Every day we hear that the cause of most diseases is the quality of water that is used by humans, if not for drinking, then for cooking. But what if its composition leaves much to be desired? There is only one answer - use ion-exchange filters.
The properties
For water treatment , a method is used, the essence of which is the ability of ion-exchange materials to capture radioactive and heavy metals from water and change them to safe elements. The ion-exchange filter for water perfectly performs the task of softening, thanks to the removal of excess magnesium and calcium ions.
Today, a large number of various purifiers work on the basis of the exchange of metal ions for sodium, for this artificial and natural sodium cations are used. In such processes, water is filled with excess salt, which leads to an alkaline reaction in it. Of course, it turns out to be purified, but at the same time it violates the functions of the body due to improper acid-base balance. Unlike the previous ones, ion-exchange filters for water purification are distinguished by innovative properties that use hydrogen resins. They are able to replace metal ions and even aluminum with hydrogen. Such a composition has a slightly acid reaction and is useful for humans.
Design
In appearance, the ion-exchange water filter is a housing with flanges placed on it for inlet and outlet of a gas stream, which is made of corrosion-resistant materials. In the middle of the housing is a filter unit, which is made on the basis of Fiban ion-exchange fibrous materials.
Scheme of filter elements for cleaning
1. Strainer for mechanical coarse cleaning. Releases incoming water from larger negative particles by settling them and trapping them on the grid.
2. Automatic ion-exchange softener. The main purpose of this link in the design is to remove salts from the water, which give it rigidity. Also, this stage delays various heavy metals that adversely affect human health.
3. Filters for fine cleaning. For the final removal of even the smallest negative elements, an ion exchange resin is used, which is part of the system.
Main advantages and disadvantages
Using ion-exchange filters, advantages and disadvantages can be distinguished. The benefits include:
- ultra-high level of cleaning;
- removal of all bacteria, heavy metals and viruses;
- removal of dissolved gases, residual chlorine, petroleum products, pesticides, phenol, compounds of hazardous metals and other toxic substances;
- preservation of the mineral composition in water after its purification;
- stabilization of the pH level to the optimum for humans;
- helps water to be charged with negative ions;
- converts organic salts for easy absorption by the body;
- high filtration rate, up to several liters per minute;
- the durability of the use of cartridges and ease of replacement;
- A variety of options for installation;
- the ability to visually control the degree of pollution;
- there is a possibility of installing additional degrees of purification, for example, a carbon filter.
The main disadvantage is the high cost of such devices, as a result of which some consumers cannot afford this device.
Indicators when choosing a filter
In order to choose the right ion-exchange filters that will suit the user, you need to take into account such characteristics as:
- the initial degree of hardness of the available water;
- the initial productivity of the softening system;
- the need for a frequency of regeneration;
- the frequency and volume of permissible drainage water;
- the need for redundancy;
- the composition of the initial water, in particular the presence of pollutants in it, for example iron, organics, manganese, chlorine-containing components and oil products;
- the desired degree of softening.
Ion exchange resin
In integrated cleaning systems, a filter that has an ion-exchange resin occupies a very important place, since its main task is to reduce the level of water hardness.
This substance is a polymer granules, which have the property to absorb ions of some metals from a salt solution and change them to others. At the same time, the composition of the salts also changes for everyone and begins to affect the quality of water. During the use of such a system, the resin neutralizes calcium ions and replaces them with sodium salts. After the chemical reaction, the rigidity completely returns to normal, all this can be achieved using a filter. Geyser ion-exchange resin during water purification divides it into cations, which transfer positively charged ions, which, in turn, give away negative ones. To soften, ion-exchange filters most often use sodium elements (Na +).
Cartridge recovery after contamination
In order for the regeneration of the Geyser ion-exchange filter to proceed correctly, you will need a 10% solution of common and necessarily non-iodized salt in a proportion of 100 grams per 1 liter of water. In order to clean, you need to prepare 5 liters of liquid of this composition.
The filters are equipped with a special key, with the help of which the housing is unscrewed, then the softening filter is removed. Then it is installed vertically in the sink or on another suitable surface, which will correspond to its size. Then you need to wait a bit, so that all the water that is present there will completely flow out. After that, we carefully begin to unscrew the top cover of the cartridge and pour about 2 liters of saline solution through it, you only need to make sure that the liquid does not overflow, since resin granules can also be removed together. In the process, you can see active seething, but do not worry about it, as this leaves the collected air.
Then, when the strait is completed, the cartridge is installed in the housing, which must be filled with saline in a volume of 0.5 liters, preventing the spill of liquid, and left without intervention for 8-10 hours. Next, we repeat the initial process during which we pour the remaining prepared saline solution.
After we begin to collect the ion exchange filter "Geyser". To do this, carefully screw the top cover onto the cartridge and insert it into the housing. You can start drinking water after the entire device has been washed with water at a speed of 1-1.5 l / min. for 3 minutes, so that the salty taste completely disappears.