clean. People did not yet connect impure water with disease
nor did they have the technology necessary to recognize tasteless yet
harmful organisms and sentiments in water.
Centuries
later, Hippocrates, the famed father of medicine, began to conduct his
own experiments in water purification. He created the theory of the "four
humors," or essential fluids, of the body that related directly to the
four temperatures of the seasons. According to Hippocrates, in order to
maintain good health, these four humors should be kept in balance. As
a part of his theory of the four humors, Hippocrates recognized the healing
power of water. For feverish patients, he often recommended a bath in
cool water. Such a bath would realign the temperature and harmony of the
four humors. Hippocrates acknowledged that the water available in Greek
aqueducts was far from pure in its quality. Like the ancients before him,
Hippocrates also believed good taste in water meant cleanliness and purity
of that water. Hippocrates designed his own crude water filter to "purify"
the water he used for his patients. Later known as the "Hippocratic sleeve,"
this filter was a cloth bag through which water could be poured after
being boiled (Baker & Taras, 1981). The cloth would trap any sentiments
in the water that were causing bad taste or smell. The ancient civilizations
of Greece and Rome designed amazing aqueducts to route water pathways
and provide the first municipal water systems.
On
the American continent, archeological evidence suggests that the ancient
Mayan civilization used similar aqueduct technology to provide water to
urban residents. Further advancements in water technology ended, for the
most part, with the fall of these civilizations. During the middle Ages,
few experiments were attempted in water purification or filtration. Devout
Catholicism throughout Europe marked this time period, often known as
the Dark Ages due to the lack of scientific innovations and experiments.
Because of the low level of scientific experimentation, the future for
water purification and filtration seemed very dark.
The
first record of experimentation in water filtration, after the blight
of the Dark Ages, came from Sir Francis Bacon in 1627 (Baker & Taras,
1981). Hearing rumors that the salty water of the ocean could be purified
and cleansed for drinking water purposes, he began experimenting in the
desalination of seawater. Using a sand filter method, Bacon believed that
if he dug a hole near the shore through which seawater would pass, sand
particles (presumable heavier than salt particles) would obstruct the
passage of salt in the upward passage of the water; the other side of
the hole would then provide pure, salt-free water. Sadly, his hypothesis
did not prove true, and Bacon was left with salty, undrinkable water.
His experiment did mark rejuvenation in water filter experimentation.
Later scientists would follow his lead and continue to experiment with
water filtration technology.
Healthy and Convenient!
Our Featured Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System
|
=
Products of Superior Performance and Dependability 
